Demonschool is the turn-based tactical RPG inspired by giallo movies that you need if you’re a fan of Persona. The only difference is that, instead of being the model student, you’ll manage a group of misfits beating the shit out of gangsters and publishing zines.
Developed by Necrosoft Games and published by Ysbryd Games, who are quickly becoming my go-to publisher for horror games, this giallo-inspired horror story brings you into the mysterious life of Faye and her group of misfits fighting demons on a remote island university.
While the game has faced several delays, the latest was intentionally timed to avoid clashing with the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong. Thanks to that extra time, Demonschool feels thoroughly polished and delivers an experience well worth the wait.
Get ready for a tactical game that blends grid-based strategy with campus life and a story that feels like a collision between a demonic shonen manga and a punk film from the ’60s.
Hunting Demons, your favourite University subject!
The story begins with Faye – a punk who can find an excuse to start a fight anywhere – arriving on a mysterious island where she’ll spend her university years. Trouble follows her everywhere. Right from day one, she’s tangled up in demon cases and fights with (almost) everyone she meets.
But for Faye, none of this is truly shocking. She’s ready for any kind of weirdness because she’s been preparing for The End long enough. Her family’s prophecy predicts the apocalypse, which, by the way, is only weeks away. No pressure.
On top of that, you’ll have to juggle bizarre school assignments while everyone else is just writing essays about their journeys to the island. Before long, you realize you’re actually forming a team of demon hunters – but for what purpose? What is the school really hiding?
Your first mission is to retrieve a cursed VHS tape, but – and here’s a test question, so pay attention – if you fail, you’ll be sent to jail. To pull this off, you need to found a student club and get special permission to enter a restricted area of the university.
This kicks off your hunt for allies, the perfect excuse to interview everyone on campus and start meeting the cast that makes up this not-so-small universe.
While Demonschool offers a roster of 15 characters who can join your team, at the start you’ll only control Faye plus three allies: Namako, an overachiever who somehow always gets bad grades; Dustin, the muscle with an unexpectedly kind heart; and Knute, a movie-loving pacifist obsessed with lost media.
Together, they form a makeshift club of demon hunters who face not just supernatural threats but also corrupt cops, authoritarian teachers, and the school’s privileged rich kids. Demonschool is, at its heart, a punk twist on Persona – a rebellion against every kind of authority.
As the game goes on, the crew discovers that the presence of demons messes with people’s memories – evidence disappears and paranoia creeps in.
Demonschool’s storytelling mixes humor and fatalism in a way that feels completely natural, always wrapped in its vibrant aesthetic. The narrative is mysterious and clever, fun, and unfolds steadily. While it takes a while to hit its stride, once the subplots start rolling, it’s hard to stop playing.
A tactical system between strategy and puzzle
Battles play out in turns, on a grid, set in a liminal space between life and death. You’ll be trying out different skills, using terrain to your advantage, and experimenting with status effects, which keeps combat genuinely fun.
During your turn, you can undo your moves as many times as you want, right up until you finish. And remember: fail in your objective, and you’ll end up in jail – just regular school rules.
Leveling up doesn’t exist per se. Character progress is all about learning new abilities, swapping out elemental resistances, and similar build-based choices.
Every character has three skill slots, and the way you combine them leads to very different possibilities and strategies. To unlock new skills, your team needs to study, followed by a resting time, which makes collecting powers a slow process at the beginning, with few members, long cool-downs, so it can feel unsatisfying despite fitting the game’s narrative.
Every character has a distinct play style, and some skills are unique to certain teammates. The best part is that Demonschool pushes you to experiment through the story itself, which helps discover all the funky synergies between characters. There are tons of combinations, but it’s truly entertaining to try them out.
Besides beating up monsters, you’ll face optional goals during battles, like meeting the win conditions in a specific number of turns. This will force you to pace your actions, movements, and attacks.
But since you can retry actions before locking in your turn, it’s easy to mix and match moves for optimal strategy. Sometimes, you’ll want to start an entire battle over just to find the most efficient solution, which makes combat feel more like solving a puzzle than just fighting.
Generally, the side objectives aren’t too tough – boss battles are where things get a bit more complicated, tho!
At the end of every turn, all your planned actions play out simultaneously in some truly sick animations, making everything feel smooth and dynamic – even if you spent half an hour plotting your moves.
Speaking of which, the art direction deserves its own spotlight. Let’s pause here to appreciate it.
Demonschool takes its cues from the Italian giallo thrillers of the ’60s and ’70s. The influences are all over: vivid and surreal colors, eerie music that merges groovy lounge with discordant tones, stylized blood and psychedelic backgrounds, and the outrageously bizarre design of the demons.
At times, the game mixes 2D and 3D animation in ways that are visually stunning. As a whole, Demonschool is simply gorgeous.
Campus life, downtime, and punk spirit
Each day is split into morning, afternoon, and night, giving you free time to roam the city, chat with characters (sometimes with surprising results), and tackle side quests. Don’t underestimate the sheer number of side quests in this game – they’re everywhere, and every one is worthwhile!
Some expand the lore of the island and its residents, while others are comedic sketches, sometimes absurd and other times hilarious. I mean, who wouldn’t want to hear about the student who claims to have invented the perfect quantum sandwich?
Unlike in Persona, you don’t have to agonize over every minute; Demonschool lets you freely explore, with unlimited actions per time period. You decide when to move the main story forward, conveniently marked so you never get lost.
Honestly, I appreciate this approach. It lets you explore every subplot, boost every relationship, and fully savor the game without needing to replay it for completion. Demonschool is seriously long if you go for everything.
On the downside, the minigames are a bit weak. Most are simple and play out similarly, though there’s the occasional standout, like the demonic karaoke, which is genuinely fun. Still, they get repetitive after a while.
In summary, Demonschool is a real gem. It’s one of those indie games I’ve been waiting for, and it doesn’t disappoint even a bit. If you want to see everything, story, side quests, character relationships, and collectibles, be ready to invest a lot of good time!
While parts of the game might get repetitive, the gameplay and humor are consistently enjoyable, and let’s be real… Demonschool is a visual work of art that grabs your attention from the moment you see it.
