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It’s already been a great year for roguelikes, but it is time for a new deck-builder to enter the genre. Recently, I had the chance to attend a closed-door, hands-off preview of Demon’s Mirror, and while I already had some hands-on time with it, I was extremely pleased with what I saw. A new character, new cards, and many tiles to connect have reignited my excitement for this game I can’t wait to get my hands on. While there isn’t a specific release date yet, Be-Rad Entertainment, the company behind it, claims it isn’t far, and I pray that’s true. Demon’s Mirror is a combination of many systems that might not sound compatible on paper but work perfectly once you try them.
Match 3 Meets Roguelike Deck-Building
If you didn’t know, and in very simple terms,Demon’s MirrorcombinesCandy CrushwithSlay the Spire, albeit with more complexity, as I saw in the latest preview. Previously, I was only able to play a short demo with Draga, a character whose gimmick consists of reducing an enemy’s max HP until they die. In the last gameplay showcase, I met Wulf, a werewolf-like character that packs a punch and focuses on offensive skills. By combining hard-hitting cards and connecting attack tiles, Wulf can defeat enemies in a few turns, assuming you have the right cards and a good board.
However, what I liked about this character is how different it felt from Draga, the one I used before. It really reminded me of how characters played in Slay the Spire and how each had their strengths and weaknesses. Wulf, for instance, focuses only on raw damage, which, while great, doesn’t bring a lot of utility to the table, and you’ll rely on expanding your deck beyond a DPS-centered one. Draga felt like the complete opposite, with the playstyle focusing more on burning enemies down slowly. Sadly, I wasn’t able to see the third playable character, which is an Axolotl, and while my Latino blood craved it, I can wait a bit more until I meet this fighter.
Every Choice Matters
One thing that keeps me awake at night when I think about my next roguelike adventure, and that being Demon’s Mirror, is how it perfectly grasps the concept of a roguelike game. In essence, it’s all about choices and living with them. For instance, the procedural map presents you with many choices that range from normal enemy fights to random events and even Elite encounters. The paths you take will dictate your run, as well as the cards and trinkets you’ll get. The lead developer of the game at Be-Rad Entertainment wanted to show us an Elite fight, and it went perfectly. However, players will be able to pick a different destination, thus making each playthrough feel fresh.
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Another thing that I love and the developers understand perfectly is how to get the blood pumping for anyone with slight knowledge of deck-builders and Match 3. Instead of focusing on only one system, you must consider two tactics. Will you use your action points to connect tiles to pull off a big damage move, or will you play a few cards to set up your defenses and maybe a few debuffs on the enemies? It’s up to you. And yet, it never feels overwhelming. Both systems are done wonderfully, and even if you never lost your sanity at Candy Crush or avoided Yu-Gi-Oh! at school, you won’t feel like a stranger to any of the game’s features.
A Long Journey Awaits
When the hands-off preview of Demon’s Mirror ended, we could ask a few questions, and the most notable ones pertained to post-launch content and the release date. For the former, the game’s lead developer, Bradley Johnson, mentioned the company has plans but couldn’t say anything specific. For the latter, there isn’t a set release date yet, but it shouldn’t be far, according to him. Regardless of what comes to the game at launch, I know I’ll dive face-first into Demon’s Mirror. Rare is the game that mixes so many systems flawlessly and in such an addictive way that I bet my tiles and cards that the only roguelike I’ll play in the foreseeable future is Demon’s Mirror.
