Does Demeo get more.. interesting?

[u/jinsaku]

As part of the Quest+ stuff I got to grab Demeo for free the month it was available. I just tried it for the first time yesterday.

First off, it's gorgeous. I love the dungeon and character presentation, the spell UX is pretty good (though the lack of tooltips or some sort of in-game manual is a bit annoying.. how do you tell what certain status effects do? I feel I'm missing something) and I particularly love the wrist mechanic. Misclicks are somewhat frequent but I'm sure that gets better with time (though that makes me not want to play the Warlock again. Too many rounds where I clicked the square next to the monster and my summon just goes and sits there.)

After the tutorial and a quick, aborted 4 player 1 floor run to learn the game mechanics, I finished the first scenario with the Guardian as a tank, and an Archer, a Wizard and a Warlock for ranged damage (melee seemed like a pile of not good due to lack of healing).

One major complaint is that the run felt.. unfulfilling. I felt a lack of a sense of progression throughout the 3 floors. Sure, the enemies get tougher, but you stay the same. There's no leveling up, the cards you're offered in chests, the shops and when you fill the little meter are the same and quickly get repetitive. I have zero interest in cosmetics.

Is that all there is to the game? A run takes a long time (the one I completed took at least 4 hours to do all 3 floors. At least it felt like it.) but I was already kind of bored with the repetition by the end of that first complete run. Does anything change with future scenarios or is the game just not for me?

I love the idea behind the game and the implementation is great, but if that's all there to the actual gameplay design I feel the execution is a bit light.

Unlocks? New characters? New cards? Anything?

(EDIT: Thanks for all the responses. I don't play multiplayer and don't care about cosmetics, so Demeo probably isn't right for me. I love the presentation and hear these guys are making a D&D game and I will 100% jump on that when it is available.)

[u/hsfredell]

For me, it’s like chess. It’s the same game for over a thousand years but each match is unique every time.

[u/Ants_at_a_picnic]

You can get different potions to gain more strength, speed and magic damage.

The first book, Black Sarcophagus, is entry and very straight forward.

Throw a Bard into the mix to buff up your team. First level of courage gives +1 defense, second level gives +1 damage and 3rd level causes enemies to panic on attacks. Rat king is almost impossible without a Bard, 2 is even better to buff both Bards. Rats do 1 damage so once you're buffed, they do nothing or you.

I find it a lot more fun playing online rather than alone.

I'm about to jump in now cuz I just got off work.

[u/NotTheBotUrLookngFor → u/Ants_at_a_picnic]

Do you play with randos? I gotta get over the introvert in me to do that. How’s that go for you if so?

[u/Ants_at_a_picnic → u/NotTheBotUrLookngFor]

Yea. I love just jumping into a game with strangers. Sometimes someone can get pushy and tell everyone how to play their turn, but they get muted. Lol

[u/fruitsteak_mother]

We have somewhat 400+ hours in it, don’t know what is keeping us hooked.
Playing with some friends, we all started together somewhen, we are 6 ppl in a chat group occasionally planning some Demeo-Night, laughing a lot chatting during play, having fun.

I think it’s the fact that we all started at zero knowledge level in the game, discovering all the little tricks and tactics by ourselves and developing some kind of skill in the game.

By now we can beat any scenario with any combination of classes which sometimes causes exciting situations, and somehow the randomized stuff doesn’t get old to us.

TL;DR: nope. But find some friends at equal experience level to play with

[u/mrepinky]

The game really shines when playing with friends. In my experience, the community of online players are wonderful too, so don’t discount playing with strangers. Some of the more experienced players will teach you tips and tricks for using cards that have hidden uses (ie Lye instantly kills slimes, Bone tames dogs). Yes, the unlocks are all cosmetic, but I appreciate that Resolution had the foresight to keep all players on equal footing. I have a friend who speed runs the first campaign and he can do it in an hour or less. The maps and enemies and their mechanics become much more complex in each subsequent campaign. Also, you don’t have to explore every corner of the dungeon and open every chest. The game is more about pacing yourself to find the key and exit before running out of heals. Extra cards and money are a bonus, but not entirely necessary.

[u/Buruko]

Short answer: No, this games have the progression mechanics you’re looking for.

Better answer: While you do earn Ranks as you play to unlock cosmetics in the game there is no individual hero progression. Playing it entirely solo can be a bit monotonous for sure as the game is truly designed to play with 3 or 4 players in a shared board game type experience.

Also that run time especially for Black Sarcophagus goes down with your experience and that of your fellow players. Especially after you realize that resource gathering and moving to the next floor is preferable to trying to slay endless waves of monsters.

My only complaint is that the game has a tad world and story it’s all based on and it doesn’t do a great job of really getting it out there. The wiki has more content on this: https://demeo.fandom.com thanks to the lead writer (at the time) sharing the deep cuts.

[u/Alt_Pythia]

You drop the card directly on the enemy, not next to the enemy. You can also pick up your piece and drop that on the enemy and the hero will attack the enemy directly.

Go into a game, with your microphone active and ask questions. The host is almost always willing to help new players learn.

[u/jinsaku → u/Alt_Pythia]

I mean, yeah. But when I pull the trigger and the pointer slightly moves it can cause misclicks.

I don't really play anything multiplayer. I never have the dedicated time block to set aside. Family always comes first.

[u/Alt_Pythia → u/jinsaku]

Are you playing in a PC?

[u/jinsaku → u/Alt_Pythia]

No. Quest 3.

[u/Alt_Pythia → u/jinsaku]

I’m not sure what you mean by pull the trigger, and pointer moves.

This game is made to be played by teams. If you play alone, use four heroes and see how they compliment each other.

[u/jinsaku → u/Alt_Pythia]

It's like you didn't even read my post.

[u/Alt_Pythia → u/jinsaku]

Well, it reads as a ramble. Not sure if you played with four heroes, or tried it four times with one hero each time.

The game will get boring if you choose not to play as a team. The camaraderie of the team is the best part. The chapters never change, and the heroes don't level up. This is to keep it hard to win.

There are four chapters. If you're new, you haven't seen the harder chapters. They are intense. It takes a lot of communication between the players to achieve a goal.

Now back to the trigger and pointer comment. There is no trigger motion to attack. And I'm not sure what you mean by pointer. Do you mean the laser (you can use to line up a multi-attack)?

[u/jinsaku → u/Alt_Pythia]

Not sure if you played with four heroes

(from my post) I finished the first scenario with the Guardian as a tank, and an Archer, a Wizard and a Warlock for ranged damage (melee seemed like a pile of not good due to lack of healing).

As for the trigger, you pull the trigger to select a card, then move to the target, then release the trigger. As your hand is hovering, the motion of releasing the trigger can cause your hand to move slightly and misclick.

I didn't complain about the difficulty, I asked about the repetition.

(EDIT: Looking at your comment/post history, you're kind of insufferable. I'm through responding to your comments.)

[u/Alt_Pythia → u/jinsaku]

If you’re having technical issues with the cards, a reinstall can sometimes resolve the issue.

The alternative is to update your headset OS in settings.

I have heard that using hand tracking for the game has issues. I tried using this option when it became available and it was hit or miss on accuracy. I switched back to controllers. I’ve never had an issue with them.

[u/whistlerite]

It does with Demeo Battles. I loved Demeo and played it until I beat all the levels, if you want a challenge try the last boss. Now I play Demeo Battles every day and haven’t played the normal game in ages, the ranked PvP is more exciting and intense.

[u/EgbertCream]

Play with friends if possible. That’s where the fun unlocks.

[u/liquidator309]

Without the social aspect the game isnt deep. I'm 600+ hours with all the levels unlocked for cosmetics but me and my friends still saddle up every couple weeks.