Demigod Reviews

I hope you’re ready for another round of Demigod reviews, because we have five more to report about today.

The first is at G4 with a score of 4/5:

Those looking for a fast-paced, teamwork-oriented strategy game that leaves micromanagement (okay, most management) at the door will enjoy Demigod immensely. There is constant action, plenty of offensive options, and amusing feedback. Are there some quibbles? Certainly. Targeting can be difficult, certain demigods seem more powerful than others, you can’t click on the mini-map to move, and the AI on anything less than “hard” isn’t much of challenge. Yet with skirmishes designed to last minutes instead of hours, persistent multiplayer tournaments that have light and dark factions amassing points over time, and an upgrade system that gives you a surprising amount of flexibility on the battlefield, Demigod is a refreshing change of pace from the traditional RTS model.

The second is at IncGamers with a score of 9/10:

Demigod is a tremendous success. While this fast-paced, Diablo-esque RTS isn’t something that everyone’s going to like, it will be a crying shame if this quietly disappears. It does something that really does feel new, and it does it with serious flair. The single-player is stunted and definitely not worth a purchase, but single-player was clearly never the focus; this is a multiplayer game through and through, and a match with people who know what they’re doing feels like team-based action chess. The main issues with the game mostly related to the multiplayer interface and connection issues will almost certainly be improved upon with time, with the latter already getting better. This is brutal, spectacular, well-designed, and, as stated in the opening paragraph, a labour of love. And I love it.

The third is at Out of Eight with a perfect score of 8/8:

Demigod is a wonderful mixture of constant action, strategy, and role-playing. The game is approachable yet provides strategic depth thanks to the numerous upgrades and equipment you can outfit your character with. The eight demigods offer an option (or three) for every play style: melee, support, ranged, magic, or army commander. In addition, each individual demigod can be developed down several paths, further extending the strategic variety; they are well designed and distinct in their approach. The game’s outstanding, yet well performing, graphics don’t hurt the overall product: the chaos of battle is beautifully illustrated. Games are quick and don’t feature stalemates, and the numerous customization options let you tweak the rules as you would like. There are still some hiccups regarding multiplayer lag and the proliferation of AI opponents in online games, but I am fairly confident that, given Stardock’s track record, that these issues will be solved in due time. Demigod will inevitably get compared with another action strategy game, Dawn of War II, mainly because I am going to compare them now. I like both games a lot, as they both offer up quick, action-packed gaming, but still reserve the place for strategy. Whereas Dawn of War II puts more of the strategy in troop placement, Demigod injects its strategic element in building your character, so it depends on whether you prefer tactical gaming or role-playing as to which game is (better.) Of course, you could (and probably should) just end up playing both and make everyone happy. Despite the lack of a tutorial and dearth of out-of-game documentation of demigod abilities, the learning curve of Demigod only takes a couple of games to learn a new character, and that’s the point of the single player game since it lacks a story-driven mode. We could use more maps, although the ones that are included are very well designed and keep the action moving forward (unlike the aforementioned Dawn of War II, where troops can be scattered across the large maps). Still, all of the issues with Demigod are quite minor when compared against the awesomeness of the entertaining gameplay contained herein: this is how you make an accessible game that combines genres effectively.

The fourth is at About with a score of 3.5/5:

Demigod does have some issues to iron out in regards to the multiplayer portion, but that should not deter you from adding it to your collection. While I feel the RTS elements are a bit lacking and out of your control, the game does have a nice balance between strengths/weaknesses of the demigods and their dozens of different powers, magic and abilities to choose from. Overall there is enough fun, engaging, and fast paced game play to make Demigod worth a try.

And the fifth is at Games Radar with a score of 8/10:

Demigod’s blending of traditional strategy with RPG stats-based tactics leads to something that at least feels new, but it’s the unabashedly cartoony voices and over-the-top abilities that make the game fun.