I wish I had liked this game more than I did, because everything but the gameplay is really fun and enjoyable. I wonder what was going on over at Stormfront Studios that made them drop the ball when it came to the gameplay for
Demon Stone.
The Two Towers was a great mix of linear levels and big setpieces, with responsive and satisfying combat. Then they took out a lot of the good parts and gave us this game.
Really the most significant change that was made was the removal of fierce attacks and knockbacks. Taking them away means reducing the number of possible enemy types. It means getting rid of the fair-good-excellent-perfect rating system that determined how much experience you would receive from killing enemies. It means making combat more repetitive and less fun.
I don't like mindless repetition in games. It feels like a waste of time to me. However, I can stomach blandness in a video game if it means I get to enjoy a great story, and
Demon Stone has a really great story. But so did
XIII, and coming into this review I kept thinking of
XIII and why I couldn't recommend playing that game. In the end I think it's the length of the game that decides it for me. That, and the fact that
XIII's story doesn't really have an ending. You play through ten hours filled with basic stealth gameplay and simplistic shooting mechanics, and in return you get a cliffhanger.
Demon Stone, with its three to four hour length, has a detailed story with a very satisfying ending that even leaves itself open for a sequel, but ultimately doesn't need one. Despite having equally as dull gameplay as
XIII,
Demon Stone is a much more rewarding game to play, and since its so short, you don't have to endure the repetitiveness for that long before you can move on to more pleasant experiences. Unfortunately for me, after this game I played a game I wish I never had, but let's leave that for next time...
