There is a demon summoning mechanic in the game. Of course, since you play as the demon, you won't be the one doing the summoning. Instead, you'll be the one getting summoned:



Throughout the game, you'll come across several summoning circles with varying requirements (level, forms or weapons equipped, etc.). If you meet those requirements, you'll be able to answer the call of whichever foolish human has decided to risk his soul in exchange for your services.

(Summoned demons are akin to psychic projections, so even if they can interact in a limited capacity with the living world, they remain trapped in Hell)

Every now and then you'll get some glimpses of color!





Answering AIDrumkit's question in a previous blog post, the game uses both tilesets and parallax maps. This particular map (of which this screenshot shows but a small part) combines both, and it's probably the most ambitious thing I've ever attempted in a game, graphics wise.

I imported a WIP parallax into the game to check whether the player could see all the cool parts of the finished map without wandering off the beaten path or glitching beyond the game's boundaries.

The answer, predictably, was "NO". Gotta retouch some stuff.





Also get those scrolls away from the water.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Repairing a broken form has the obvious benefit of being able to equip it again, but a few select forms will also grant you what is called a "Repair Bonus", a buff which usually takes effect at the start of the next battle.

Hey, look! It's those guys to the left of the gamepage! Boy, are they screwed!

While you climb your way out of Hell, evil is also afoot in the world of the living. A cabal of dark magicians known as the Order of the Sunken Star is on the verge of completing a horrifying ritual they have been preparing for centuries. In opossition to them stands the Hoshigami clan, a family of exorcists and demon hunters dedicated to fight supernatural threats. The mystic mirror Yata no Kagami has shown them a glimpse of a terrible future, an approaching calamity that could destroy the world as we know it; and they have reason to believe it is somehow connected to the Sunken Star's plans.

Three young exorcists will find themselves embroiled in this conflict between light and darkness...



Mamoru is the heir to the Hoshigami clan, and the chosen wielder of the holy sword, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, which according to the mirror's prophecy is the only weapon capable of vanquishing the encroaching evil. His tireless optimism and peerless bravery make him a beacon of light in these dark times.



Direct descendant of Abe no Seimei, Hideto is a genius exorcist, and a master of the Seimei school of onmyoudou. In combat he wields the legendary enchanted spear "Ogre Slayer". He initially refuses to acknowledge Mamoru as the prophesied hero, but eventually comes to respect him as a worthy leader.



Mamoru's childhood friend and fellow exorcist. Kotori's family have been retainers of the Hoshigami clan for generations. She has strong feelings towards Mamoru, but she can't bring herself to tell him...