Do you like coffee without cream? What about consumerism without guilt? Very well then, could I perhaps interest you in some nostalgia without disappointments, frustrations and huge time investments?

Because that’s the ambitious goal of Book of Demons, [official site] at once a parody and a tribute to the original Diablo, made in cute paper cut-out graphics. It’s the first of the “Return 2 Games” series, 7 titles that will each aim to capture the feeling of a classic from the 90s while modernizing their mechanics and making them accessible even to casual players. I don’t know if it’ll work; but I’m sure Slavoj Zizek would be all over the concept.

One of the ways Book of Demons plans to be more accessible is through its “Flexiscope” system. The game will study your performance over time and should be able to create levels that are as long or as short as you want your session to be, even if that is just 5 minutes.

The core of the game will revolve around dungeoneering as one of the usual 3 classes, warrior, rogue and Mr. T mage. Items, gear and special abilities are all replaced by a single card system: again, the aim is to do away with repetitive grind and make progress feel meaningful not by upping the numbers, but by giving players (and enemies) altogether different abilities, and let them craft their own deck. The hope is that enough replayability and the various difficulty levels will keep it interesting even for more demanding players.

The narrative promises lots of humour alongside a more serious side. “True to the origins of the hack & slash genre,” it wants to retell “the universal story of good vs evil, of a hero’s quest to save the world from the ultimate devilry.”

Here’s a rhyming trailer, because why not. There’s a red demon playing with a rubber ducky in it, because why not. Here’s a Slavoj Zizek dress-up game, because why not.



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Book Of Demons will be out in the second half of 2016. Only Windows has been announced so far, but more platforms may be coming in the future.