Something about Hell is Other Demons caught my eye when I saw the game play trailer with its bold color scheme, bullet hell arena style. I bought it during the Steam Holiday Sale and there is much more than meets the eye with this game.

Hell is Other Demons is a 2-D adventure, bullet hell, arena game that released May 2019. It was developed by Cuddle Monster Games and published by Kongregate. It is on Steam and the Nintendo Switch for $9.99 USD.

To start off, this game has almost zero plot. You are given some text and are to infer for yourself that something is wrong in hell and someone needs to save the day. You, a somewhat of an adorable looking demon, are tasked with saving Hell through jumping and shooting demons in their faces.

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You traverse through four different worlds that encompass enemies that range from flying skulls, flying saw-blade machines to brains and other creepy shit that I do not think I can accurately describe. You jump around, frantically dashing through gun shots and enemies to find a breath to scan the level for a proper plan of attack. A lot goes on during these short levels and it does not necessarily borderline heart pounding excitement but there is a short amount of satisfaction to be had when you succeed in completing a level.

All of the levels have at least three goals to achieve to earn extra gems and unlock achievements, for instance: Complete the level without firing a shot, using your ultimate ability and surviving without taking damage.

Each section ends with a boss fight that challenges the players tenacity and quickness. Bosses are equally as quick as you are, they hit hard and have a convenient 666 health. The bosses are probably the craziest looking monsters I have seen in a game. You literally fight a goat skull that rib cage moves like fingers. Shit is wack. Later on there is some zombie-mech that breathes fire while you side-scroll platform while shooting him. most bosses utilize different play styles that make the player think outside of the usual box. I just wish that every boss was as innovative as the third boss.

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You will die but death is just a break from the fantastic display of color and airborne gymnastics you have to do to evade the demons of the underworld.

The game awards you with gems that can be redeemed at any of the four stores within each section of the campaign. You buy slots for energy that you can spend on extra jumps, a longer dash, extra health points, an ability that makes enemies explode on death, an ability that protects you longer after you have gotten hurt and a plethora of other options that widen the range of ways to play the game and still have loads of fun.

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One of the game most interesting parts is the art direction. I think it looks really nice and fits the game perfectly. I honestly cannot describe what Cuddle Monsters Games did but it looks damn good.

There are two new other modes to play aside from the campaign: Lava Climb that pits the player against rising lava and they have to climb to their hearts content to gain a spot on the leader boards and Arcade which procedurally generates infinite enemies to fight for your murdering pleasure.

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All in all, Hell is Other Demons is worth the money. The simple aim of the game of “practice makes perfect” is fun and not so punishing because it always gives you gems to spend on upgrades. Level design may be a little wonky with the only difference being platforms are in different areas and the color scheme changing color but the environmental hazards and enemies make up for it. The game is frantic and fun with not much of the artificial difficulty that plagues other games, and it looks good.

Games fun. Go buy it.