Slashing Demons Review

In some cruel twist of fate, god has decided to forego the usual plagues like frogs and locust swarms, and instead gone straight to sending disfigured demon pillars of flesh and sinew instead. While it’s not clear who pressed god’s buttons, the clean up crew consisting of a series of swordsmen is ready to cut the demons down to size. Tapping on either side of the screen will cut at the pillar, while a tap on the opposite side will initiate a change of position and an avoidance to being eaten alive.

The game looks as good as one involving a pillar of rotten flesh, demonic eyes, and reptilian tongues can look, with a distinctive art style reminiscent of ancient Japanese artwork and smooth animations that remain so despite the breakneck speed. Gameplay is infectious, but I couldn’t decide whether I was enjoying myself or just morbidly curious to see what resided at the top. Unfortunately for me the game never allows players to get that far, since each round is set to a timer that extends depending on how fast they hack at the demonic shish kebab.

I would have liked to have seen some progression of some sort. Yes the environment switches between a forest, valley, and a mountainous region at random, but progressing from one to the next in the form of a level structure would have been made me want to play it more often. A variety of demon totems with different demon parts would also be a nice (though I use the term ‘nice’ extremely loosely) change of view, with each one leading to a grotesque boss’ head perhaps?

Slashing Demons is best played in quick blasts – its simple and rhythmic tapping mechanic being its main drawing point – because after a short while it becomes clear that unlocking other (admittedly cool-looking) characters doesn’t translate into real replayability and won’t be enough to hold the attention of most gamers.