Demeo is an engaging co-op tabletop RPG/turn-based strategy game that utilizes the immersive power of VR. The action is simple enough for anyone to pick up and play with no previous board or video game experience required, yet offers a good challenge for veterans of either genre. While Demeo doesn’t really make full use of virtual reality’s unique capabilities, it is still a great way to get back into playing tabletop games with friends in the comfort of your living room when you can’t always make it out IRL without putting your furniture in storage.
Demeo is a tabletop action RPG that puts you with up to three other players in a co-op battle against pint-sized foes of all makes and models. The basement setting and Monster Manual-esque modules suggest a very in-depth D&D style gameplay experience, but it’s more akin to a more casual turn-based strategy game set in randomized dungeons. It offers a good opportunity to get back into playing board games with friends in a time when it’s not always the smartest idea to do so IRL, but I question whether Demeo has gone far enough to really utilize the full gamut of VR’s immersive possibilities.
For its part, Demeo does a lot right. The puzzles and graphics are simple enough to complete the task at hand without feeling too outdated for a cross-platform VR game, and it makes good use of motion controls. At points in the module I found myself leaning forward to lean around cover or dodging enemy blows by turning my head and moving my body as well as shaking the controllers to avoid traps. It’s all very intuitive and simple, but it manages to be immersive enough that I can see myself getting into character as a demi-god with the right crowd at the table.
The main issue is that Demeo isn’t really all that interesting or different from its physical tabletop counterpart. You don’t get to see the equipment your character is using, making you choose between what’s best suited for your build and what looks cool, so all strategy comes down to stat allocation and where you put points in each of six masteries.
But that means that if you’re not here for the immersive scenery, there’s very little to really keep you coming back other than continually trying to beat your own high score by navigating through the dungeons faster. It actually feels like the game would be better off as a standard multiplayer tabletop game because it lacks any sort of story or even recurring characters besides the same generic class-dressed heroes each time.
Demeo is an engaging co-op tabletop RPG/turn-based strategy game that utilizes the immersive power of VR. The action is simple enough for anyone to pick up and play with no previous board or video game experience required, yet offers a good challenge for veterans of either genre. While Demeo doesn’t really make full use of virtual reality’s unique capabilities, it is still a great way to get back into playing tabletop games with friends in the comfort of your living room when you can’t make it out IRL without putting your furniture in storage.
I had more fun than I was expecting, but it’s hard to recommend something that feels inessential in its own skin.