Ever since I played Spelunky in my early teenage years, I’ve been searching for the same kind of roguelike approach to gameplay. Sure, Devil Daggers isn’t officially branded as a roguelike, but it fits the core principle perfectly: with each run, you learn something new, and after many hours you acquire enough game knowledge to successfully beat it. The game itself never changes - what changes is your accumulated knowledge and your improved skill.

I’m very glad that I recently hit 500 seconds. That’s where my journey with the game ends. I’m not going to spend more time playing it, but it was one hell of a ride.

I only have very minor criticisms of the game. I would prefer it if the game didn’t use RNG at all, since the spawn patterns of some enemies can differ between runs. I understand that some degree of randomness is to be expected in a roguelike-style experience, but when it comes to achieving absolute mastery, a fully deterministic system would feel fairer. This is especially noticeable with gigapedes: sometimes they spawn in a way that lets you scrape the first one without any trouble, while other times you can barely scrape anything at all.

Another thing worth mentioning is mouse sensitivity and physical strain. The game is clearly better suited to lower sensitivity settings. I didn’t play that way, because I’ve used high sensitivity my entire life and didn’t want to relearn my muscle memory. Still, I can imagine it being much more comfortable at lower sensitivities. When all you’re doing is tiny, constant, high-precision movements, your hand takes a serious beating. My hand actually hurt quite a bit while playing, and at times it genuinely felt like the early stages of carpal tunnel strain. I’ve never had a game exhaust my hand like this before. That said, this is also part of Devil Daggers’ design philosophy: the game demands extreme focus and mechanical intensity.

And once you start playing, it’s extremely hard to stop. You’re always thinking:
I was almost there. I almost had it. Just one more run. Then you die, start again, and suddenly it’s 3 AM.

So, would I recommend this game? Absolutely, if you’re up for the challenge. If you’re looking for something casual, you should probably stick to more mainstream games.

I also really like the game’s atmosphere. It has a strong ontological quality to it. Much of what I wrote in my review of QUICKERFLAK applies here as well, since Devil Daggers operates on the same core loop: TRY – DIE – REPEAT. That said, this sense of existential void diminishes the more you play. I felt it most strongly when I first started. Now, I don’t really feel anything anymore. I know the game too well to be affected by its atmosphere.

This is a work of art. So is Hyper Demon.

weirdest aim trainer ive ever used