Gal Guardians: Demon Purge

I would have never guessed that a franchise like Gal*Gun would eventually have a few spinoffs under its belt that, uh… don’t look at feel like Gal*Gun. The franchise is known for its very unique take on the light gun genre, being a very “love it or hate it, we don’t care about your opinion” series due to its premise and themes. Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is NOT one of those games. In fact, if it wasn’t for some of the folks at WayTooManyGames, I would have had played the entire g...

While the game is an excellent spiritual successor to the Castlevania series, it also does enough on its own to help it stand out from the crowd.

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is a hearty tribute not only to early ’90s platformers, but to video gaming itself, offering up stress-free thrills, comedic characters, cool co-op action, and even a fistful of secrets and surprises, all visually and aurally punctuated with delightful, nostalgic style. While not as deep, as complex, nor as prestige as its inspirations, Grim Guardians achieves its humble goals handily, offering up a cheerful dose of retro action while sporting a likable personality all of its own.

There’s a lot of heart and soul poured into the details, it’s one of those retro titles that truly remembers what made those classics fun in the first place. There’s a few small issues here and there that keep it from being truly amazing, but it’s certainly worth your time.

I have good news, Castlevania fans because here's a game to help fill the void that stars a familiar cast; it's Grim Guardians: Demon Purge.

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is a gorgeous and well-presented Castlevania-esque game. It is very competent, even with some minor issues, and thanks to how easy it runs, it's a Best on Deck game!

In order to save their school after it turns into a massive demonic castle, two "Demon Hunter" sisters slash and shoot their way through this 2D action adventure. Players can swap between control of both characters on the fly, each with entirely different skillsets. Switch version reviewed.

As for the game’s narrative, it’s fanservice for anyone who likes Gal*Gun. The girls you rescue have a variety of things to say about their situation and there is a lot of goofy chatter about ‘important stuff’, mixed in with some briefly serious moments. I personally liked it, having played the on-rail shooters years back. Besides that, it’s easily skippable for anyone who doesn’t care what the characters have to say about a school riddled with demons and angels that enjoy making a junior boy’s life a living hell.

Those looking at Grim Guardians: Demon Purge expecting a metroidvania might be disappointed when they realise it’s more of a straightforward platformer, like the original Castlevania games. And while it is derivative of Konami’s classic series, it does just enough to give itself a character of its own. If only its revival mechanic didn’t cause issues in single-player, and it didn’t get a little weird in its later half, then it would be a pretty enjoyable jaunt.