Demon Turf

Demon Turf looks fantastic and its platforming mechanics are brilliantly satisfying, but it's let down by boring combat and occasionally confusing level design. It's still worth a look, but it's not the best.

It harks back to 3D platformers of yore, but Demon Turf is so much more than a Banjo Kazooie-like. With its inventive platforming, packed to do list and great sense of humour, the latest game from the creators of Slime-San is devilishly good fun.

It’s not a soulless game or one without a spark — there’s definitely a lot of love in the final product. It just seriously needed a few more sets of eyes on it to draw out its flaws. A lot of the things that vexed me most severely could be fixed with a few more passes of the floor buffer. Yet here we are, and Demon Turf doesn’t strike me as territory worth conquering.

While the platforming is largely very good, the game does have its drawbacks. The camera doesn't always give you the best view, and fights can be frustrating with imprecise projectiles and a lack of combative options. The boss battles in particular can be irksome things. Even with its flaws, however, this is a game offering lots of personality and refreshing, clean platforming fun.

Demon Turf is a fantastic platformer that's held back from true greatness by sections of dull and repetitive combat. Push through this, however, and you've got a game that rewards daring and bravery, bolstered by wonderful platforming controls that let you string together incredible combos. The visuals are initially a bit jarring, but the character design really shines through and give it a timeless aesthetic. If you're a fan of 3D platformers from the 'golden' N64 era and beyond, this one is well worth a look.

Despite these flaws, Demon Turf is still an incredible platformer - one of the best in years. It's easy to learn but hard to master and is filled with content ranging from easy challenges to devilishly challenging gauntlets. With such a fine-tuned platforming experience, it's easy to overlook the boring combat and performance hiccups. While the latter will most likely be ironed out, the combat is here to stay, but if you can get past that hurdle, Demon Turf is a joyous throwback to the platformers of old.

Despite its missed opportunities and ideas that don't gel with the core gameplay, developer Fabraz's foray into three-dimensional platforming remains a fun-if-flawed hearkening to the genre's glory days.

Demon Turf scratches the collectathon itch, but very mildly. Apart from its somewhat unique, quirky art style and setting, this is mostly a mediocre-to-good 3D platformer, with nothing really special about it, and plenty of small (and thankfully not game-breaking) flaws that decrease the fun factor quite a bit. Try it out only if really, really thirsty for a game of its kind.

Jumping with cute young demon offers solid amusement.

Despite plenty of room for improvements, Demon Turf is a must-play for fans of 3D platformers.