When a lab experiment goes terribly wrong, you get Demon Spore: a game about scientists desperately trying to escape a facility as a dangerous creature quickly spreads throughout. I stepped into the lab boots of said scientists to see how I fared against the creature during a demo at PAX East.
True to its roguelite nature, every run of Demon Spore is different. There is always a large grid of rooms to travel between, but the connecting pathways between them and the loot found therein is altered every time you start anew. The game offers a variety of weapons, but most runs begin with the Fire Extinguisher, which can be used to temporarily freeze creatures, allowing you to finish them off with a melee attack.
Every time you move through a room, so will the spore. You’re forced to think strategically and plan a route that’ll provide the least resistance, though there’s no avoiding confrontation with this unholy creature.
![A spore spreading through the room.](https://d1lss44hh2trtw.cloudfront.net/resize?type=webp&url=https%3A%2F%2Fshacknews-www.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fassets%2Feditorial%2F2024%2F03%2Fdemon-spore-gameplay.jpg&width=986&sign=xUMROWR7MU86kR5r90JLt0MgBAPIHm_koIACQoXIZlo)
Source: Null Games
Some of the creatures I faced off against included small brain-like monsters that leaped at me from a distance, a bubbling growth that quickly spread across the ground, and large nodes that sent out flailing tentacles to attack me. It was all quite repulsive, and I breathed a sigh of relief every time I killed a creature and the exit door lit up green.
During my runs I found a laser gun that dealt a lot of damage really quickly, and chests that could be used to resupply my ammo. One of Demon Spore’s more rare finds is a token that can be redeemed at a security terminal, allowing you to close access to a single room, cutting off a pathway for the spore.
Demon Spore also supports co-op sessions of up to four players, which should help players deal with the game’s difficulty. The game is currently set for a 2024 release date on Steam.
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Donovan Erskine posted a new article, Demon Spore feels like a horror film gone roguelite