Demon’s Mirror Review
Demon’s Mirror creatively blends match-3 mechanics into a roguelike deckbuilder.
Demon’s Mirror. Credit: Be-Rad Ent. / Good Sheperd
I find deckbuilder roguelikes to be a mixed bag. I never got into the seemingly universally beloved Slay the Spire. Because of my ambivalence, I’m picky about what games in the genre I decide to spend time with. Be-Rad Entertainment and Good Sheperd’s Demon’s Mirror caught my eye because of its “grid manipulation” mechanics—a match-3 board is part of the battle system.
The game’s story is straightforward. The village elders warn about a strange mirror in the forest. Inevitably, you’re compelled to search for it. When you find it, you’re drawn into it by a dark version of yourself, and you must make your way through the new, foreign world on the other side.
Demon’s Mirror. Credit: Be-Rad Ent. / Good Sheperd
Each level is a hex tile map, where at every step, you must choose between up to two possible encounters; these include battles, shops, or NPC events, and ultimately lead to a boss battle at the end. NPC events can reward you with new cards, single-use scrolls, buff, debuffs, and more.
Combat is where Demon’s Mirror gets interesting. You have action points that you must divide between playing cards of varying cost and connecting tiles on a match-3 board. Tile matches attack enemies, shield you, power up specials, or give you energy that diminishes each turn. Enemies will also place attack tiles on the board that you damage and eliminate by making matches that include them; if you don’t get rid of them by the time their turn counter runs down, they damage you.
Demon’s Mirror. Credit: Be-Rad Ent. / Good Sheperd
Cards can directly affect you or your enemies or help you manipulate the board. The end of each turn forces you to discard your hand and draw new cards, a design choice that is frustrating because it makes it more difficult to strategize. Still, it forces you to be more careful about what you keep in your deck so you get good draws after each discard.
There are three playable characters, each with a unique set of cards and perks to create varied play styles. You begin with the wolf warrior, then unlock the dragon mage and an axolotl tinkerer. Having unique cards for each hero adds a lot of replayability to the game.
Demon’s Mirror. Credit: Be-Rad Ent. / Good Sheperd
Demon’s Mirror has an attractive, hand-drawn art style. The character and monster designs are distinct and imaginative; some are exceptionally cool and memorable. While the style works very well for the most part, I don’t find the matching board visually appealing, an issue because it occupies half the screen. I wish the board had a little more depth and popped.
While the game features a match-3 board, I wouldn’t classify Demon’s Mirror as a puzzle game if I were to describe its genres. It uses the board differently than the more purely puzzle RPG Puzzle Quest, which relies totally on manipulating the board to take all actions, so I wouldn’t recommend Demon’s Mirror to those looking for a similar game. This one is squarely for roguelike deckbuilder fans.
Demon’s Mirror is available now on Steam for PC.
Overall Score: 6/10
Played on: Steam Deck
