Book of Demons

Lore & Background

The game's world is set in the Paperverse, specifically in dungeons beneath a cathedral in Town, where a new evil has awakened. The player character, a wandering hero, begins a crusade against the Ultimate Evil. The dungeons feature monsters typical of dark fantasy settings, including ghosts, spiders, goatmen, demons, skeletons, zombies, and gargoyles. Above ground, four citizens—the Sage, the Fortune-Teller, the Barmaid, and the Healer—build the story through rumors and provide services: the Sage identifies cards and writes the Bestiary; the Fortune-Teller upgrades, recharges, and fuses Rune cards; the Barmaid brews stew from dungeon ingredients for prizes; and the Healer heals the player, returns them to Town after death, and charges the Death Rage skill.

Players choose from three classes: Warrior (melee combat and defensive skills, relying on Artifact cards), Mage (ranged attacks and offensive Spell cards using mana), and Rogue (mixing melee and ranged combat, focused on Item cards). The card system replaces traditional skills, statistics, and equipment. Players build a hand from three card types: Items (limited uses, charged by the Fortune-Teller for gold), Spells (skills requiring mana), and Artifacts (passive effects that reduce mana). Each card has three variants—common, magic (one additional effect), and legendary (two additional effects, one unique)—and can be upgraded twice.

Development began with the founding of Thing Trunk by former co-founders of Codeminion and Twin Bottles. The game was intended as a light, humoristic tribute to 1990s hack and slash classics. It entered Early Access in the second half of 2016, and a free demo was released at the end of that year. By early 2018, the team consisted of seven employees. The game was released on Nintendo Switch on 30 April 2020, and in Japan on 21 May 2020.

Reader's Guide

Book of Demons is significant as the first entry in the Return 2 Games series, which seeks to make classic hardcore genres accessible to wider audiences. Its papercut art style—rendering all elements as papercuttings and pop-up book components—provides a distinctive visual identity that carries through the series. The game introduces several innovations to the hack and slash genre: a card system that replaces equipment and skills, the Flexiscope feature allowing players to control session duration, and movement restricted to a path, adding a tactical element. Critics noted the game's flexibility in progression and play styles, though some observed that removing statistics mechanics reduced opportunities for deeper immersion with characters. Reviewers acknowledged that while Book of Demons is heavily inspired by older hack and slash games, its originality—particularly the card system, movement restriction, and boss mechanics—refreshes the genre. Similarities in story to Diablo games were also noted. The game was received cautiously by critics, with many refraining from reviews until its release date.

Did You Know?

• Book of Demons was developed by Polish studio Thing Trunk, founded by former co-founders of Codeminion and Twin Bottles.
• All game elements, from the GUI to monsters, are visualized as papercuttings and pop-up book elements.
• The card system replaces traditional equipment and skills, with three card types: Items, Spells, and Artifacts.
• The Flexiscope feature lets players control the duration of a game session.