Demonschool is a Persona and Italian horror-inspired tactical RPG
College is hell.
Demonschool is a tactical RPG inspired by Persona and Italian horror films.
Announced at the PC Gaming Show, the game is developed by Necrosoft Games and set for release in 2023 across PC, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and Nintendo Switch.
College is hell in this game, as student Faye - the last living heir to a long-forgotten family of demon hunters - must balance college life with an impending apocalypse. Check out the trailer below, it's worth watching for the running animations alone.
Combat plays like a streamlined isometric tactics game where "movement equals action". Players plan the moves of their team of students and then hit action to watch them play out in devastating combos.
Each student has their own moveset and abilities that can be combined, and decisions can be rewound too.
As for the visuals, they combine 2D and 3D elements as the game "worships at the ritual altar of classic Italian horror films of the '60s and '70s, drenched in strange visuals and hellish grotesquery driven by a funky bassline that renders even the most horrific scenario irreverent," reads the press release.
"We wanted to create a game with complete transparency while still allowing for mystery. You'll never have to guess at numbers or what does what," said Brandon Sheffield, creative director of Necrosoft Games. "We hope the story carries you through to a positive vision for the future, and what is possible when like-minded individuals work together against a larger evil."
Tactical gameplay? Demonic horror? Funky basslines? I'm sold.