Demon's Tier+ (PS4)

Completing the Diabolocal Minds trilogy is "Demon's Tier+". A game that follows loosely in the footsteps of the unrelated standalone indie titles within the developer's series including "Xenon Valkyrie+", and "Riddle Corpses EX". All of which found a home on the PlayStation 4 platform. With this third entry by developer Diabolical Minds, and publisher COWCAT we get a somewhat familiar story set in a kingdom brought to ruin by a corrupt king's evil deeds. Through King Thosgar's legacy of evil, and his binding blood contract with a demon the future of the kingdom under his reign of terror falls to an invasion of monsters, and the mysterious return of said monsters thousands of years later through a hole in a nearby village. As a ragtag group of heroes for hire you set out to investigate the hole, and the monstrous plague. Through provided services you ready the weapons of your trade, pack for the perilous dive into the depths below, and face what awaits in the demon's tiers.

Taking a top-down approach to gameplay with twin-stick shooter mechanics Demon's Tiers+ welcomes you to the fray with both cutscene storytelling, and hands-on adventure. As a knight, wizard, archer, berserker, cleric, assassin, or a couple other unlockable heroes/heroines you are tasked with braving the depths to face insurmountable odds against the armies of the demon who cursed King Thosgar to an unholy eternal life. Each hero or heroine has a projectile based attack, a skill set to a refilling meter, and a dodge. By entering the randomly generated dungeon-like tiers you will not only face foes alone or with a second local player utilizing these basic mechanics, but will also be looting the floors for all they're worth as you set out to complete objective missions, and best the Grim reaper himself. Loot, you'll find, comes in the form of dual currencies. One of which is gold for upgrading character attributes. Things like health, defense, attack, stamina, range, speed and combo looting potential which can be upgraded at the exit of each floor. The other currency being one that can be used back at the village vendors for services like supplies (potions, escape rope, and prisoner keys), blacksmith weapon crafting, and a pub where you can recruit or rather play as other heroes or heroines in your merry band for a set price. That price being D-Tokens.

When it comes to objective gameplay each floor within each tier requires that you complete the set mission within a set time limit. The missions range from clearing all the enemies to looting chests, or even blowing up barrels among other things. Supposing your timer runs out as you attempt to complete the given mission objective a screen filling reaper will chase you, and deal damage to you until you either complete the mission, and escape to the exit or die. Your loot left behind in the form of a grave marker that can be destroyed upon reentry to regain said treasure.  Of course if you have time to spare in a floor's playthrough you can search the rest of randomly generated location for bonus loot or prisoners that will act as shmup satellites which add extra shots to your own projectile based attack. It should also be noted that killing certain sub-boss type enemies will score you golden keys which will open larger chests that hold everything from bonus D-Tokens to blacksmith blueprints, and even health hearts. At a certain floor in the themed locations of each tier you'll also face off against a boss, which once beaten will drop even more loot. Supposing you notice you are out of health potions, are low on health, and have a rope on hand you can bring up the TRIANGLE menu, and escape without having to lose your loot. Potions can also stave off death, but three is the limit.  Something which is accessed also on the TRIANGLE rotary menu. All single use items can be bought using D-tokens at the village item shop including silver keys for prisoners.

The Tiers ...

In total there are three tiers to face in the hole that resides in the middle of the village your gang has traveled to. They are basically different sets of floors and bosses which reset after exiting, and reentering. Each tier seems to have four themed locations with their own set of floors, and respective boss. Beating the boss will advance you closer to the big bad Demon's location, and a final fight for that tier. Despite the reset nature of the playthrough there are ways to start with an advantage. By using the Blacksmith to buy new weapons for each of the characters the progress will be made easier as the weapons have their own added effects, and stats. Making it imperative to last as long as you can on each playthrough in order to loot the blueprints needed for the advantageous weapons. As with any other village service the price for weapon crafting is D-Tokens.

The Characters ...

When it comes to characters each of the 8 classes comes complete with their own base stats, and secondary skill that runs on a refill meter. The knight, for example, has a shield buff option that lessens damage taken. That, and a sword shot. Making him more defensive than a character like the wizard which is weak health-wise, but strong with base weapon damage output. Each hero or heroine has their own pros, and cons stat-wise, and offer the player a different approach to gameplay when it comes to traversing the tier floors due to their secondary skill and base weapon/stats.

Bonuses ...

Bonus features in this indie title are few, but include such luxury options as screen resizing, and retro filters like CRTV scanlines or high resolution. Aside from that the menus, and HUDs offer ease of access type conveniences that help to streamline the gameplay, and mechanics application. Even the vibration can be turned off if you find it annoying.

The Verdict ...

Demon's Tier+ is an impressive indie experience, and one not quite like the rest of the Diabolical Minds trilogy. It is more akin to a twin-stick shooter and dungeon crawler hybrid with rogue-lite elements. Replay value comes with the unlocked hero classes, the obtainable blacksmith blueprints, and the randomly generated nature of each tier's playthrough. It's simple yet fun in a way that goes back to the Gauntlet days of the arcade scene. Whether you play alone or with a friend there is definitely plenty of enjoyment to be had here. If you love the art style of pixel constructed indies you'll also find a pleasant surprise in that the game also looks the part of a noteworthy indie creation. I strongly recommend you giving it a go when June 9th rolls around! It will only cost you $9.99 (US). It gets the Inferno's 'Hell Yeah!!!" seal of approval!!!