It has been about a month since we previewed DAMON and Baby, and we are back with a review of the fully finished game.
While not much has changed with DAMON and Baby, our attitude toward the gameplay has certainly shifted. The isometric Diablo-wannabe brings some imaginative characters, large-scale levels, and a solid story that pushes it all along. The controls, which we brought up in the preview, do take some getting used to but are manageable, and don’t get in the way of the adventure, as previously thought in the initial write-up.
So, get that kid strapped on your demon back, and let’s get the hell out of here with a review.
Story unfolding
The story presented in DAMON and Baby revolves around a demon named Damon and a baby. Somehow, Damon has acquired a human baby in hell and sets forth on a long adventure to find the respective keeper of the child, while also wondering why the child is important (and wondering why the child was in hell). That is a tough way to begin parenting, but an easy way to grab the attention of a player.
While the story certainly lays down some interesting breadcrumbs throughout the adventure, giving enough push to keep the player going to ‘see what happens next’, it’s not overbearing or as important in comparison to the gameplay. I found myself enjoying the bits and pieces that crawled out of the woodwork (especially the humor) as I kept playing the game, but the story didn’t compel me to return to see how it finished, and that is honestly just fine. Even though I am a big story person first and foremost with gaming, the gameplay and action hooked my attention more than the narrative. It is how I feel about Diablo, as most of my desire to enjoy that game is to see what monstrous enemies and cool environments the devs come up with as I push forward, rather than getting hooked on the narrative. It’s the same with DAMON and Baby.
Now, having said that, that doesn’t mean the game is void of an interesting story. The fact that a baby is riding on the back of a well-mannered demon, and is being relentlessly pursued by a variety of baddies, is intriguing as it is engaging. I mean, that is a helluva set-up for a game, and the narrative payoff is worth the journey. It’s just that I actually like the gameplay better. It’s fun, it’s explorative, and there are many layers to it.
Let’s get to that right now.
Getting to the gameplay
So, what makes the gameplay more interesting than the story in DAMON and Baby?
The gameplay for DAMON and Baby 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, ancient ruins, and the occasional Midwest townscape. All the levels, sans the initial one, sprawl out in all directions with secrets to discover and plenty of enemies occupying them, including goofy Boogey-men and dastardly and dangerous devils. And these big levels are multi-tiered, so players aren’t just 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, it varies in entertainment and a small amount of frustration. Starting with weapons, they come at the player fast and furious, and with varying degrees of power. In a true isometric action game fashion, the weapons have tiers to them, as well as attributes that deliver different types of damage. The weapon variety will have the player searching and exploring areas, and taking on overpowered enemies just to see if they can find something dominating. Again, that’s very Diablo in its design, and it works well within DAMON and Baby’s gameplay construct. Players will feel compelled to search out and seek new items so that life can be made easy on a dangerous road or, at the very least, interesting.
Staying with weapons, DAMON and Baby starts with a simple, infinite-ammo handgun that can be leveled up to become a formidable force to be reckoned with. There are also other weapons like a Tommy gun and a shotgun, 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.
In addition, the game features a simple upgrade system for Damon that is easily understood and encourages the player to keep fighting. Upgrading Damon means making him stronger, his health longer, and other upgrade attributes that you would expect in a game like this. While not as in-depth as a Diablo game, DAMON and Baby does enough to give the player a bit more motivation to find trouble so that good XP can come out of it.
With all this positivity, the only small amount of frustration that keeps this from being a spectacular gameplay experience is how the controls work. During my preview of this game, I did a small amount of complaining about the controls, as they at times felt sluggish and sometimes stiff and unforgiving. I can say that the game does occasionally suffer from that gripe still, especially when taking on bigger, more powerful characters. For example, during my first boss fight, I went up against a samurai sword-wielding wolf. Dodging and countering his attacks weren’t difficult, as they were easy to identify, but it took a fair amount of work to understand his patterns and when I should openly dodge his varying attacks. I can’t tell you how many times I died because the timing was off just a little, or my perceived distance from his attack zone was just a tad wrong. I died a lot.
Now, that wasn’t the most frustrating part of this process. When the main character dies, the game will reset them back to the last save point, which is a distance from the boss, as save points are in specific places. Having to travel, die, then travel again was frustrating. And that frustration became bigger and bigger with every death. At one point, that frustration got me to the brink of wanting to quit the game and return later. It takes a lot to get me to that point, but the combination of sluggish controls, imprecise dodges, and long, literal re-runs to the boss wore me down.
Thankfully, it didn’t get the best of me.
Once I pushed through that frustration, got my bearings with boss fights and how to gauge distances, the game calmed a bit. It became the isometric action-adventure that I felt it could be, and I slowly began to enjoy it. I took in its many layers of action, its weaponry, and exploration, and found a good rhythm to the gameplay. In other words, it is an uphill battle that has more positive than negative, but getting into that flow of positivity and understanding the controls and gameplay expectations just takes time. I do wish the devs would loosen the controls up a bit and allow for the player to quickly dodge attacks and take down enemies quickly. I think the slightest bit of imperfection shouldn’t have such a profound amount of consequence on the player.
While the adventuring and fighting are fine, the other component to the game is cooking, crafting, and gathering. I didn’t expect this portion of the game to be as entertaining as it was, as the game tasks the player with finding recipes and gathering ingredients along the way so that they can make yummy and helpful dishes. It was a bonus to an action-adventure game, and a welcome one that alleviated some of the frustration felt in the action process. It helped divert my attention away from my frustration, which also helped keep me pushing forward in the gameplay. Plus, it was a cute component that oddly fit right into this gameplay.
Anyway, as it stands, the gameplay is bulky, funny, well-crafted, with pointed, good intentions, and executed very well. Yes, there is frustration, and yes, there are some improvements to the movement and control that could be done, but as it stands, it’s a good game with plenty of places to explore and fun to be had. The plan made for DAMON and Baby was well-executed for the most part.
On that sweet note, let’s wrap up this review.
Conclusion
DAMON and Baby from developer Arc System Works contains a bevy of fun gameplay elements across different genres that work more than they don’t. The action can get a bit frustrating at times, but big multi-tiered maps, interesting weapons, and a cooking system help to push past that frustration. It’s a good game that has a lot to offer players.
