Demetrios Review

Point and click adventures are always so simple and often times weave entertaining stories but none are as fun as Demetrios. This title follows the unfortunate tale of a young man named Bjorn Thonen who lives as an antiques shop owner. Having been robbed of an ancient tablet, he tries to investigate the reason behind which leads him down a path that no other typical 30-something-year-old would want to go (and he doesn’t!). Let’s tell you why Demetrios is a tale that players should enjoy and laugh at.

Doesn’t take itself seriously: Often times this tale breaks the fourth wall to make fun of the blatant and simple gameplay that accompanies point and click adventure stories. It’s obvious that the developer behind COWCAT Games has a sense of humor and wants the world to know it, making sure to weave a plot that is both interesting and yet funny at the same time. Bjorn is a character that speaks his mind – often leading him to trouble – and follows the player’s controls blindly and always has something to say about even the smallest items he encounters. It’s a refreshing plot that will keep the player giggling the whole way.

Contains mini-games: Although sometimes these are minuscule they still add extra gameplay not expected from a point and click adventure. Terribly simple but there are certain mini-games that present a challenge at perfecting like plate throwing, but otherwise easy games like worm racing. They’re amusing to play and create a change of pace in the standard point and click adventuring gamers are accustomed to. Combining items to create new ones is still a part of the typical gameplay that’s to be expected, so there’s no need to worry about this missing.

Controls incorporate all Vita buttons: COWCAT Games’ dev was pretty creative with utilizing the controls on the Vita system to not only use the touchscreen as a cursor, but also play quicker with button shortcuts to menus. If using the touchscreen isn’t your ideal playing style then the gamer can also use the joysticks of the Vita, with the right one for magnification and slow movement for precise selection and the left for moving quicker. The L and R buttons are also used to move the cursor faster. This all comes together to make a smooth process while enjoying the gameplay and story for Demetrios that’s not expected. It’s always heartening to see a developer dedicated enough to put the Vita system’s functions to good use on their simpler game.

Game overs to collect: If there was ever a game that promotes attempting to get game overs it’s this one. The game will give you options to select certain items that any person with common sense wouldn’t do and force Bjorn to try out, which would either lead to his death or incarceration. There’s a separate list in the menu that allows for the player to review all of the different types of game overs they got with a Trophy at the end if you collect them all. These are great fun since the fourth wall is broken a lot of times as Bjorn tends to remember “what happened last time [he] tried this”. It just adds to the amusement and entertainment of it all because it doesn’t take you back to the beginning of the level but rather right back to before the action, subtracting the annoying aspect of game overs.

Art is crudely drawn: If you’re looking for an artistic masterpiece then you shouldn’t look to this game. The developer isn’t the most artistic but seems to know they aren’t and doesn’t care, focusing more on the story and hilarity factor of it all rather than trying to wow the player with anything visual. In many instances it seems as if they’re purposely trying to draw badly as certain items and environments just look plain funny. There’s also barely any animation, although there’s no point for it in a point and click adventure, but the parts that contain animation look hilariously bad, too.

To sum up the entirety of this game, Demetrios is one of the stories that you just need to play. After going through all of the mainstream titles that gamers have been playing, which are mainly serious and/or shooters, it’s a fantastic change of pace that’s refreshing, hilarious, and simple enough to play but provides a brain teaser at the same time. If you’re able to get past the poor drawing and animations to not take it seriously, this point and click adventure will have you cracking up the whole way.

Demetrios was developed and published by COWCAT Games. It was released for the PlayStation Vita on December 6th, 2016. A press review copy was provided for The Hidden Levels. Many studios submit copies for site review but this is in no way factored into our review scores. Games are scored on their individual merits and our rating system is explained here.