Gal Guardians: Demon Purge

WayTooManyGamesLeo Faria

9/10

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...

PC InvasionAndrew Farrell

8.5/10

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.

Gamer EscapeTimothy "Urthdigger" Hyldahl

8/10

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.

DestructoidChris Moyse

8/10

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.

Nintendo World ReportJordan Rudek

8/10

All in all, Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is another satisfying 2D action title from Inti Creates, further cementing their status as makers of genuinely solid retro throwbacks. Some of the enemy designs are clever callbacks to Mega Man and Castlevania, but ultimately the title manages to stand on its own merits. Even though they never seem to stop dictating all the action happening on screen, Shinobu and Maya are delightful to play as and make enough banter and jokes between them to keep the narrative light. If you'd rather purge something new than the dozens of games in your backlog, Grim Guard...

Video ChumsA.J. Maciejewski

7.9/10

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.

VGChartzEvan Norris

7/10

School of hard knockbacks.Reviewer's Note: In early March 2023, developer Inti Creates changed this game's title from Grim Guardians to Gal [...]

SiliconeraJenni Lada

7/10

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.

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is Inti Creates at its safest, working in a genre it is most comfortable with. That’s not a criticism, given how talented the developer is at this stuff. If you enjoy the older Castlevania games, you’re going to love this. At the same time, as confident as this production is, it’s hard not to wish that the team at Inti Creates had pushed themselves a little further for this outing. It’s just a little too safe for broader appeal beyond its main niche.

Steam Deck HQNoah Kupetsky

7/10

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!

XboxEraGenghis "Solidus Kraken" Husameddin

7/10

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.

GameSpewRichard Seagrave

6/10

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.