This game has given me the impossible task of not only convincing people that a RPG Maker eroge is good, but that it is also one of the best games I've ever played. It's 2023, a year with a new Zelda and a new Final Fantasy, and this may beat both of them for my game of the year.

All of that being said, I do not think this is a game for everyone. In my review, I will try to explain what I mean by that, because I do think it's a game that should be played. It's a crime that this game is destined to sink into obscurity.

This is a very long review, so I am going to put my conclusion first. But just know that, even with how much I wrote here, there was more I wanted to say.

Conclusion
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Demons Roots is an above average game elevated to insane heights by its writing. It is a story that puts both it's characters and the player through a hell of the worst things imaginable, but is so well done that it always leaves you wanting to keep going. It's not a game for everyone, but I think anyone who can stomach its subject matter should play this game.

Gameplay
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Demons Roots is a RPG Maker JRPG, so if you've ever played another RPG Maker JRPG, you basically know what to expect. Combat is turn-based with your speed stat determining the order that moves are performed. Every character fills a different niche, with some overlap, and characters join/leave your party as the story progresses, so you will end up using everyone at least a little.

Combat is generally very easy, and only really demands your attention during boss battles. This game as a whole is pretty easy, but the story is so emotional that I didn't mind the more simple combat so I had time to recover from whatever just happened in the plot. As long as you're not actively avoiding enemy encounters, you won't need to grind to beat the game.

While you're not in combat, you'll be exploring in a top-down 2D world. NPCs with something important to say are marked with an exclamation point, or a speech bubble. Other NPCs generally have nothing to say, but may have some funny dialog or hints on how to beat the local monsters.

Soundtrack
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This game uses a mix of original music and stock RPG Maker music. All of the original songs are great, and are noted by showing the song title in the top left of the screen when they start. The stock music blends in well enough with the new music to not be distracting, even if you've played other RPG Maker games. However, there does seem to be a bug with the new music not looping properly. The song will pause for a few seconds after it ends before starting over again. It's not a huge issue, but it is noticeable and only seems to effect the songs made for the game, not the stock music.

Art
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Like the soundtrack, the art in this game is a mix of original and stock assets. I think the stock art does a worse job blending in with the original art than the music does, but none of it is jarring enough to take you out of it. Occasionally, you'll get a full screen art piece during a cutscene. These are really the standout art pieces for the game, and I want to get a few of them to use as desktop/mobile wallpapers.

H Scenes
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Demons Roots is an eroge, and I do recommend playing the patched version of the game. The version on Steam is censored and has chunks of content completely removed.

The H scenes themselves can be broken into 3 categories: doremi, main story, and bad ending, with each category being more uncomfortable than the last. Obviously, personal taste plays a huge role here, but for me several H Scenes in the main story were physically painful to read through, and I couldn't bring myself to interact with the bad end scenes at all beyond an initial curiosity.

However, the horrors and pain of the H scenes play into the main themes of the story. This is why I say you should play it patched, but its also not a game for everyone. This is an eroge, but I don't think it wants people to play it for its H scenes. Instead, the scenes are used to push the central messages of the game, and to direct the player's emotional state.

Story
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Everything I've said until now makes this game sound like an average RPG Maker eroge, so how can I say it's one of the best games I've ever played? It's the story and the writing, specifically the character writing and perfectly timed story beats to lead the player from gut punch to gut punch. Not all of the characters get as much attention as others, and there are a few that really stand above the rest, but you will come to love and care about every one in your party.

Deathpolca, the main character, is one of the most compellingly written characters I've experienced in a video game. I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about her for a long time.

Without spoiling anything, this is a game about suffering, exploitation, and the drive to overcome it all. The story is unapologetic with how much it sticks to its core messages. It asks the player to look issues like addiction, abuse, slavery and more in the eye, while having metaphors and symbolism of other real world issues even if they aren't brought up directly. The game isn't all suffering though. It does take breaks for comedy and some genuinely touching character interactions.