Book of Demons

First, you should not go into this looking for anything like Diablo, that's an unfair comparison. If you do, you will be surely disappointed. It's a little more than a casual game, it's an on rails and a point and click affair. The premise if very simple, but I believe it's a bit convoluted. I honestly wish it were more casual, it starts with really only using the mouse, but then starts to get a bit complex. If you're using a m/kb, using cards require two hands as well as having your character attack in one place. I believe you can also use a controller, but i've yet to try. The deck building seems like it can be deep... I've only played a few hours, so I can't be 100% sure. It's a breath of fresh air aesthetically, using isometic paper characters with lots of effects going on. There's character leveling, quests and card upgrades. I got this for $7 on Steam because I owned some other game, so definitely worth that price. I honestly would wait for a sale. Either $15 or 1/2 is the sweet spot.

I kind of wish I'd heard about this game earlier -- it's now, and has been since I've gotten it, my go-to casual game, if I have a couple of minutes to kill or am getting ready for a bigger stream for example. It's obviously a Diablo clone, though it's definitely not a Diablo clone despite how things might look. What I am trying to say here is ... okay, it definitely draws out inspiration from the Diablo series (especially the first.), but at the same time, it is entirely its own thing. It's a rather light-hearted take on Diablo, if you were to compare the environment, monsters, and lore and such, which can definitely be similar at times. But is that ever a bad thing? Heck... you could even argue it's borderline a parody of the game ... and it does a great job at it! Conversations, tutorials and gossips were all fun and interesting to go through, nothing felt like it was too much here. If anything, I'd have enjoyed a few more lines personally! I started immediately with a Hardcore (or its equivalent here, "Roguelike") Warrior which I successfully cleared on my first try with no death... except one very - as in on the first few levels early! - early on as I was learning the game and the value of gold, healing items/spells and imagining I would have a pretty hard time on the way down... Which I did! But thanks to a good build, good RNG and good mashing at times I was able to make it to the end. Healing at 1HP? Love how you can actually see your health in a "meaningful", that is, non-bloated numbers/item values way here. And yep... been there ... many times now! Split-second decisions between many good choices that will all lead to my probable doom? Sure thing. Remorse after keeping and upgrading or disenchanting cards or spending gold? Happens all the time B). But it's never hard on you, and it's always a good time down here in the dungeon. :) I have JUST cleared Roguelike, with Warrior/Mage/Rogue, so far so there is yet much more to come, but I await excitedly!

It's a very gameplay focused refresh of Diablo 1. What I like about it, is that people who understand game design have thought about what was fun (for them) about Diablo 1 and reduced the game down to these elements. It has a special feature where you can pick how long your game session is. If you want to spend less time, then you have smaller levels generated, or you can have larger levels generated. Loot and XP scales accordingly. More games should have this! I found the gamepad controls somewhat lacking though, but I just plugged the steam deck into my thunderbolt dock (which I use for work anyway) and played the game with KB&M at 4k without issues (it's 2D).

It's a rogue-like with a "equipment are upgradeable cards" twist, and a "paper mario" look and feel. The game plays like a modern update of the original Diablo (with numerous references). Took me about 14 hours of casual play to finish the Warrior character. Would recommend, and when on sale it's a steal.

Picked up this game on a whim and it is totally worth it. Actually amusing humour, wrapped around an inventive dungeon crawler system. The best bit is the system that gives you approximate times to complete the sections - great for a quick game over lunch or during limited downtime. Buy it!