Ever since I first heard about Demigod I have been excited, anxiously awaiting the full-versioned realization of the genre Defense of the Ancients invented, with powerful characters waging war on enemies while trying to destroy their enemy’s base and defend their own against waves and waves of minions. When I saw that the developers would be at the Penny-Arcade expo I made sure to leave several timeslots open for attack, waiting until the perfect time to jump onto a demo station and give it a few minutes of my time.

The best description of Demigod I can give for anyone who hasn’t played a game like it before is a strange, RTS-third person adventure hybrid. It has similar aspects of a shooter like Team Fortress 2, where the gameplay involves attack and defend strategy and team play, and other aspects more similar to a battlefield game like Star Wars: Battlefront, where non-player character enemies serve as barriers between yourself and your goal. Each level has several objectives to complete, like destroying an enemy’s base and taking down their towers, and the enemies and opposing team need to defend their own base while trying to destroy their foes’.  

Players battle it out as Demigods, powerful beings that come in eight varieties. Eight might seem like a small number, especially considering that one of the game’s modes supports up to ten players, but the developers assured me that their engine has built-in room for expansion, so I assume we can expect regular updates bringing more flavor to the playable characters. Each can be equipped with items purchased at a store inside of their base and assigned skills they get from leveling up in traditional RPG fashion, and the differences in the characters are great. One is massive, slow, and powerful, reminiscent of the lumbering giants of Shadow of the Colossus, while others, like the one I played as, focus on ranged combat. I tried out a sniper who used a crossbow and could set traps, and the other team had a crazy looking vampire, which can go to show you how different the characters really are.

I loved the time I had with Demigod, and despite being a little disappointed with the number of characters in the initial launch I am optimistic. The gameplay held together and will keep me interested in the game for some time to come, and I can’t say enough about finally being able to play a game like it that actually has some sustenance. The game will ship with eight different levels, which definitely sets it apart from Defense of the Ancients, and will ship next year. Gamervision will get additional hands-on play with the game in the coming months, so be sure to check back for my drooling-fanboy impressions of the game in the near future.

Related Articles:

PAX 08: Penny Arcade Q&A LIVE!

PAX 08: Hands-On Mirror's Edge

PAX 08: Ubisoft Endwar Panel LIVE!