Damon and Baby Review – Strong Ideas, Uneven Execution

Damon and Baby Review

Arc System Works are a formidable force in the fighting genre. With impeccable titles such as Guilty Gear Strive and BlazBlue: Central Fiction in their catalogue, they’re considered among the very best in the business. Damon and Baby marks a shift for the studio, moving away from 1v1 combat towards an isometric twin-stick shooter. Will this new direction from the acclaimed creators prove another success, or fall short of their fighting game pedigree?

You play as Damon, a high-ranking demon approached by a dying priest willing to sell his soul so that his child receives the help he desperately needs. Before the contract can be made official, he dies, creating a curse that lowers your rank and permanently binds you to the child. Now, you must venture through the world to settle the contract and lift the curse. Told primarily through conversations, the story remains a focal point, guiding you towards objectives as the tale unfolds. Although bubbling with humour, the narrative never quite rises above surface level, delivering a story that entertains at times but struggles to leave a lasting impression.

Guns Out

Combat is at its core, as you must fight against a number of enemies at once. Here, you’ll need to dart in and out of projectiles while shooting targets to clear areas. You can switch between standard gun types to help deal with the range of situations you encounter: pepper minions with your machine gun, obliterate foes with the shotgun, or deal consistent damage with your handgun. Each has its own properties, helping you adapt to different enemy types and combat scenarios on the fly.

Adding to this, you can also deliver melee damage. Getting up close and cracking a foe in the face locks on, allowing you to unleash a barrage of bullets with ease. This encourages you to vary your attacks further, risking your health to get the advantage. While the systems work, the pacing of battles lacks the speed and ferocity that imbues many of its peers. Movement is also a little clunky, which leads to meandering fights that are missing the intensity that many have come to expect from the genre.

Adventure accompanies the action as you navigate an interconnected world. Collecting new abilities allows you to delve deeper, as you’ll be able to wall jump to higher terrain, double jump across large areas, and much more. A nice addition is the ability to use the baby to transport. Your eternal bond lets you throw the little one and instantly move to it. This is great for evading attacks and reaching far-off areas. More elements like this would have helped to build the bond between the characters; however, this just remains a nice idea that doesn’t truly develop.

More Than Meets the Eye

Small puzzle and platforming segments are embedded in the world, adding variety to the experience. While these are a welcome break from combat, their implementation is mediocre. Jumping feels a little floaty, making these sections feel imprecise at times, while the puzzles suffer from the open design. With the freedom to venture in most directions, you’ll often find yourself looping around the same area multiple times just to progress. It’s not game-breaking, but it can become frustrating.

Rooms are dotted throughout, giving you the option to upgrade your abilities, save, and heal. The environment also houses plenty of items, many of which you can cook up into a tasty snack to regenerate your health. Damon and Baby is pretty tough, so finding these safe spaces and stocking up on items is essential to keeping your progress intact. You can also fast travel between these locations; however, it costs to unlock each one. While this does add an extra layer of decision-making when it comes to spending your money, it ultimately feels like an unnecessary inconvenience that slows the pace more than it enhances the experience.

Damon and Baby is an interesting experiment from one of the greatest developers in the fighting genre. While the game’s DNA contains strong ideas, they never evolve into anything that leaves a lasting impact. Combat is fun, but lacks the speed and style of its peers, and while combining this with adventuring is novel, it struggles to deliver something that competes in either sub-genre. The result is an experience that feels competent but ultimately underwhelming. A bold shift in direction, but one that struggles to justify itself.

***PlayStation 5 code provided by the publisher for review***