PAX West 2025 Spotlight: Demonschool
I had a chance to play the beginning portion of Demonschool from Necrosoft at the Ysbryd booth at PAX West last week. I was impressed by the game’s thoughtful combat mechanics, its mix of 2D and 3D graphics, and what looks to be very strong writing.
Demonschool. Credit: Necrosoft / Ysbryd Games
Demonschool is a tactics RPG that draws inspiration from Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and giallo (Italian horror cinema). Players take on the role of Faye, a freshman at a university located on a mysterious island. As the heir to a family of demon hunters, Faye quickly begins recruiting friends to assist her in solving supernatural mysteries on the island, where there is clearly some shady business at play.
The combat is highly strategic, and planning your moves is refreshingly straightforward. You allocate your action points (AP) among your characters on the isometric 3D battlefield, previewing the attacks and outcomes until you are satisfied with the result. Then, you execute your moves before the enemies take their turn. There is no randomness in this system; combat resembles a game of chess, where your pieces behave exactly as you anticipate.
Most movements, attacks, and skills require AP, but all characters can sidestep for free. You can use these sidesteps to set up brutal combos that move enemies around the field, allowing your other characters to finish them off in devastating ways. The gameplay shares some similarities with Into the Breach, but it is perhaps a bit more forgiving. Overall, it feels fresh, satisfying, and rewarding.
I didn’t experience much of this part of the game, but outside of combat, you’ll spend your time choosing your activities over the course of a semester, much like Persona. It’s up to you who to spend time with and what to study. There are a ton of characters to meet and lots of choices that will lead to new endings.
Demonschool. Credit: Necrosoft / Ysbryd Games
I love the game's visuals. In Demonschool, 2D sprites inhabit an isometric 3D world, creating a unique and colorful aesthetic that I'm excited to explore further. Although the game's release has been postponed to avoid the launch of Silksong, there's a silver lining. Content that was originally planned for post-launch updates will now be included in the game's release, making an already rich experience even richer. I can't wait to dive into this game!
Demonschool will launch on November 19, 2025, on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation.
