Conquer Hell in this thrilling roguelite survivors game! Battle hordes of demonic monsters, upgrade your abilities, and acquire new skills. Customize your build with hundreds of item combinations and rise through the ranks to fulfil your ultimate metal destiny.
Developed by: Rogueside
Played on: Steam
Length: ~5 hours
A review key was provided by Rogueside.
A few months ago, Belgian indie studio Rogueside released a game that is best described as Coffee Talk meets Ace Attorney. Then a few months later, they released Devil Jam which feels like Vampire Survivors meets Hades. This has nothing to do with the rest of my review, but I thought it was a funny thing to point out.
In their latest title, you play as a musician who signed a cursed contract with the Devil. After a premature death, you’re dragged to the underworld and forced to defeat Death himself for a second chance at living. Backed by a rocking soundtrack, you fight off endless waves of demonic creatures while harnessing the powers of the seven deadly sins. As far as story premises go, this was pretty damn cool.
Most of Devil Jam is your standard survivor-like roguelite affair. Its primary game mode is 20 minutes of chaos, punctuated by random power-ups each time you gain a level, two random mini boss fights, and one final showdown with Death himself. What makes it unique is its music-driven execution; not only do your attacks land on the beat, but even your power-ups are assigned into a 12-slot gear system reminiscent of guitar frets. (Rhythmically challenged players can breathe easy, because you don’t have to manually attack in this game.)
There are three kinds of power-ups in this game: Attacks which can be short- or long-ranged, Buffs which grant stat bonuses based on positioning, and Passives which don’t take up a slot on the gear system. Combine all three and you’ve got an addictive composition for those who enjoy experimenting with character builds. It gets even more fun once you throw in the seven Sins, or the seven different attack styles, that you encounter on the battlefield.
In typical roguelite fashion, the Sins you encounter in each round are completely randomised, but you’re also more likely to encounter the same Sin once you accept a power-up from them. Despite the minor differences in attack styles, each Sin is fairly well-rounded. You can build your entire character around a single Sin, or combine attacks from a few different Sins to match your playstyle; from healing-heavy builds for better survivability, to crit-stacking for greater damage.
Add onto that the option to change your starting character, and you’ve got a pretty solid time. The game starts you off with lead guitarist Falco, your high health and damage stalwart; then you eventually unlock main vocalist Amy, who specialises in ranged combat; and bassist Lydia, who comes with boosted crit chance and crit damage. Permanent stat upgrades apply to all characters, so you can swap out freely at the start of each run.
Between each run, you head back to the Devil’s HQ to check quest progress, purchase permanent upgrades and new attacks. This is where Devil Jam loses me a little. While you do receive a barebones introduction to the overarching plot, the game doesn’t do much in terms of teaching you its mechanics, explaining its store system, or even updating you on your quest progression.
Combined with sluggish game progression in the first few hours, you begin to feel like you’re hitting a wall. There was a point when I had maxed out my perma-upgrades, but still couldn’t defeat my first mini boss. The game had stopped feeding me upgrades until I hit that undisclosed progress marker, without any indication of a broader skill tree or what I could expect next, and I just had to keep persisting until something changed.
Once you get past the first boss, things start to flow a lot better. More perma-upgrades, new starter characters, and even the option to expand offerings from each Sin. That’s when Devil Jam hits its next roadbump. The game starts you out with five Sins including the Devil himself, which is more than enough firepower to defeat Death and complete your main quest. But is that where the game ends? Yes, and no.
Rather than a confusing story delivery, I would say Devil Jam suffers from a lack of story. It feels like you achieve your goal of defeating Death way too soon, then there isn’t enough narrative incentive to keep going. It’s a shame because there are two more Sins you unlock only after defeating Death, including one of the strongest Sins in the game (Pride), and one of which I haven’t even unlocked after defeating Death four times (Sloth).
As I clock out after my fifth hour on this game, Devil Jam feels like wasted potential. There’s incredible designs for characters that we have to grind for hours to meet, gorgeous hand-drawn 2D animations that aren’t bolstered by a stronger narrative, and only one or two soundtracks for a game whose main selling point is music. Even so, I enjoyed my time with the game immensely and I hope there’s more updates down the line. If Rogueside ever considers adding more content or developing another action game, sign me up.
Verdict: Barebones But Fun
In this Hades meets Vampire Survivors roguelite, you have the power of sin and music on your side. Devil Jam turns a four-count beat into a backing track for demon hunting, featuring a unique 12-slot system that is a lot of fun for those who enjoy experimenting with character builds. Parts of its narrative and pacing does feel incomplete for a full release, leaving us hoping for future content updates down the line.
