Demonschool's movement-based demon battles are shaping up to be the most interesting turn-based combats of 2024

pcgamer.com:

I've had a careful eye on Demonschool ever since it was first announced at the PC Gaming Show in 2022. Combining a style inspired by the Persona games with unique turn-based tactics and truly striking 2D-meets-3D visuals, it's a project with fantastic potential. How appropriate that we'd get to find out more with another reveal at this year's PC Gaming Show! 

The new trailer we showed off offers a welcome dive into how the game's battles actually work. Your team of misfit university students stands ready to fight off a demon invasion, but they can't actually attack directly. Instead, you use movement to your advantage. 

Each character can only move in a straight line forward, or sidestep—«like if you combined a king and a knight in chess,» say the devs. Your damage-dealers can hurt demons by touching them, so they just have to charge into them. Support characters are a little less direct, however—one of them instead stuns and swaps places with any enemy they touch, and can pull enemies towards her. 

The result is reminiscent of Into the Breach, rewarding clever combinations of moves that set enemies up for devastating final blows. And like Into the Breach, you're never lacking in information. You set up all these moves in the planning phase, where you're free to undo them any time you like while you experiment with different possible approaches. 

Once you're happy you've found the most devastating possible assault on the forces of Hell, you can lock them in and head into the action phase, where you get to see all your hard thinking rewarded as your commands play out with flashy and attractive animation. It's the kind of structure designed to make you feel like an absolute tactical genius, no matter how long you agonised