Talk or face damnation!
Multiplayer focused games come in many flavors. First person shooters, racing games, and RPGs all come to mind when you ask someone what their favorite multiplayer is. Along with these, multiplayer thrives within the party game and rhythm genre as much as it does in any action based title. Exorcise the Demons is an eclectic mix of the Jackbox style party games and a complex Dungeons & Dragons style puzzle. The result is a focused experience that is unfortunately rough around the edges.
The power of teamwork.
Exorcise the Demons is the story of a man chosen to confront demons. Guided by a mysterious voice, you venture from altar to altar completing puzzles which imbue you with the power to combat these infernal creatures. The game is designed to be played with two people. One person reads the “Book of Rituals” and the other performs the directions from it in the game. The game will push the communication skills of you and your partner to the brink, demanding in-the-moment answers to dynamically changing variables. You may think you understand the flow of a puzzle, but it could start rotating as you begin to complete it, changing how you need to think and communicate which keeps the experience fresh. The game has a fun and engaging premise but proves to be a rather demanding ordeal. On top of a steep learning curve, the overall presentation of the game is underwhelming. The demons and puzzle effects aside the levels are simply empty and lack lasting charm.
Un-User-friendly Ghost!
Victory in Exorcise the Demons is more complex than it seems. The Book of Rituals itself is not too large of a file, but the pdf format it comes in lends itself much better to a laptop or another PC. While a tablet also works make sure your phone has a larger screen before attempting to use it to play. The puzzles themselves are fun and engaging but the game has a strong learning curve that requires on-point communication. The stages are graded, so you are able to gauge your performance from puzzle to puzzle. While this may be enticing to those looking for a challenging co-op title, or even an opportunity for a clan leader looking to improve team communication on the Rainbow Six or Overwatch team, other titles offer a much more accessible and robust experience than Exorcise the Demons. The Jackbox games have similar offerings to this game in their Party Packs and also include a wide variety of other fun games. These titles also only require their players to be on any mobile device to play.
Conclusion
Exorcise the Demons is an engaging and unique experience. It brings its mystical fantasy to life as it presents itself, making banishing the hell-spawn a satisfying experience. These elements are unfortunately hampered by a demanding learning curve and a rather minimalist presentation. While it brings the mysterious and complex nature of tabletop style gaming to life, it lacks the fun core gameplay and accessible nature of its contemporaries.
Review code was provided for the purpose of this review.
