Demeo is a one-to-four player tabletop turn-based dungeon crawler that can be played on both the PS5 and in PSVR2, the latter being significantly better. You choose your role from a possible seven classes (Guardian, Warlock, Sorcerer, Assassin, Hunter, Barbarian and Bard) and must traverse three floors, using card abilities and rolling dice to slay monsters that stand in your path on the way to the dungeon boss on the final floor.
There’s plenty of content on offer within Demeo, with a total of five campaigns that have differing locations, enemies, and bosses, each one taking anywhere between 90 minutes and three hours to complete. The boards in which Demeo’s campaigns take place are highly detailed environments branching from forestry dungeons to castle catacombs; you’ll see just how detailed the various figures and surroundings are when playing in VR. For instance, fire spews ash particles that drift upwards, poison bubbles like it’s brewing in a cauldron, and leaves float gracefully from trees — it really is a marvellous scene in PSVR2.
Multiplayer is where Demeo really shines, however, be it with a group of mates or randoms online. Working as a team, strategically taking turns to deal damage, buff, and heal each other to gain the upper hand on your foes is a fantastic feeling. Also, with Demeo being crossplay with PCVR headsets, where there is a huge, dedicated playerbase already, PSVR2 players will be able to join an experienced group without issue. From our time with the game, the community is very welcoming to new players who are eager to guide those new to Demeo, giving out tips, tricks, and strategies via the built-in game chat.
Resolution Games has also made excellent use of PSVR2’s new features. The headset’s haptic feedback is triggered for a short duration every time you take damage and for a longer duration when you are downed. The team has also made great use of the adaptive triggers in the PSVR2 Sense Controllers by adding a varying weight to each of the pieces that you’ll be picking up and moving around the board.
The controls are also excellently mapped for comfort in VR to allow for longer play sessions; with the ability to tilt and rotate the table any which way you like to find the perfect playing and viewing angle, say goodbye to that sore neck you’d normally get from leaning over a table for too long.
Whether you have a group of friends to play with or feel like conquering the campaigns alone, you’ll have a blast no matter what. Demeo is easy to pick up and difficult to master, although it should be noted that the social space Heroes Hangout is inexplicably absent from this version. Nevertheless, it has a slew of content, a fun and strategic gameplay loop, stunning visual detail, and superb virtually reality implementation that all help to create a fully immersive tabletop title like no other.
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Any questions just let me know.
Wow surprised by this review!
I will probably pick it up on sale but this does indeed look pretty interesting
Definitely getting this, but just have too much to get through in PSVR2 currently. If anyone is questioning whether there is enough software to justify the purchase, don’t, there’s an embarrassment of riches available day one.
I’ll be playing this solo, taking charge of all the strategy myself, and really look forward to it.
I understand that all the dungeons are procedurally generated too, so lots of replay value.
Would the game have the same score for the flat screen version?
I would be interested in playing this in VR myself, but maybe entice my non-VR friends into playing it with me - if its still a good game non-VR.
@Perturbator I think it would be the same or maybe drop to an 8. The flat version is just as enjoyable but less immersive and has a slightly different control scheme to the PSVR2 version.
oh wow, it's that good?
@Simon_Fitzgerald While I think it is fun to play with a group of friends (like any tabletop game), I would say that solo play easily beats playing with randos online.
@Perturbator I love Demeo; (and will often sing its praises to new VR adopters); and while I mostly agree with the 9/10 score, I would easily drop it by 2+ points on a flat screen. If you take away the sense of immersion and presence by not being in VR; you are left with a fun, but average, turn based tactics game. Its like taking your favorite IMAX movie and watching it on a 20 inch TV. Its the same thing more-or-less; but it loses some of that magic.
I finally got to try it yesterday and I'm so impressed by this. It's one of those games that seemed good but got sidelined for me initially and now that I tried it is one of the major "wow" games tat work as a tech demo as much as as game. It's visually impressive, and the gimmicks and novelty of playing really play into what makes VR a unique format. This is going to be one of my go-to VR experiences for sure!
@Simon_Fitzgerald How do you think this would play in a cramped apartment where playing seated is the only realistic option?
The game looks great, but the online only multiplayer aspect of it keeps me from purchasing the game. Where you put a niche title on a niche platform unfortunately I don't see the online sustaining.
@FuriousMachine playing seated is a very viable option and we spent the majority of our time doing so. The entire game takes place on the virtual tabletop in front of you, other than waving at fellow players, so you don’t need a large space in order for it to work.
@Jayslow The game can be played entirely offline but is limited to single player, it’s a shame there isn’t local co-op. Also the game has been out on PC since 2021 and the devs have continued supporting the game with updates therefore the community is quite large and very active so it’s great that PSVR2 has crossplay. I can’t see the community and amount of active players being a problem here at all.
@Simon_Fitzgerald Excellent, I suspected as much, but was worried it would be preferential or even required to be able to walk around the table to reposition/inspect the "board" as it were.
Thanks for clearing that up for me
@FuriousMachine I have played an entire session sitting on my bed, with no issues. You don't move, instead the world is infinitely reposition-able and scalable. You can move/rotate the table and zoom in to where the "minis" are large as life, and then rotate and zoom back out to inspect the whole table, in seconds.
@Simon_Fitzgerald Sounds good, I will try and get my friends to join me on this one. But might wait for a good sale on it first.
@thedevilsjester That makes sense!
@thedevilsjester Perfect, this goes on my to-buy list, then. Thanks for the info!
Based on this review (and the others I found on Open Critic) I bought this game yesterday, and Wow it is fantastic!
Now I don't have a PSVR2 (yet) but the fact that it includes both flat screen and PSVR2 in one package is superb.
I guess I could have waited for it to go on sale, but, I really wanted to support the developers.
IMHO great development should be rewarded even though it cost a little more.
Played on my big TV and it really felt like I was playing D&D again.
Did the tutorial and then set up one game solo (I did have 4 adventurers) and enjoyed it, but then I played in a pick up game and man, it was a blast.
The multiplayer was fast in finding a group and the guys I played with were really nice and even though I was a newbie, they helped me understand a lot about this game.
And, I understood from them that the community as a whole in Demeo is really great and worth the effort anytime you are LFG.
So, bottom line, if you have any interest in this game, I highly recommend it to you.
It's fun, engaging, and a fantastic realization of the D&D experience.
This was a great addition to my PS5 library.
And, someday when I do have a PSVR2, I have another game along with GT7 and NMS to add to that future library.
Huh..PushSquare gave a PSVR2 game a higher score then 7/10? Did i bump my head or something 😉
@FuriousMachine I found playing on an office chair or kitchen chair was fine, but playing sat on a bed was a slight problem as you often want to move your controllers below waste height. In fact playing sat is preferable as it’s less tiring on your legs.
I would also recommend if you are playing seated you turn on the advanced option that lets you tilt the table and tilt it about 30 - 45 degrees towards you. It will save on neck ache.
@Whirlmeister I found that it worked well with an office chair as well and thanks for the tip about the table tilting option! I too noticed that I ended up sitting hunched forward quite a bit! Will definitely turn that on for my next session
I picked this up and am loving the game. However, I don't always have the time to do a single-player campaign in one setting. It looks like there is a save option on the PC version after completing one level of a dungeon, but not on the PS5. Has anyone heard of that feature coming to PS5 at some point?
@Marzipan57 I’m pretty sure on the PS5/PSVR2 version it saves after each floor and then you can return to that checkpoint when you return to the game. I think the devs are looking into having a more thorough save system but they are yet to announce anything on that.
@Simon_Fitzgerald - thanks for the quick response. I'll double check on the autosave after each floor. I was looking for a save option when clicking Leave Game last night and nothing came up. I'll try beating a level and then closing the game to see if that works.
Bought this yesterday for my psvr2.
Wasn’t sure as board games aren’t really my bag but having completed the tutorial and had a couple of games (solo) it’s so good.
I look forward to spending many hours with Demeo.
Anyone not sure. Take a chance.
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