Developed by Kadokawa Games, Experience Inc

Publisher NIS America

Reviewed on PlayStation 4 (Also available on Vita)

Demon Gaze II is a dungeon crawler meets visual novel that drpos you in the lavish world of Asteria City. It’s a city founded and haunted by the strife between Magnastar and the Revolutionist Party. As a sequel to a prior title, Demon Gaze II does a fairly good job at slotting you comfortably between plot points centered on the prior adventure and the current one.

As is the case with first-person dungeon crawlers, much of the visuals are the 2.5D dungeon you traverse. The other half of the game, the character designs, are poppy and expressive, emoting and jostling around the screen. Battles are enticing even just to see the character art shimmy and slide around.

From dialogue to battle grunts, much of Demon Gaze II is brought to life by the voices of the cast. From deadpan exhaustion to peppy saccharine, your cast of fellow Revolutionists fill the air with life (or the exemption of it, as the case may be). Even during the slower moments, like traversing the floor of a dungeon, bumping into walls, and kicking secret doorways open is often accompanied by a “Wowo-woah!” or a “Yikes!” to shake up the dust between footsteps.

As a charming protagonist with a unique power to forcefully bewitch enemy demons, your role in the revolution is invaluable. Much of the game revolves around crawling a dungeon with your demon comrades, then finding a boss that would be coincidentally be a great addition to your party.

Overall, Demon Gaze II is a well-served venture into the classic style of dungeon crawling, with mechanics that make obtaining new party members very empowering. The plot, while barebones at first, has onion-like reveals waiting as you continue your journey.