Demonschool
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| Demonschool | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Necrosoft Games |
| Publisher | Ysbryd Games |
| Designer | Brandon Sheffield |
| Platforms | |
| Release | November 19, 2025 |
| Genre | Tactical role-playing game |
| Mode | Single-player |
Demonschool is a 2025 turn-based tactical role-playing video game developed by Necrosoft Games and published by Ysbryd Games. It was released on November 19, 2025, for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S and PC. The player controls a group of demon hunting college students, led by a demon hunter named Faye, as they navigate university life on an island while combating supernatural threats and fighting to stop an impending apocalypse.
Combining turn-based tactics with narrative and social simulation elements, the game emphasizes strategic planning and a hybrid system in which player movement and actions are executed simultaneously. Upon release, the game received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its visual style and plot while noting issues with pacing and flat side content.
Demonschool is a tactical role-playing game where players control a party of demon-hunting college students that combines turn-based strategy combat with social simulation and exploration elements.[1][2] Gameplay is divided between different sections encompassing these playstyles, with combat taking up the majority of the time.[2] The game takes place in week-based blocks, with time counting down to an apocalypse that the player characters are fighting to stop.[3]
Combat takes place on grid-based maps where players control a party of characters, each with distinct abilities and roles.[2] Unlike more traditional turn-based systems, player actions are planned in advance and then executed simultaneously, allowing for the chaining and repositioning of moves before confirming a turn.[2] This system also allows players to undo moves, allowing for strategic experimentation.[2] The combat has puzzle game elements in the need to "line up" attacks correctly, with players needing to correctly line up their characters to ensure success.[1][2] The system also encourages the use of as many characters as possible to synergize their attacks and to then give them bonuses in combat.[4]
Outside of combat, players explore a university campus and its surrounding island to progress the plot, interacting with non-player characters and progressing the story.[1] The game allows players to romance certain characters in the game.[3]
Development
Creative Designer Brandon Sheffield set out to create a tactics puzzle game prototype that would be the "smallest tactics game" that he could make.[3] Sheffield thought of the name "Demonschool" while he was in a hotel room, and after doing a search and finding that the URL was available, they decided to make a tactics game aimed at the name.[5] To force them to have creative direction with a limited set of tools, they pretended that they were developing a game for an update to the Sega Saturn, which they hoped would make the game feel "true to its universe."[3]
The game was influenced by the Italian Giallo film genre, particularly in its lighting and sound design.[3] Sheffield noted that the combat was heavily influenced by Valkyria Chronicles, which has both planning phases and "active battles."[3] Sheffield also noted that Jeanne d'Arc for the PSP was an influence in how it simplified traditional tactical systems.[5]