As we have over the last month, Digitalchumps has been knee-deep in putting together previews for upcoming Steam games. While we haven’t traditionally done this, it’s been a fun go-around with early sneak peeks at soon-to-be-released titles and where they stand versus how they become. Demos and player feedback go a long way in shaping a game’s future release.
Anyway, this time out, we present to you our preview of DAMON and Baby from the developer Arc System Works. It’s an action-adventure twin-stick shooter that tells the tale of a demon cursed with carryinto carryfor acare child for some unknown, fateful reason, while shooting its way through the human world. While the story is presented compactly due to this being a preview, and most of its secrets are hidden for the final release, the action and gameplay are far more complicated and interesting.
The gameplay for DAMON and Baby revolves around that simple, yet-to-be-known story, and has the player running through a series of isometric levels that are comparable to a kinder, less restrictive Diablo design. There are lots of places to travel, explore, and jump around like a demon would be doing as they hop from level to level. The levels vary from hellscapes, deserts, and the occasional ancient temple. All the levels, sans the initial one, sprawl out in all directions with secrets to discover and plenty of enemies, including goofy Boogey-men and dastardly and dangerous devils, to run into. And these big levels are multi-tiered, so you’re just not getting flat features with them, but rather well-thought-through designs that offer depth to the adventure. Again, it’s very Diablo in its construct.
As for the action, this is a current mixed bag. The number of weapons at the player’s disposal in this demo is solid. Damon starts with a simple, infinite-ammo handgun that can be leveled up to become a formidable force to be reckoned with. There was also a Tommy gun and a shotgun during my time with the demo, each bringing its own strengths and weaknesses depending on the enemies, which can vary in strength and defense. As for the other offensive options, there is a melee option, something players can use to quickly smack around enemies or use as a locking mechanism for gunplay, and some ‘ultimate’ attacks and moves that help Damon get out of sticky situations.
My one concern from this demo was how the controls felt during my gameplay session. To be quite blunt, changing from weapon to melee, and the inevitable dodging mechanic, felt like running through mud. Games of this type generally have very smooth, easy-to-transition from offense to defense movements, but this one felt like it took some thought before execution, which simply doesn’t bode well for this type of game. For example, during my go-around with a sword-wielding boss about an hour into the game, I found myself having to point, shoot, and then try to dodge. What that involves is using the right stick to aim, R2 to shoot, disengaging the gun with the square button, and then pressing the triangle to quickly avoid getting hit. It didn’t help that the boss had varying moves that switched up that method of offense/defense, and that were difficult to get the timing right. In short, the controls just felt sluggish and not as comfortable as they could be. I’m hoping this portion of the game gets tweaked a bit to flow better, but I am unsure if there is time to get that done between now and the late-March release. Honestly, this might be a ‘me’ issue, as I am pushing 50 and less cognitively reactive, but I would be curious to see how others felt about it.
Now, with that complaint aside, the game’s motivation to push through sluggish controls is driven by easy leveling up, which will certainly push the player back into the fray, and a weirdly addictive recipe collection system that has the player finding new foods to make and ingredients to gather. All these help to tame whatever control issues the player might be having or frustration they might be feeling. At the very least, these little bits help make the experience feel like it’s progressing, which is a huge plus when a player might be feeling a bit of building frustration.
Anyway, I am looking forward to DAMON and Baby when it releases at the end of the month. It’s a neat game with a good number of moving parts that represent its twin-stick shooting genre well. The story is solid, the levels are gorgeous, and there is hope that this game gets more refined as it nears release.
Until then, you should give it a go and see what you think.
