Demons of Asteborg

I was excited when Demons of Asteborg was announced back in 2019, but I missed its Kickstarter. I did manage to finally get a copy afterward, and man, am I sorry that I wasn’t able to back it from the beginning. Demons of Asteborg is one of those games that shows how far the Genesis homebrew community has come, from simple games like Hangman to titles that could have convincingly been released during the Genesis’ heyday. Neofid has delivered a standout retro gaming gem and a tailor-made product for our beloved (and still kicking) 16-bit console. Taking inspiration from classic titles like Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and the original Castlevania, Demons of Asteborg is a wonderful blend of nostalgic charm with solid gameplay and some excellent presentation.

As the story goes, long ago in the Kingdom of Asteborg there was a war with demons that ended with the heroic marriage of Sagramor, an accomplished mercenary, and Maria, a powerful witch. They defeated the legion of demons, holding them captive at the cost of Sagramor’s life, thereby earning him the reputation of “Legend of Asteborg.” Years later, Zadimus, a former demon commander and war survivor, tries to reopen the Parallel Dimension portal to cause destruction throughout the kingdom. As Gareth, a royal protector, you will embark on the perilous journey to search the kingdom, fighting frightening monsters and uncovering the tale of the faraway war. 

You’ll do that by exploring eight different levels, and right away, you’ll notice just how polished a game Demons of Asteborg is. For the most part, it follows the old side-scrolling action platformer formula, but it mixes things up by introducing a new magical ability for Gareth in each level. These spells add creativity to solving the problems needed to complete each level, so each playthrough is slightly different. Whether you’re launching fireballs or slowing down time, it feels really good to get a handle on each spell, and the RPG elements, though light, give Demons of Asteborg a bit more depth than the average side-scrolling action title. The inclusion of an in-game store helps with this development, rewarding exploration and providing major upgrades, and resetting abilities at the start of each level prevent characters from becoming too powerful too quickly. It compels players to explore and make full use of each skill.

This attention to detail is also brought over to the presentation. From the smooth responsiveness of Gareth’s movement to the gorgeous environments and enemy art, the game creates a great retro aesthetic (I especially like the superb parallax scrolling). It manages to consistently deliver that quality level even though there are occasional performance hitches like frame drops and freezes. On top of that, the Roland Sepherulo and Jacob Altmann soundtrack brings some terrific FM synth that sounds exactly like what one would expect from the old Genesis sound. I would love to have a copy of it on vinyl. We’ve come a long way from the early homebrew titles, and Demons of Asteborg looks and sounds like the kind of game you would have taken home from Toys ‘R Us back in the day.

What fascinates me is that Demons of Asteborg creates that identity without relying on nostalgia or merely copying older releases. Despite its homage-heavy approach to games like Metroid, it manages to make itself heard with its own voice. Also, the game has a good balance of difficulty and accessibility, and it manages to avoid an artificial difficulty level. It may seem daunting at first, but it’s balanced well enough to accommodate gamers of every skill type, and I think that being able to choose difficulty levels, together with strategically-located checkpoints, makes Demons of Asteborg manageable. It’s one of those games that will punish you but also show you why, leaving you determined to do better next time and progress a bit further. Some might not like resetting spells at the start of the next stage, but I think it helps maintain a steady challenge and discourages grinding early on to become too powerful at the start.

Having said all of that, I do have a few trivial grievances. For one, the save option can be frustrating, as it doesn’t resume progress from your point of exit. Instead, you’re forced to redo entire levels if they exit the game in progress. This detail is especially maddening during boss encounters, where the entire level must be redone. Speaking of bosses, I also wasn’t a fan of their unskippable banter each time you fight them. I should be able to cancel that! Despite these issues, the encounters themselves are enjoyable enough overall to keep the overall experience from becoming too monotonous.

To me, Demons of Asteborg is a testament to the timelessness of classic gaming, though it comes up just a tad short of that high bar (Neofid would apply the lessons learned to the prequel/sequel, Astebros). While its plot is by no means groundbreaking, the game makes up for it in spades with a rich cast of characters, fun gameplay, stunning presentation, and referential flair. Small performance stutters can’t overwhelm the rich world-building, high playability, and terrific visuals. Demons of Asteborg is a must-play for fans and modern gamers alike.