Devilated (PC)

Devilated aims to drag you into the hell that is “boomer shooter” while incorporating looter shooter mechanics, does it land or miss the mark and end up in hell?.

So I’m going to start this review with a quote from the publisher as I don’t think anything has ever been put so eloquently before “Devilated is the bastard child of a Boomer Shooter and a Classic RPG after snorting a line of pure, uncut super violence.” Such an accurate description of the trip this title has taken me on. 

Devilated has you taking a giant fall into what I would assume is hell, kicking your way through some would and then greeted with the title screen before you’re handed two revolvers and told to go kill EVERYTHING.

What follows is an all out balls to the walls demon hunting, booming shooting, tough as old boots experience where every level sees you finding coloured keys, killing everything and facing off against a boss, one of the main things here is all 30 levels has a boss rather than just having a few scattered around. 

The enemies range from demons to books with teeth, skeletons and all the stereotypical badness you can imagine, it’s a grotesque, macabre setting and the foes you face off against represent this, don’t worry you’ll be seeing a lot of them up close. 

One of the first mechanics you need to get to grips with in Devilated is the fact you need to use enemy corpses, use them as shields then turn them to pulp for health and ammo replenishment, learning which enemies heal and which stock up is one of the first things you should do to survive this adventure. 

Being that Devilated also has some of that looter shooter DNA you’ll find weapons strewn around the levels, hidden in treasure chests and also in lovely secret areas which allude to something a little more than it first seems, you’ll be juggling these in your inventory and buying/selling at the trader who appears in a small hub section at the start of every stage, it’s also available via a portal at select parts of the stage. 

You can dual wield weapons and so long as they belong to the same “type” it’s applicable, you can dual SMGs or even Rocket Launchers so it’s down to your discretion how you choose to deal death and there are plenty of choices to do so.

Each time you complete a level you’re given an ability point which you can choose to spend as you wish, further that inventory so you can carry more or improve your health pool so you survive longer. 

Another feature Devilated gives you is bullet time and near infinite amounts of it, you click your right mouse button and go into a slo-mo movement phase where you can make every bullet count and help rack up your combo score as represented in Devil May Cry style metre. 

Devilated also does away with another boomer convention in its removal of the quick save, instead you have designated save statues which does take a few levels to get used to but they have been placed in ideal areas such as places you’ll return to or just before the boss rooms. 

Should you conquer the 30 levels of pain Devilated has for you, New Game + awaits aka Slaughter II which ups everything from enemy count to damage and above.

The music in Devilated is that special kind of metal that just pushes you through the task of mass Demon genocide, my only issue with it is that some of the levels are a little on the longer side and as such the music loops a little too much, almost to the point of exhaustion. 

Now I love boomer shooters, I’m warm on looter shooters but I LOVE Devilated though I do feel the difficulty spikes far too quickly and the game really could do with any kind of tutorial just to explain the nuances a bit, I feel with the latter comment the former complaint wouldn’t be quite as prominent.

Devilated is an utter surprise in that it wasn’t on my radar, it released and it’s all kinds of hectic, bloodsoaked and genuine fun, if labyrinthine levels, hundreds of enemies and plenty of game over screens are your bag it may just be time to sign a pact.