Action Roleplaying Games are a staple to any gamer in any platform, and chances are the majority of the gamers today own at least one of these games and have played almost a hundred hours. It’s one of the simplest ways to enjoy a game as it only has a simple objective, kill more and loot more to beat the boss. With many Action RPGs sprouting everywhere, most of them feel the same which doesn’t make them stand out. But developer Thing Trunk created a game with a different take.

Book of Demons is still dubbed as a hack & slash game and has that familiar setting, you stumbled upon a village that was infested by demons and you must slay the overlord at the depths of hell. Though it was intentional as some sort of parody Book of Demons takes a step further by showcasing a whole new combat system. The visual presentation complemented with the gameplay with its unique storybook-esque art direction, and not just the looks, the characters move like board game pieces that match with its art design.

Though it still retains the usual hack & slash approach, Book of Demons created a system that is half clicker game and half deck building, providing a new take on vanquishing demons in every level of the dungeon. Instead of traversing the dungeons freely, you will be walking through paths plotted for each dungeon level, though it may feel linear, certain pathways can lead to dead ends with traps or better treasures, so exploring every corner of the dungeon is still encouraged. At the start of the game, you can go easy with casual mode or ballsy but taking on Roguelike mode when perma-death awaits those who fell in their adventures.

You deal damage to enemies by clicking on them or sometimes an auto-attack will initiate to any enemies that you are facing, you can land more damage with special abilities or magic that you will obtain throughout your journey. These skill cards allow you to customize how you play and depending on which of the three classes that you are using, you can maximize their capabilities to slay your enemies at ease. But you can’t just equip all the skill cards that you acquire, at the start, you are limited to equipping one card, but as you progress further, you will be able to unlock more slots. Finding the right cards and combinations can make your journey easy.

There are different enemy types and each of them requires strategy in defeating them, zombies can spew out poison cloud, armored units require multiple blows to stagger them, freezing will slow you down and more. It can get messy when more monsters are attacking you and getting yourself stunned can be dangerous as you will be open for more attacks. You can recover from the stun by clicking on the stars floating around the screen.

In between levels, you can return to town to heal up or upgrade your cards. You can even test your luck with the cauldron for some gold and rare cards.

Venturing to each level can be adjusted with the Flexiscope, allowing you to tune the length of each quest that you will be attempting, the smaller the level, the easier for you to finish it, but with little rewards, going for the biggest can land you with plenty of loot and gold, but it takes longer to finish and you will be encountering tougher enemies.

Book of Demons still has a familiar hack & slash approach but reinvented itself with refreshing gameplay that can keep players hooked for hours. You can get the game on Steam or at your favorite home consoles made possible by 505 Games.