Hell is Other Demons
Nintendo Switch

Developed By : Cuddle Monster Games
Published By : Kongregate
Category : Platformer, Arcade, Shmup
Release Date : Apr 18, 2019

Grab your gear, it’s time to fight back. Hell is Other Demons on the Nintendo Switch puts you in the place of a tiny little demon who’s fighting back against his fellow below-Earther’s. You’ve been given a second chance to prove yourself against the other demons below, so don’t blow it.

While it may appear fairly simple at a first glance, this game is anything but once you get into it. As you battle off all the floating skulls and all the other ghostly images pitted against you, you’ll experience the masterpiece beauty of this game unfold before you like a throwback to an arcade game from days long gone.

The levels of the game take place in self-contained arenas filled with a lot of enemies, and not much to help you. You’ll face off against a small handful of waves of these enemies that can spawn anywhere in the level at all, instantly flying and/or shooting directly at you. All you’ll have are your weapons and a couple very small, narrow platforms to stand on., so you’ll need to master the things your demon can do to survive.

What you can do is very limited in appearance, but it is more than enough to take down everything you’ll come across. Primarily, you’ll use the gun attached to your arm to fire off projectiles to the sides, but you’ll also have an ultimate weapon at your disposal too as well as a double jump. As I mentioned above, platforms for you to use are very small but your double jump should be more than enough to get you around the stages, combined with the fact that your feet serve as your last weapon to use since you can stomp just about anyone out of the sky.

Completing the levels can be done in up to four different ways, but only one is necessary to progress deeper into the game. Simply surviving the onslaught and destroying all the demons that spawn before you is all you’ll need to do, but once you return to the games map you’ll notice a void of three symbols in the space of that level. These represent the other challenges for completing the levels : doing it without taking any damage, without firing your ultimate, and without firing a weapon period (meaning using your stomp and nothing else). Again, these last three aren’t required but offer quite the challenge to anyone willing to step up.

Killing your enemies will cause them to drop three different things : gems, health, and charges for your ultimate weapon. The last two are random drops, very inconsistent, so you may find yourself deathly hoping for one of these in a time of need. Gems, however, are something that is constantly getting dropped and act as a form of currency within the game. Every so often on the game’s map you’ll uncover a shop where you’ll be able to spend the gems you earn. Here you can purchase better guns to use like rocket launchers or a spread-shot shotgun. You can upgrade your ultimate, as well as certain aspects of your character himself like making his shots more accurate, or the stomp more strong.

Hell is Other Demons is an amazing game, and it doesn’t just feel like a new one. It truly feels like an old title with new life breathed into it. The bit-graphics combined with the size and toughness of the game’s bosses who feel like their attacks are specifically homing in on you, this game has everything that all of the old classics do. The short wave-based levels make it a title that’s easy to pick up and put down without requiring what feels like hours just to progress through one level. Top it off with alternate color schemes that you can unlock, and an amazing soundtrack done by The Algorithm, and sound effects from Magnus Render, the mind behind the OST of VVVVVV and this one packs a perfect punch. So fight off your demons and get your copy in the eShop today!