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I didn't have much of an opinion on Demons with Shotguns (DS) when first looking at it, but the reviews were quite good, it's an enemy blasting game, and it has local coop available. Those are a combination of features I appreciate, so I gave it a shot when my friend came by. It didn't seem too bad at first, but it wasn't long before we both got confused and frustrated. Sometimes, a game takes a bit more to figure out before it's enjoyable, so I played it on my own to see whether DS was better than that first impression suggested.


In DS, there are 5 courses to play on, with 10 variants for each, for a total of 50 different arenas. These are unlocked by beating End of Times (ET), available in both single player or coop. For either ET or multiplayer mode, every player has a shotgun at their disposal, with six rounds of ammunition by default, and a flask of holy water that acts like a grenade. Power-ups, represented by tarot cards, spawn in randomly, with specific areas generating more grenades and shotgun ammo. None of these will replace your shotgun with a new weapon, though a few powerups give it more kick. In ET mode, the arena will spawn waves of enemies to kill, and you'll need to survive long enough to clear all five levels. Despite having so few stages, all of them have several rounds you need to persevere through, so they take quite a bit of time. Assuming you don't fail repeatedly, a successful playthrough would take around two hours.

Normally, I'd say the campaign would be the primary focus of a release. In this case though, I'd say that the emphasis is on the PvP side. After all, it is the top choice on the start screen. There are five different game modes available, four of which have a team variant. These are basically the same modes you'd find in any FPS game, with the souls dropped by players after death becoming a focal point, instead of a flag to collect, or territory to control. I'm not positive how much damage you can take, as a few bullets won't kill you outright, but one close-range shotgun blast, landing on a spike, or being crushed by a falling obstacle will destroy a player.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2092521189
You can play with either a keyboard or controller, and when I played with a controller, I had no significant issues. A nice touch is how you can aim your attacks up and down, instead of only being able to fire straight ahead. Despite having other moves available, such as a shield and melee attack, I didn't make much use of them.


Unsurprisingly, as DS plays out like an arcade game, there isn't a story. You are able to pick a character, but they're essentially just meaningless roles, as there's not any background information on them. The preacher and nun aren't shown to have any different results or motivation for getting into the fray compared to Death. They don't play any differently either, it's merely a costume.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2092520342
If you were to base the game off of its title page, you'd assume it's an ugly game, as the cover image is of an unpleasant, wrinkled demon face. The other character art on the select screen isn't much better. Thankfully, the game doesn't look like that, with the pixelated visuals looking pretty good. Environments look dour and dark, aside from the out of place water tower area, which is all the more perplexing with the news helicopter that flies by. That anomaly notwithstanding, considering how the setting and enemies consists of Hellish forces, it makes sense that they wouldn't be handsome or beautiful, and their ugliness is decently conveyed.


The music has a haunting, supernatural pitch to it that gives a good atmosphere to the settings you'll fight in. Firing the shotgun and setting off explosives has enough punch in the sound effect that it has a satisfying edge. There's not much else to mention otherwise.


🌟 It's quite satisfying when you're able to get a close-range shotgun blast off on an enemy, or bounce an explosive holy water just right to take out a few foes.
🌟 The moves provide enough options to address a variety of enemy types and situations.


❌ All of these can be adjusted for. However, with the controls, there's a delay when trying to fire another shot, and double-jumping won't work if you fall too far from the first jump. Additionally, shooting the shotgun has immense recoil, as it's enough to send you flying back off platforms.
❌ Objects don't always interact properly with the environment, such as when the rocket launcher enemies shoot a soul, causing it to fly around the screen. It surprises me that the soul has a physical hitbox and interaction with enemies, considering it's a power-up the player collects.
❌ Some of the power-ups feel more like a detriment than an improvement. For instance, boosting your jump height and speed sound beneficial, but they're drastic increases, and can make it feel like you've lost control for a while.


🔍 The shield won't stand up to a missile or explosive, but it's great against the shotgun wielding demons. However, it can only withstand so many shots. It's alright at deflecting melee attacks, the issue is timing when to drop the shield and return fire.
🔍 Though you might prefer to play the game as intended, I purposely avoided the tarot card power-ups. I also only used the shotgun and holy water to attack, instead of using the charged melee move.


I had the mistaken impression that DS was a game built around its campaign, with the multiplayer mode as something to do afterwards. You would want to beat the campaign first, as you'll unlock more maps for the multiplayer mode. However, the emphasis really is on the PvP modes. If you had a clearer understanding of this going into DS, and had at least three people to play the game with, then I think it'd be a better experience. As it is, I see why my friend and I weren't very fond of it, and certainly don't recommend getting DS for the sake of the campaign mode. DS might be a decent party game, with all the options and modes available, I just can't guarantee that having no personal experience with it.

Excellent couch co-op, and a ton of maps! (40+). Also, has an amazing soundtrack.

Really good fun. It's been added to the rotation along with Towerfall, Samurai Gun and Duck Game.

The music is great, the shooting is super meaty and satisfying and the sheilds are really good. Reflecting a shot into someone's face is hilarious.

I think more variety in map mechanics would be good for longevity. Also maybe different shotguns? sawn-off, assault etc? Could be pick ups or vary depending on character.

Really really fun 4 players local Co-op/Versus game in the same vein as Towerfall Ascension. with many game modes already available now like: deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the soul, Soul reaping..etc. the game's mechanics are simple and works great, lots of maps, tight controls and great music too. but for now there is no single player campaign and there are no bots to play against in case you want to play a few matches alone (The devs said single player modes are coming later) and i hope they add the option to disable or enable powerups since i prefer to play without them.

Great game especially for local multiplayer! Silly but fun theme and fast paced action.

Demons with Shotguns is a local multiplayer action game that gets pretty close to the enjoyment of Duck Game, Towerfall: Ascension, etc. Its focus is mostly on using a variety of items to change the basic gameplay of "shoot enemy with shotgun". There are also quite a few maps to play on so the game rarely gets stale. You can also block bullets with a shield, adding a new element to the game that helps build up the chaos in a 4 person free-for-all. Overall, I still prefer Duck Game, but Demons with Shotguns is still in the rotation when we get together to play.

8/10

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Nifty little game. Visuals are very nice and the soundtrack is awesome.

A bit difficult to master, I think. I would love to be able to shoot diagonally...
I like that there's a "game over".

I played the Single-player part ("End of Times") and I can only assume Local multiplayer (versus or co-op) would be much more fun!


Reminds me of Super Meat Boy and Blackthorne. It's the visuals plus the platforms and a bit of the character movement.

If you like classic arcade games, retro visuals, action with friends (local only), and a very nice synthetizer soundtrack, then try this one!

Furiously, Fast Paced, Frag Fest.

Aliteration aside, Demons with Shotguns is a gem of the local multiplayer arena shooter genre. A niche genre to be sure, but if you happen to have any real life friends, you owe it to yourselves to give this game a spin. The controls are super responsive and the shooting feels meaty and weighty. It's as twitch and skill based a shooter as you will find. If you're looking for something that's easy to pick up yet has a very high skill ceiling, this is one worth checking out.

While it may be in early access, the local multiplayer portion of the game is basically feature complete and highly polished. With a first class soundtrack and great presentation, Demons with Shotguns is a steal at its current asking price. With a single player and local coop mode in the works, the future of this little title is definitely looking bright.

Real fun and simple game for local versus fights with a few friends and a few beers. Recommended.

Maybe it's the rough art style, or rather styles that don’t mesh well, but I have a soft spot for this local deathmatch game where you blast demons (or friends) with holy explosions and shotguns. It's all quite silly but the powerups, charges, and reflective shield did offer some strategy and the inclusion of competitive and co-op modes is quite welcome.