Demon Skin Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · Published May 10, 2023 · Updated May 9, 2023

For our Demon Skin Review, where we play a Brutal Hack&Slash game with a challenging combat system that plunges us into the harsh dark fantasy world to test our will and our skills. Only those who dare to get into the Demon Skin can survive!

Demon Skin

Demon Skin Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
7.30GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
Works on Playstation 5.
Game settings – subtitles, language, voice language, Hud, and enemy icons.
Can rebind controls.
Hand-drawn animated cutscenes.
2.5D action gameplay.
Eat I sects and scorpions to regain health.
The controller vibration is implemented well.
Fully animated back and foreground.
Can skip the cutscenes and interactions.
Opening and ongoing tutorial pop-ups complete with a short video clip.
The stance bar at the front of your character can be lined up with an enemy’s stance and thus counter/block the attack.
You have a high middle and low attack set.
Pick up weapons from fallen enemies.
Two weapon types – slashing and crushing.
Loot drops from enemies and chests.
Click a button to see weapon stats on the floor.
Pick up and drop weapons at will.
Quick selection for weapons and potions.
Constant checkpoints.
You see enemy health and level.
Uses a stamina system for attacks and blocking.
Earn EXP and get points to put into a skill tree.
Blood and gore are spectacular.
Stun and finishing moves.
Big boss battles.
Roll/dodge move.
You can do jump attacks.
Break enemy stances and shields.
Bit of variety with endless runner-style segments.
Has a slight God of War vibe.
Good story.
Very moreish.
The combat feels meaty and weighted.

Demon Skin

Demon Skin Review Cons:

Cannot Invert axis or change sensitivity.
Combat does take a while to get used to and is a constant worry.
Few personal issues with the game accepting my resolution, had to do with borderless fullscreen otherwise it would accept my choices.
Checkpoints are quite far apart later on.
The constant pop-up of videos stilts the gameplay.
Not as much variety as you would like.
Has a few rough edges.
Levels can feel quite linear.

Demon Skin

Demon Skin:

Official website

Developer: Ludus future

Publisher: Home – ESDigital Games

Store Links –

PlayStation

8/10
Graphics - 8/10
7/10
Sound - 7/10
7/10
Accessibility - 7/10
8/10
Length - 8/10
8/10
Fun Factor - 8/10

7.6/10

Summary

Demon Skin is a game that is as brutal as God Of War but as technical as Dark Souls. The whole game plays out on a 2D playfield which is surprising as they manage to keep it feeling 3D in a weird sort of way. Combat is very clever with it having 3 stances which are top, middle, and bottom. Matching with the enemy results in a block (you can see the enemy stance form). Of course, with combat as meaty as it is in Demon Skin you can stagger, stun and perform finishers on opponents or break their shields. Il is honest it took a while to adjust to the fighting style as it’s very easy to naturally fall into button mashing and that doesn’t work so well, even now after many hours I still find the combat lets me down. It’s solid though and picking up new weapons all feel different but only really in a power type of way as all actual attack animations feel and look the same. The backdrops are very animated and 3D, you can see fights breaking out in the background, weather effects and so much more, and it just looks so cool. Levels are linear and are definitely a weak point but that’s kind of expected for a game like this in 2D. Overall I found Demon Skin to be a really good game that has some really good ideas and I hope we get another one as the devs have hit on something here and just need to refine it a bit more.