Demonschool Review - Does This Tactical RPG Earn An A+?

Fans of the Persona series have likely had their eyes on Demonschool since it was first announced some years ago. On paper, this game has it all: tactical battles, relationship-building elements, and demons. I mean, what’s not to like? Demonschool teased us all when they moved their initial summer release to November 2025 in order to avoid competing with the juggernaut that was Team Cherry’s Silk Song, but it also gave Necrosoft Games a little more time to ensure that when the game was released, it was just as ready as its players were to begin their demonic educations. But does Demonschool graduate with honors, or does it need to stay after class for some extra help? Let’s find out in our full review!

Demonschool is a tactical RPG centering around young demon hunter Faye, who is eager to begin her education at a university on the mysterious Hemsk Island. Ok, so she’s actually less enthusiastic about the education part and more enthusiastic about potential run-ins with demons. You see, Faye comes from a lineage of demon hunters, and she just KNOWS something is going down on this island—and soon. She also knows that she needs to enlist the help of fellow student Namako, who seems like an unlikely candidate for this kind of work, but Faye puts her full faith into her new companion anyway. Together, along with a few other strays they pick up along the way, including tough guy Destin and cool guy Knute, the group very quickly learns that there is more brewing beneath the surface of this island than meets the eye. They’ll face demons, as you might expect, but also gangster goons, memory loss, and disappearing students—all before the school bell rings. It’s an over-the-top story filled with mystery, horror, and a healthy dose of humor that keeps players guessing what the next week will have in store.

When it comes to gameplay, your time will be divided between semi-free-roaming explorations and tactical demon battles, with a few minigames thrown in for good measure. Players control Faye, who is able to explore various locations across the island by selecting their desired destination from a list. Areas of the map with new items to interact with are highlighted, as are locations with side quests and mainline story beats that will progress the game. Once you’ve selected a location, it’s clearly labeled which characters and set pieces you can interact with, such as a shrine that talks back to you, a dog you can pet, and a bell-ringer with the memory of a goldfish.

The minigames, which are also clearly marked, will have you fishing for demon fish (what else?) and singing karaoke to socialize with your new friends—one of the many ways you can build relationships with your fellow students. Another way of bonding is completing the side stories I mentioned previously. Choosing who you spend your precious free time with and who to side with in conversations will increase their bond with you. Honestly, it all seems simple on the surface—and gameplay-wise, it is—but there is quite a bit to explore and interact with. Some may crave a bit more freedom of movement, as the individual locations are a bit diorama-like in scale, but overall the layout feels clean and organized.

When you’re not exploring the island or fishing for Blorfus, you’re probably in a battle with some otherworldly entities or gangsters. This is grid-based, tactical combat with twists that give it enough personality to set it apart from the herd. At the beginning of each battle, you’ll choose your fighters and assign them to their starting positions. Each turn, you’ll have a set number of action points for your team, and you’ll be able to preview every move before pulling the trigger in the planning phase of combat. Both moving and using an ability cost action points, so you’ll need to use a bit of strategy to make the most of your turn, utilizing side-stepping, team-ups, and special attacks to maximize your impact. Did you make a move that puts one of your characters in harm's way? See an opportunity to maximize your damage that you didn’t see before? You can rewind as many times as you’d like throughout the planning phase with no consequences.

Once you’ve planned out a killer turn, you’ll transition to the action phase and watch things play out in all their bloody glory. Not every teammate is a bloodthirsty maniac like Faye, however. Some, like Knute and Namako, prefer a less violent approach to combat. Instead, Namako can stun enemies, and Knute can heal his teammates and increase their attack—both equally useful in combat. In order to end a battle in victory, there are a few requirements that must be met: first, you’ll have to kill the number of enemies indicated at the top-left corner of the screen. During the time it takes you to kill those demons, you also can’t let any demons escape in the process. Once you’ve done this, you’ll need to reach the far end of the battlefield with at least one character to end the run. Each run is graded based on performance and whether you hit the turn target while keeping the majority of your team alive. As you progress through the game, you’ll be able to purchase new techniques for battle from a cryptic shopkeeper and study new abilities to utilize in battle. 

Personally, this combat clicked with me almost immediately, and I am by no means a tactical genius, so I would say that Demonschool does skew on the easier side. Hell, there were even times that the game warned me it would be extremely difficult to win a battle because I was down to just non-violent Namako, and I was STILL able to succeed. That said, there were a few fights I struggled with momentarily or retried in an attempt to achieve a better score. The occasional boss battle was also quick to put me in my place just as I started to feel confident in my abilities, but all were eventually bested with a little perseverance. If you’re new to tactics in general or if you’re more interested in a silly story about demon hunting, there is an “almost invincible” setting that can be toggled on in the options menu that will—well, you can probably figure out what that does. You’ll be just fine.

Not only does Demonschool play and perform great on PC, but it also runs smoothly on Steamdeck at a locked 60FPS—at least during my brief testing. Controls work great in handheld, perfectly complementing the tactical battles and making this a great option to take on the go. On PC, I played exclusively on a controller without issue, with smooth controls and clean menus easily navigated.

And if you think the art style is good, well, let me turn you on to this soundtrack—because my GOD did these songs get stuck in my head. I loved how dynamic these compositions were, ebbing and flowing, speeding up and slowing down through different encounters in various remixes. This soundtrack is chock full of certified bangers that I won’t soon forget. Great melodies, punchy bass, and endless earworms are aplenty throughout. No voice acting in this one, but there are plenty of ghoulish sound effects to fill in the void. Plus, if you know me, you know my motto: no voice acting is better than bad voice acting. Still true after all these years.

Demonschool is definitely my favorite tactics game I’ve played this year, if not one of my favorite games of the year in general. Its wacky story full of colorful characters paired with dark themes, nostalgic visuals, approachable tactical combat, and a soundtrack full of earworms earns it a special place in my heart. If I had to find a point of criticism, I’d say some may find the game a bit on the easier side if they’re used to having their spine ripped out by a Souls-like, but I didn’t mind the pace of this one at all. The game could have also done with a bit more free-roaming exploration, but it certainly isn’t something that would deter me from recommending this title to fans of the genre. On our scale from the dreaded indie Krampus that you want to avoid at all costs, all the way up to the coveted golden genie lamp of approval, I am awarding Demonschool the A+. This one is golden.

ESSENTIAL