Damon and Baby Review — Demon Daycare

Damon and Baby appears to be a critically under-known and under-appreciated new release from Arc System Works. With a remarkably low number of ratings and no user reviews on Steam, it blows my mind just how under the radar this title has flown, and I hope this review helps it get some of the attention it deserves.

The titular characters of Damon and Baby are the demon king, Damon, and, you guessed it, his baby, who is the daughter of a priest who entrusted the child to his friend moments before death. Though he had ambitions of climbing to the top of the demon hierarchy, the now-weakened Damon makes it his duty to find a home for the child, who is inexplicably bound to him and being pursued by mysterious and ominously unhinged forces.

Mechanically speaking, Damon and Baby is a top-down shooter with some light puzzle and platforming elements. The game plays as a sort of straightforward adventure where you navigate from area to area, killing enemies and navigating the terrain as you gather coins to buy upgrades and healing items to help you along your journey.

The combat mechanics are simple: they use a shooting system and bullet-hell-style enemy attacks that require a careful, calculated approach. You do not want to dive straight into a hailstorm of bullets, but getting up close to an enemy does reward you with the ability to chain melee and ranged attacks together, which interrupt foes and allow you a brief period where you can lock onto your enemy.

Both platforming and the bullet-hell combat mechanics are defined by the connection Damon has to the baby, specifically, the curse that causes the two of them to be inseparable. Since Damon will automatically be pulled back to the baby’s location if separated, and the child is immune to demon munitions, the game uses the ability to throw her around to navigate large gaps and dangerous projectiles. Throw the child, and you will be pulled to her location after a short delay, making for creative platforming solutions.

The gameplay loop in Damon and Baby is simple, and it can be argued that it becomes repetitive fairly quickly. There is not a whole lot to vary the experience, nor are minor details like enemy variety greatly expanded on as you progress further into the game, and even with increases in difficulty and new unlocks, you may start to feel as though you have mastered what the game has to offer pretty quickly.

This is not so much of a problem, however, thanks to the story and characters of the game, which will tide you over between levels and push you to keep going even when the gameplay is not mixing things up as much as it could. Though the dialogue can feel a little awkward due to some minor translation errors, the characters of the game really shine through for their unique designs and personalities. My favorite has to be the angel insurance agent, who adds a bubbly, adorable energy to the cast without once finding it odd that she is working with a demon.

For everything the game has to offer, it shocks me that it has not received much attention. The title is a relatively small experience, sure, with straightforward mechanics that do not vary too dramatically over the course of the game, but it is still a solid experience that deserves way more attention than it appears to be getting.

If I had to point toward one seriously distracting issue with the game, I would have to say that it comes in the form of poor sound design. Damon and Baby makes use of a lot of fairly generic, overused sounds, many of which are a bit too loud, have too much reverb or echoing effects, and overlap each other in rather obnoxious ways. It is not the worst sound design I have ever heard, but it is noticeable enough to warrant being commented on. There were definitely areas in the game where I cringed at the volume or reverb on a particularly obnoxious sound effect, and I felt like this area on the whole could have been worked on a bit more.

Clunky hitboxes can also make the experience a little frustrating at times, with enemies and projectiles not seeming to latch and do damage the way you would expect just by looking at them. In a bullet-hell-style game, this is definitely a problem worth commenting on, as your entire approach to a level can be made or broken by a pixel’s width of space. The enemy AI isn’t the most intelligent either, making some encounters feel trivial to approach and master.

This can be more of an issue thanks to the game’s save system, which uses an almost Resident Evil-style save-room approach. In a game with platforming and, again, bullet-hell mechanics, being sent back to the last time you stopped to rest can be pretty frustrating, and you’re pressed never to forget to stop at the save room when you can.

Damon and Baby could offer a bit more: more variety in its gameplay loop, better sound design, and a longer overall experience. However, as it stands, it is still a solid game worth playing, with a fun enough gameplay loop and great characters there to enjoy. It shocks me that the game is not receiving more attention, and I would hope that changes in the months to come, because I can certainly see Damon and Baby having a dedicated, loyal audience.

Try Hard Guides was provided a Steam code for this PC review of Damon and Baby. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Damon and Baby is available on Steam.