Demeo from Resolution Games is a PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2 is a fantasy tabletop strategy experience. Learn more in our Demeo review!
Demeo from Resolution Games is a PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2 is a fantasy tabletop strategy experience. You’ll be taking on a series of adventures through the land of Gilmerra in some tough dungeon-crawling sections as you duke it out against the many monsters out to get you. You’ll have to form a party of four characters from the seven available options, as you aim to have a balanced group that can use their class-specific abilities to save the day.
As soon as you boot up this one, you’ll be sent straight into the game’s tutorial, so that you can learn all of the basics. A typical game consists of three levels. For the first two, your objective will be to find a key item and exit through the gate. For the third level, you’ll need to defeat the boss to be able to succeed. You’ll need to pay attention during the tutorial so that you’re not caught off guard by what Demeo will throw at you once you start a proper run.
How do you play this one? You’ll use the left analog stick to move your hero around the table. The right analog stick can be used to rotate the camera around, as well as to zoom in and out as needed. When controlling your champion, the highlighted tiles will show you how far you can move. Press the X or Circle button to pick up your champion, and then select the tile where you’ll place it with another press of the X or Circle button.
Each move with your champion will count as one action, and it will have a cost of 1 Action Point. This could include, for example, moving your champion through a door. You’ll have 2 Action Points for each turn. By checking the Turn Meter, you’ll be able to tell whose turn it is now and who is next. Pay attention to your surroundings so that you can spot any enemies on your path so that you can prepare accordingly. Keep an eye on your hero’s health because some enemies can certainly pack a punch!
When you attack an enemy, you’ll need to throw a die by pressing the X button. Each one will have three different faces. A sword means that you managed to land a hit on your opponent. A double sword will signal landing a powerful critical hit. Rolling a skull means that your attack has been wasted since you missed it. Even if you do manage to defeat an enemy, you should never relax because you never know when an enemy might be hiding in the shadows, ready to pounce!
On top of dealing damage to your hero, some enemies can also add an extra effect to their attack. Take, for example, poison. When such a status effect lands on one of your heroes, you’ll notice an icon will pop on top of it. When poisoned, that hero will receive additional damage each turn for a set number of turns. Poison can prove to be deadlier than the opponent that inflicted that status effect since, if not careful, it can send your hero to an early grave. When a hero’s HP reaches zero, it will be downed. Worry not, because there’s still a chance to save them before it’s too late! By placing another hero on top of a down ally, you’ll be able to revive it. Once this happens, be sure to either finish healing that ally with a card or by interacting with any nearby healing fountains.
As you explore each area, you might find some points of interest that will draw your attention. These will certainly include the many treasure chests that you can find lying around. Drop a hero on top of a treasure chest to open it so that you can collect the special card it protects. Cards are crucial for your run since they can turn the tide of battle. Each card will have an icon at the top, which will let you know how many Action Points are needed to set it into play.
Press down on the D-Pad to take a closer look at your hand so that you can get a better view of what the card is and what it does. The first card that you’ll get during the tutorial will be for a Healing Potion, which is great news since you’ll have received considerable damage after fighting against a trio of enemies, as well as from suffering the consequences of the poison status effect. Just press the X button to grab that card and drop it on your champion to activate it so that it can heal up to six points of health.
Other cards include Zap, a replenishable card. This means that it’s a card that you can activate during your turn by paying its Action Points cost. Zap is an attack card, so you can use it from a safe distance to send a lighting bolt that will not only damage your enemy but also stun it! This will give you a chance to get closer to it so that you can then attack it twice during your next turn. It’s also great for crowd control in case there’s more than one enemy lurking around.
By defeating enemies, the card meter on the bottom right corner of the screen will start to fill up. Once it’s full, you’ll gain a new class card. You will also get a chance to visit Cleepto’s Bazaar after finishing a level. While there, you can buy and sell cards so that you can adjust your card hand before diving into the next level. Always be sure to check your card hand by pressing left and right on the D-Pad so that you can see which cards you’re holding so that you can use them at the right time.
Demeo has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy. The list includes 22 Bronze trophies, 14 Silver trophies, and a pair of Gold trophies. There are many objectives for you to complete, such as completing an adventure without any of your party members ever being downed, completing an adventure with three or more heroes as assassins, completing an adventure with three or more bards in your party, defeating 100 enemies in a town level, or collecting every piece of gold during an adventure, to name some examples.
Demeo is an outstanding tabletop RPG experience that shines on PlayStation 5. And if you have a PlayStation VR2 unit, you can go all-in and immerse yourself in this fantastic journey. There’s a ton of content to enjoy and a challenge that starts strong and increases at a steady pace as you get deeper and deeper into each of the different scenarios the game has to offer. Demeo is available at a $39.99 price, and your purchase will give you access to both the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation VR2 versions at no extra cost.
Disclaimer
This Demeo review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Resolution Games.
