3 hours of gameplay + thoughts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BWWP-9_upg

Exorcist: RoM is a roguelike with incredible visuals where you traverse the infinitely terrifying corridors of hell to exorcise plagued folks and eventually rip the archdemon from its nightmarish throne.

This game enticed me with its striking visuals but its gameplay loop is actually pretty decent. It's challenging but not impossible by any means, and is much more logic-based than precision-based roguelikes (like isaac or gungeon). Essentially, you need to exorcise the demons you come across by way of calling out their name from a list of demons that could be present on the floor. Every demon has different criteria to help you determine their identity, and you come across different "holy verse" abilities as you go along to make this deduction possible from the larger list. My favorite ability is "Bless", where you pull out a gun and shoot the demon to avoid their roulette-penalty.

If you guess incorrectly, the demon will take one (or more) of your limited lives. These lives can also be used offensively for some of the abilities, providing a neat risk-reward counterplay if you choose to pursue those.

In all, this is certainly worth playing if you're into more cognition-based roguelikes. The difficulty ramp is great too - it seems quite easy at the start but gets progressively more difficult and challenging. I'm not sure what the replayability is like once you've beaten the final level, but I think the experience getting there & surmounting that is worth it nonetheless. get to banishing!!!!

This is a calm, ambient roguelike made by 727 Not Hound, the tenth game released on Steam by this Japanese studio formed by a single person, and the sixth that comes out in English.

Without speaking Japanese it is difficult to fully understand the trajectory of 727 Not Hound, but what is clear when looking at its works is that a large part of its titles are roguelikes of strategy and logic rather than action-focused or about raw skill and , and practically all of its games have clear horror elements. Exorcist is no exception: without being a survival horror either and despite not having any jumpscares, the atmosphere is very tense, and permanent death will stalk us throughout our game.

Our job basically consists of exorcising demons in a series of corridors, and to do that we will have to know their name. Before entering the hallway, we have a list of photos and names of the demons, although in many cases they will share the same features, or will even be invisible to us. However, by obtaining sacred verses we can obtain words, which function as cards that we can use to help us discover the identities of the creatures around us: their origin, whether their number is even or odd... to be able to exorcise them when knowing their name. The life bar is made up of two major sins that we choose at the beginning of the game and that will determine our entire game, and between five and seven minor sins on the easiest levels (four on the hardest right now: quantum hell), which we will lose if we fail to discover the name of the demons. We can also sacrifice both our minor and major sins so that we can use some offensive tactics, or for some very high-risk maneuvers that, depending on the situation, can save us from a practically lost game.

All this sounds complicated but, in reality, Exorcist: Reviewer of Minds is no different from any traditional card game: brisca, poker, black jack or even mah jong. Choose the one you like: in the end, we are faced with a game that simply incorporates that same component of logic, planning and statistics to make the correct choices based on our own analysis that, however, still have a random component, as in any card game. There are strokes of luck, of course, and although the game is not difficult, it is clear that what it wants is for us to play a slow and well-planned game.

Not much more to say. Are you interested in its aesthetics, do you fancy games of maximum thirty minutes, with four difficulty modes (formerly three, so maybe more will come?) with different limitations, to suit all types of players? Look no further and give your six euros to this game, which deserves it more than many other things.

Genuinely really good roguelike that has unique gameplay elements along with a fantastic visual presentation. This game deserves infinite praise its fantastic so far. I can definitely see myself playing this much more into the future.

Title: "Exorcist: Reviewer of Minds"
Developer: 727 Not Hound
Publisher: 727 Not Hound
Platform: PC
Release Date: June 28, 2024

Introduction
"Exorcist: Reviewer of Minds" is a unique roguelite game where you step into the shoes of an exorcist. Your mission is to utilize holy verses to identify and exorcise demons. Each level culminates in a confrontation with a bedroom demon (boss), which must be exorcised to progress to the next level.

Gameplay
The core gameplay of "Exorcist: Reviewer of Minds" revolves around the roguelite framework. Players navigate procedurally generated levels, battle nightmarish creatures, and strive to exorcise the bedroom demons. Each playthrough is unique in terms of gameplay, although the setting largely consists of familiar hallways and bedrooms, with the final boss bedroom demon offering a notable exception. The game strikes a good balance between difficulty and progression, requiring players to strategically utilize holy verses to discover and exorcise the names of demons.

Graphics and Sound
Visually, "Exorcist: Reviewer of Minds" is hauntingly beautiful. The art style features surreal landscapes, presenting a visually striking experience. Demon designs are detailed and grotesque, perfectly fitting the theme.

The sound design is equally impressive, with a chilling soundtrack that enhances the sense of dread. Sound effects are crisp and contribute significantly to the immersive experience.

Controls and Interface
The control scheme in "Exorcist: Reviewer of Minds" is intuitive, making it easy for players to navigate the game. The user interface is clean and unobtrusive, effectively providing all necessary information.

Performance and Technical Issues
"Exorcist: Reviewer of Minds" performs smoothly on my pc, boasting stable frame rates and quick load times. During play, no significant technical issues were encountered, indicating a well-optimized game.

Replay Value
As a roguelite, "Exorcist: Reviewer of Minds" offers high replay value. The game also features multiple difficulty settings, encouraging players to return for more. However, the repetitive level environments, with the exception of the final bedroom demon levels, slightly diminish the overall replay experience.

Conclusion
"Exorcist: Reviewer of Minds" is a standout title in the roguelite horror genre, offering a compelling blend of horror and strategic gameplay. With its engaging mechanics and stunning visuals, it provides an experience that is both thrilling and memorable. Highly recommended for fans of roguelites and horror games alike. However, the lack of variety in level settings leaves one wishing for more diversity in the environments. I would say it is worth the asking price of $5.99.

Rating: 9/10

Very aesthetically appealing and replayable. I love how the gameplay is so simple, and yet such fun and interesting strategy mechanics arise from it. This could have been a typical card game, but the way this game is characterized with all the unique exorcism theming and the exceptional graphics makes it so much more interesting. I showed several friends this game, and they all liked what they saw and purchased it.

Bought this because of its very interesting art style and presentation that stays consistent throughout the game. It's a guessing game that rewards clever and creative use of logic when guessing demon names for exorcism, similar to how you would make educated guesses in games like Buckshot Roulette. Though there is a good degree of chance involved, you are given enough tools and lives to to take on any demon -- with the the tension amping up as you strategically improve your 1/10 guess into a cointoss.

A lovely little detective roguelite that's more of an art demo rather than a fully-fledged game. Takes around 30 minutes to beat and doesn't offer much replayability beyond the extra difficulties - but those 30 minutes are choke-full of some of the best atmosphere I've seen.
It's that dreadful, panick-y, incomprehensible fear of the unknown that only Japanese horror games know how to pull off, with the likes of Fatal Frame and the Siren series immediately coming to mind. And much like the classic Username 666 creepypasta, you just keep poking what should clearly be left alone.

• No jumpscares and very few flashing lights, but a lot of nausea-provoking effects and screen distortions.
  
• English translation is decent, but not great.
  
• The game is entirely turn-based and there's no turn timers, meaning you can take as much time as you want.
  
• Higher difficulties for the "true endings" are very luck-based, which can be frustrating if you don't like a single unlucky guess ending your 20+ minutes run.

Unfortunately the game uses some very low-quality generative AI, which does spoil the experience - but I'm willing to let it slide this time with the hopes that the dev doesn't use it in their future projects. If they do, I'm afraid I won't be able to support them anymore, both out of ethical as well as quality concerns.

So you are on your first day as a homeroom teacher and you enter the classroom meeting the kids for the first time. Armed with the student name list and their home address, your first task is to take attendance...with only one catch - your students ain't going to respond to your call outs without you specifically picking them out with the correct name. They ain't entirely uncooperative though, sometimes you could ask them where they live, sometimes their class number, etc If you get their name right, you win.

That's about it, that's the game.

Except that the students are demons, you are an exorcist, and the art style is really cool.

It's a fun puzzle game! The tutorial is honestly not the most helpful, just click on crosses to pickup spells to use and then guess the demon from the list. Be not afraid, the English translation is good and won't cause any headaches.

didn't walk into this with much expectation, then had a blast. interface is wonky and some events are repetitive but that's acceptable for a small indie horror game like this and nothing is game breaking. i can finally achieve my lifelong dream to be a rogue exorcist yay!