Overview – developed and published by ChiliDog Interactive, Demonic Supremacy is an old school style shooter, with monstrous enemies, devastating weapons and intense action. As a demi-demon, battle your way through the demonic hordes, gunning down all in your path as you fight to the lord of Hell itself. This title is available on all platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank ChiliDog Interactive for providing the copy of Demonic Supremacy use for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. For the story segment I will be using the plot that has been provided by the developer on the official steam page.
Story – Once in a while, every 3481 years to be exact, the infernal tower appears on the surface of the planet. When this happens, the Chosen One is picked and granted the powers of a Demi-Demon to slay all evil opposition. Once again, this time has come. You have been chosen to crush your way through the tower, floor by floor, monster by monster, to stop the bloodthirsty hellspawn and personally meet the Lord of Hell itself.
Gameplay – Demonic Supremacy is a 90’s style first person shooter, where players must battle demons in a variety of arenas, armed with an arsenal of devastating weapons. The objective of each stage is to eliminate all enemies that appear, with each of the layers of the tower featuring a different set of enemies. To accomplish this, the player must move around the different locations, dodging enemy attacks and blasting them away.
The arsenal of weaponry that players can use includes a shotgun, minigun and a grenade launcher. All but the shotgun have a limited amount of ammunition in each stage, with the stage itself dictating the load out that is assigned. This makes for a challenging experience as players must adapt on the fly, making sure to pick the right weapon for the job. When a power weapon is given to the player for a stage, there will also be ammo that can be collected in the stages.
Alongside the variety of weapons, the player has access to special skills that can be used in battle. These skills are the dodge, which can be used to avoid attacks, the demonic voice which can stun enemies and the Dominator that can kill all enemies is range. These skills are incredibly useful, however, they have limitations in their use. The dodge/sprint uses a stamina meter, with the demonic voice having a cooldown and the dominator needs to be charged by killing enemies.
In the various levels, there will be the chance for power-ups and chests to be placed in the arenas. These items are set to the stage, which will often factor into the strategy deployed by the player. The pick-ups that can be found include healing items, boosts to skills and gold coins, adding some variety to the action. There will also be coins dropped by some enemies when defeated, which the player can pick up if they want to risk it for their total.
The gold coins are very important, as they are tied to a power-up system that can be used before starting a stage. Before jumping into the action, players can enter the in game shop, allowing them to buy various boosters that will help fight the hordes of hell. The power-ups that can be unlocked include bonus ammo for the power weapons, boosting the power of the demonic voice and even survive death itself. These power-ups are temporary, only active during the stage.
The arena battles against the demonic hordes aren’t the only battles that players will encounter in this game. At preset points during the 50 levels of the tower, the player will encounter large scale boss battles, where the player is pitted in a bloody battle with a demon boss. These stages can be the most challenging of them all, as there is a limited amount of ammo that can be collected. If the player runs out of power ammo, they will be stuck with the basic shotgun.
The last thing to talk about is the unique challenges that stages offer. As mentioned when discussing weapons, there is a preset load out that players are able to use. However, there are also challenges related to the amount of health that players have in a battle. There are even stages that have only one hit before the player will die, which can be incredibly difficult for players who are unprepared. This makes the shop a vital key to survival and success.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as this is an old school style shooter, there is a simple to pick-up control system, using the keyboard for movement and the mouse for look/aim. This gives the game a very 90s feel with only a few buttons for essential functions, which enhances the fast paced action on offer. There is also controller support for those who prefer to use twin sticks, which are comfortable to use and are implemented well.
Difficulty – this is a very challenging game, with some pretty brutal stages that will push players past the point of frustration. This may be a negative for some players, but it is perfect for those who enjoy the type of shooter from the 90s. For those who have a tough time with the harder stages, the effective use of the power-ups from the shop can make it easier for players to get through these stages. This can give a feeling of the game length being artificially extended through extreme difficulty though.
Presentation – as a throwback to the classic shooters of the past, there is a visual style that is inspired by titles like Doom and Quake, with modern modeling styles. The environments have an aesthetically pleasing look to them, making the hellscape seem vibrant. The sound is very good for this release, with a heavy metal soundtrack that works really well with the action on screen. There is even a Metallica sound alike which will play at random and is pretty good.
Final Thoughts – I am a fan of the older shooters, having played titles in the Quake and Unreal Tournament series for many years. That being said, this did manage to evoke a feeling of familiarity with the intense action gameplay, but there was some frustration to be had. The stages can feel too difficult for the sake of it, which can lead to repeated attempts to try and get through, making the stages feel like a slog at times.
However, I do feel that I can recommend Demonic Supremacy, as there is fun to be had with this title and there is a lot of content on offer. This is the perfect challenge for those who want a brutally difficult and satisfying shooter. There is a fairly low price point for this release, which is another bonus for this title, giving players a low barrier of entry for a fun, if sadly flawed shooter.
In the end, I give Demonic Supremacy a final score of 3.5/5. This is a brutally difficult shooter, which can push players to their limits, with intense, blood soaked action that can be a lot of fun to play but has the potential to frustrate just as much. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to the game will be blow.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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