Book of Demons is an upcoming indie ARPG, seemingly inspired by Diablo, and presented in a lovely paper-craft aesthetic, one of the rare few games on PC to adopt such a style.
Much like Diablo, Book of Demons asks of you to venture deep beneath the city, through randomly generated catacombs and caverns, in order to reach hell itself and bring righteous fury against the cardboard devil. Here's the trailer which comes in the form of a poem, and a bit more information:
Instead of using standard skills and talents like other ARPGs, Book of Demons focuses on a wide array of cards where each one represents a unique mechanic. Things get really interesting when you realize that the cards can be combined together, thus creating entirely new and much more powerful spells and effects. Don't get used to simply spamming one ability, however, as Book of Demons promises to have numerous nasty enemies that will require you to frequently change your strategies, and abilities, in order to beat them.
To make use of these abilities you will need to delve through fully randomized dungeons filled with over 70 unique creatures, and I'm imagining plenty of recolors to go along with those. What makes Book of Demons stand out from the rest is the so called "Flexiscope" system where you are able to chose the length of the dungeon before you go in. In other words, if you only have 20 minutes to play before totally starting work on that paper you are able to ensure that the dungeon lasts 20 minutes, or less. A nifty idea, I must admit.
A screenshot from the alpha
The three classes currently available are the warrior, mage and rogue, though with a slight twist. Unlike the usual brutish "me smash face" style of warriors, the one in Book of Demons is more of an adventurer and as such doesn't shy away from dirty tricks such as bombs when the need arises. The rogue, counter to the stereotype, is a ranged class that focuses around magically imbuing her arrows. Finally, the mage is... well, the mage. He's able to summon minions, throw down a barrage of spells, and curl up in to a ball and cry if anyone comes and pokes him with a sword.
Book of Demons is set to arrive sometime in the third quarter of 2016, though the beta will be going live in the near future, in the second quarter. Once fully released it will set you back $20, though you can pre-order it now and save $5, bringing the price down to $15.
I won't tell you if its worth pre-ordering or not given that I haven't played it yet, but with its colorful aesthetic and interesting take on combat I can see Book of Demons becoming something rather special. If you're a fan of ARPGs I'd suggest keeping track of it as it goes through the final few months of development, the potential is there.
There is such a thing as combining too many spells