Demon Tribe Review

Do we sleep with our demons at night, or do we leave those monsters behind in peaceful slumber? There is no rest for the weary with Demon Tribe, a free to play app created by SEGA luminary Masayoshi Kikuchi. With the Panzer Dragoon series and Jet Grind Radio among his accomplishment, this iOS release comes with epic expectations.

Demon Tribe possesses a supremely accurate moniker. Do you want to build, or in this case, summon over 250 creatures to have at your beck and call? Or are you a gaming lonely heart, in need of a random clan to join to fight this worldwide demon invasion or battle other rival groups? The great news is this app ably delivers on both gaming avenues, so if you're in need of a totally immersive journey, you've come to the right place.

Move your respective fighter or engaging him in combat requires a simple tap and touch of your device. There is an occasional swipe of your screen involved during certain sections of your melees, but Demon Tribe is a seamless iOS experience on a control level. The complexity ensues in absorbing everything the game has to offer.

Whether you enter a mission as the sole warrior or leading a group, the battle gets pretty fast and furious in a hurry. Early combat challenges requires you to take out a certain enemy within a given period of time, so this app doesn't exactly reward players who love to luxuriate in their surroundings. Kill and move through enemy hordes as fast as possible, and make sure your target is a taken down before the clock hits zero. During one of my early campaigns, I transformed my fighter into a gargoyle, and though he was more ominous looking than dangerous, he effectively completed the mission.

Demon Tribe utilizes a card based system to build your monsters, as each empty card can be filled with a creature of your choice. These supreme and normally grotesque beings are summoned after you collect various gems along your battles. Cards are unlocked by leveling up, and having a variety of creepy crawlers at your disposal can only help your cause.

I'm simply addicted to building creature after creature, and along with info of their respective stats, you'll also receive information on their origins. As much as I wanted a Pabilsag to rise up and join my legion, I guess I'm not a lusty marauder. Instead, well...just check out the weak sauce, imp looking punk who's now my consiglieri.

Demon Tribe's best asset is its ability to excel as a solo or a community driven adventure. If you've cut your teeth on multi-player battle arena or player vs. player warfare, you can join a clan and grow with that respective organization. During your fights, you can recruit some of those demons and have them fight for your squad. Playing MOBA style definitely gives gamers a grander picture of the demon invasion, but that doesn't mean soloists won't have fun either.

Even though I'm part of a clan, I spend most my time noodling in solo missions and summoning monsters at whim. To satiate my inner sadist, I'll even sacrifice a few of my weaker creatures to boost a favorite demon's skills and experience level. This "sacrifice" feature is available on Demon Tribe, and although I'm definitely loving this aspect, I really have no idea how this is a game suited for little kids (4+).

Anyways, greater minds than me created this first rate app, and although getting the gist of Demon Tribe may seem intimidating, you'll have various lovely colleagues guiding your path. The picture below shows my first online battle as a clan member, and it's a showdown that ended in disaster. With an enemy named Nightmare, how the heck can this poor devil win?

With its role playing game structure, intermixed with card and MOBA elements, Demon Tribe gives us a first rate venture into this heart of darkness. Even though it has in-app purchases, it's a game that only requires an online connection, and, if you wish, oodles of your quality time. The monsters are just around the corner, but armed with the right gems, a dependable clan, and a kick ass attitude, these demons may actually save your life.

App Store Link: Demon Tribe for iPhone & iPad | By SEGA Corporation | Price: Free | Version: 2.05 | 40.9 MB | Rating 4+