Damon and Baby became a pleasant surprise when I visited Arc System Works while in Los Angeles for The Game Awards. While the studio is known for fighting games like Guilty Gear, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and the upcoming Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, Damon and Baby is an isometric twin-stick shooter starring the comedic pairing of a demon and his barely functional infant partner. Like chocolate and peanut butter, this unlikely partnership appears silly enough to work.
As you’d expect, Damon does all of the heavy lifting on the gameplay side. Wielding firearms like handguns, assault rifles, shotguns, and more, blasting through hordes of demonic foes is good fun. You can swap between several weapon types instantly, and each gun has several stat variations to add an element of strategic thought to your loadouts. Enemies respond by unleashing bullet hell-style projectile waves Damon can roll away from or leap over; combined with the decent environmental destructability, battles are good, chaotic fun.
I spent the bulk of my demo fighting through a multi-story mansion searching for a way to free its captured lord, who was locked away in a room. This became an unexpected but enjoyable exercise of locating keys to access different floors and rooms of the house. I even collected memos I later used to solve a combination lock barring access to a new section. I like this element of puzzle-solving, as I expected a purely action-focused experience. Although Damon can use a double-jump to leap across platforms, traversing larger gaps requires a funny solution; carelessly hurling the baby to the other side, which instantly warps Damon right to her due to their demonic bond.
The supernatural threats infesting this mansion largely took the form of possessed objects, such as furniture, so every visit to a new room devolved into a chaotic poltergeist ambush. In all the ruckus, I mainly tried to avoid shattering glass display cases housing little dolls. Breaking these containers brings the toy to life, causing it to sprout daddy long-legs-like limbs in a delightfully creepy touch. I got roughed up pretty good in all the mayhem, but cooking dishes using food and ingredients I gather while exploring heals Damon and can provide other beneficial effects.
Awaiting me at the end of this romp was a big boss fight in the form of a giant, horned, masked demon. It summoned floating flytrap-like maws I needed to climb atop to reach the necessary height to unleash hell, and shooting these platforms kept their jaws open long enough for me to do so. The battle offered solid fun and rewarded me with the key I needed to free the trapped lord.
Damon and Baby’s colorful presentation and charming humor won me over almost as quickly as the gameplay. The cel-shaded presentation’s light-hearted vibes, combined with the writing, reminded me of how the Disgaea series makes light of demonic lore.
It’s been a good while since I sank into a good twin-stick shooter, and Damon and Baby scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. Its entertaining gameplay and satisfying mayhem gel well with its humorous tone and presentation. I also played Damon and Baby on a Steam Deck, which solidified it as an enjoyable and fitting handheld experience. I wasn’t sure what to make of this unlikely pairing of demon and child, but I’m now looking forward to seeing how their full adventure unfolds sometime next year.