My attention was recently drawn to a virtual tabletop roleplaying game called Demeo by Resolution Games. As an ardent roleplayer myself, who enjoys being both a GM and a participant, it naturally piqued my interest, but not as much as when I was told that one of the specialities of this game is its ability to closely replicate the tabletop experience with other players online.
The cynic in me soon tempered my expectations. I’ve heard such promises before and usually only a clunky and poorly defined experience awaits. Imagine then, to my surprise and delight, a game that not only subverted my expectations, but which genuinely drew me in.
Like real-life tabletop games, your first decision comes in the form of choosing one of seven archetypal classes to play; Guardian of the Realm (armour gains and knockback), Assassin of the Shadows (backstab and sneak), Hunter of the Woods (ranged attack and charm), Sorcerer of the Elements (stun enemy and area-of-effect), Singer of the Mortal Sonnets (courage and confusion), Warlock of the Ancients (pet and barrier) and the newest character, Champion of the Arena (hook melee and weakening shout). Nothing too out of the ordinary here, but a decent mix of characters to choose from.
When I was a much younger roleplayer, I used to default to the heavily armoured, front-line attack classes, like paladins and fighters, but as I’ve got older (if not necessarily wiser), I’ve come to enjoy the strategy of distanced and stealth attacks like those of ranger and rogue classes. Therefore, the assassin or hunter are my modern day go to, but there’s plenty of options for your own preferences. Interestingly, there’s no restrictions on who can play what character class, so if more than one player wishes to be the same class, that’s entirely up to you.
Upon starting, you are presented with a virtual gaming table located in an atypical gaming den. Atop the table is a three dimension dungeon, populated with the player characters, all looking like proper table-top pieces. The game is turn based and combat focused. There’s a virtual die to be rolled, and each character has two action points per turn. Each character also starts off with a handful of cards which give additional attack or defence attributes and more can be collected by plundering the dungeon that you’re adventuring in. When a character encounters an enemy and an action is played, the static character piece springs to life with a pleasing animation.
Where Demeo differs from real-life tabletop games is in the complexity and level of engagement. You won’t be able to take the same player-made character through a series of long, drawn out campaigns, levelling them up and unlocking additional abilities. No, each campaign here is of a length that could be completed within a single evening’s session, and each player character already has their abilities unlocked at the start of play, relying on skill, strategy and, of course, the luck of the die roll and the cards you receive to see you through.
Now, if this lack of overall depth gives you pause and makes you think this game might not be for you, don’t be too hasty in making that decision. What this game lacks in complexity, it makes up for in accessibility and sheer playability. In terms of replicating the sociability of real-life tabletop gaming, Demeo rises above many who have attempted such an endeavour and fallen at the very first hurdle. Also, the ability to drop into the game and start engaging with it, regardless of your experience in roleplaying, is not to be underestimated. There are far too many roleplaying games for which weighty tomes of seemingly endless rules, in tandem with constant stat checks, elicit a look of fear and confusion among the less practiced. For such players, Demeo could be considered a gateway experience, a means by which to enjoy dungeon crawling without being bogged down by all the mechanics that can sometimes suck the joy out of a game.
Even for more seasoned roleplayers like myself, the ability to just go in and get straight into the heart of the action can be a welcome relief. It’s like going to a restaurant and avoiding the full multi-course menu and opting for the lighter taster menu instead. You still get to enjoy all that’s on offer but you’re a lot less bloated as the evening wears on. What’s more, those dungeons can get busy, so if you think you’re just going to wander in and breeze through each level with the bare minimum of effort, think again. Strategizing and cooperating with other players becomes necessary for survival
As for gameplay options, you can create a private session from which you can invite three other players to join in (a session code is provided that you can pass on) or you can create an open session where random players join you. You can also join an open session, hosted by someone else, where you will join three other random players. Alternatively, if you’re not up to playing with others, or are unable to, you can use the single-player mode, where you control all the characters in the party. Like all online multiplayer games, the fun and success of a session can depend on the people you end up playing with, so if you encounter someone unpleasant or offensive, you can boot them if you’re hosting the session, or you can leave without penalty if you’ve joined someone else’s session. Believe me, as a regular online multiplayer gamer myself, some of the best times, and the worst times, come down to who you’re randomly put in a party with.
Expanding on the sociability of Demeo, you don’t have to actually be playing the game to enjoy a chill experience with your friends. There’s a hang-out space that you can all congregate in to paint little virtual character models, listen to music, and read lore books. The latter part is of particular interest to me as whatever game I end up being involved in, I’m usually the Lore Master, soaking up all the history and details of the game world. Want to know where an object originated from, ask me. Want to know how a particular species evolved over time, ask me. The hang-out space may not be a must-have feature, but the fact that it’s there shows that the creators and developers at Resolution Games really do understand gamers and the things that appeal to us.
You can even visit Resolution Games Demeo website to download and print-out monster cards and lore books to enjoy offline.
As well as being multi-platform, Demeo is importantly cross-platform, so you have a wider pool of players to engage with. This, along with additional content appearing over time, has elevated Demeo from what was already a very playable game at launch to one that will continue to bring players back again and again. I heartily recommend it.
Demeo is available on Pico, Meta, Steam and Epic Games platforms, with PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2 versions coming in 2023.
Quick Links
- Steam: Demeo
