RPGM - Completed - Demons Roots [v1.02] [Quick nail Aristocrat]

This game really did not resonate with me. The combat is painfully boring, the prologue takes hours, and I didn't find the story to even be that exciting. Poor integration of sexual elements. Simply reading an interesting book would be preferable to going through and playing this game

This isn't a game you play for the porn. this is a game first and foremost, an utterly emotional journey, you should expect to be angry, sad and i'd expect tears cuz there were plenty of moments that did it for me. the story is engaging and you want to do anything you can not to lose, Polca is deeply engraved in my heart after playing this, a heart I had closed off to other people, Possibly one of the reasons she resonated so much with me. If you want to see Polca's journey on your own i highly recommend playing the game and enjoying every aspect of it

A brilliant story that just drags you in and truley makes you love or hate the characters that the game presents to you. A game that would still be great without the nsfw content. I didnt felt something lacking in this game at all, the characters felt realistic, the game design was something known, but still refreshing, the music was great and the humor fun! Took me aroung 40 hours to finish.

As a H game, it's ok. Scenes are usually 1 picture with a few variations.

HOWEVER

If you are into jrpg stories, I implore you to give this game a shot. The story of this game is just a treat to follow. The characters and worldbuilding are fantastic, plus it has one of the best pacing for a jrpg ever.

Being made in RPGMaker gives it kind of a rough edge, but it's well worth looking past it for the true diamond that is the writing contained here.

Give this game a shot, I think it'll be remembered as one of the H game classics going forward.

8.5/10

One of the best traditional-style jrpg's ever, it delivers in spades as a game-game but leaves something to be desired as an H-game. I've spent almost 40 hours in this world, so I'm going to take my time with this review, if you don't mind.

Gameplay - 8/10
In my opinion, the gameplay is about as good as traditional-style jrpg combat can possibly get. It doesn't do anything unique - if you've played any rpgmaker game or jrpg then you already know - but what stands out is the balancing. Most h-games have TERRIBLE balance. Tedious fights, bizarre difficulty spikes, zero testing, etc. This game always keeps the difficulty just hard enough to be engaging without frustrating, and you are never obligated to grind (the one exception being the end game). Aside from that, gear is super rewarding and you are very well rewarded for exploring and seeking treasure.

That being said, it is still traditional rpgmaker combat, which is limited in how good it can be even if executed perfectly, in my opinion, which arguably this game does achieve.

H-Quality - 7/10
Art is excellent, and there's significant scene variety. No voice acting or animation, if that's what you like, but the quality is good overall. But I have a bone to pick. There are seven characters, for each one you ultimately get 1 Bad End scene for that character, and 3 consensual scenes (mostly generic stuff like footjobs and blowjobs, etc). So if you count up the nonconsensual/slavery/no-no types of scenes, they only account for maybe 30% of all the scenes. There's nothing wrong with that in itself, but the whole game's CENTRAL MOTIF is slavery and bad ends. Everything about the world and plot is heavily centered around sexual slavery and similar dark themes, and yet the majority of the H-scenes are toothless consensual scenes. See the issue? There's a disconnect there. It's like if you played a game which had a lovey dovey romance story about people reading poetry and falling and love, and then three-quarters of the H-scenes are hardcore rape. Moving on...

H-Integration (How well gameplay and H-content mix) - 5/10
The game tries a number of unique ideas in terms of how it dissimates its H-content, but unfortunately they just don't work well. So pretty much all of the H-scenes in the game are localized into two areas - a prostitute theme park (yes really) called Doremi Fuckington (ruled by the fucKing. Yes really), and a Bad End dungeon. The theme park contains all of the consensual scenes (with a few dubcon ones) and the dungeon contains all the Game Over Bad End scenes. Okay, the theme park has a pretty interesting premise - you spend coins you collect on your adventure to see a prostitution scene of a character in your party, with different variants of that scene having certain rarities. It's a fun idea but doesn't actually add anything of value (if you're like me you'll end up skipping through the variants anyway). But really the main issue with the theme park is that... all the H-scenes are there. Makes the H-content feel very disconnected from the rest of the game. Because it is.

As for the Bad End dungeon - you can choose to get sent there whenever you lose any fight (the fact you can choose should tell you there's already a problem here). Then you have to go through this annoying and extremely pointless little mini-dungeon, where if you lose you get to see the Bad End scene for the character of your choice. It's fun the first time, but after that you realize it's just a gimmicky way of giving you one new scene whenever you unlock a new character for your party. Again, it feels very disconnected, because you just reload anyway, and also because the Bad End scenes don't have anything to do with the specific way you lost. Traditional Rape-On-Defeat style games get a lot of flak, but at least they make the defeat feel related to what happened in the game. Also, there's just not that many of these scenes. If you're like me, you'll get very bored with the Bad End dungeon very quickly, which is a huge shame because, again, the WHOLE GAME IS ABOUT SLAVERY.

Oh, one more negative - after you unlock the final character, there's very little left in terms of H-content, even though there are still 2 chapters to get through (including the hardest parts of the game with the most annoying fights).

Story/Writing/Characters - 10/10
Laying aside the story's addiction to deus ex machina, and perhaps a plot hole or two, this is one of the best stories I've experienced in any game, and certainly the best of any H-game. It starts out fairly unremarkable, but gets better and better and picks up steam as it goes. Chapter 3, in particular, is probably the most deftly executed story sequence I've ever had the pleasure to experience in a game. I think this game deserves a lot of credit for building a compelling narrative, which, in tandem with the highly competent gameplay, had me coming back to the game with eagerness to play more, even after the H-content became stale. The characters, while not particularly deep, are quite endearing, to the point where by the end of the game, you're more likely to feel wholesome feelings towards them moreso than sexual. Which, uh, is good and bad I guess (this is an h-game after all). I even developed a crush on the grim-reaper demon for some reason. Grim reaper husbando when?? Anyway...

In conclusion... great game that will certainly make a lot of people's top lists because the actual GAME part is awesome. Unfortunately, the h-part doesn't live up to the incredible promise of the rest of the package.

I think I can safely say I've found my new favorite hentai game.

Demons Roots was a game I downloaded thinking, oh, this'll be a nice couple of hours, needless to say 40+ hours later and going through every single emotion known to mankind, I completed what is not only the best hentai game that I've played, but one of the best games in general.

The story and characters are engaging, music is absolutely phenomenal, and the gamelay quite solid.

If you haven't yet played Demons Roots (and its prequel, King Exit) then you are doing yourself a great disservice.

And if after playing it and enjoying it, please considering supporting the Devs so that we can get more great games from them.

Very deep and emotional story. Good gameplay as for an RPG.

However, most h-scenes are gated behind losses. Scenes are not voiced. They don't even have sound effects. Art is generic. Honestly, when I play an h-game, I want something to jerk off to, but this is really just unfappable. The idea of game-over-rape is that it rewards the player for intentionally losing, but with a deep story like this, I don't want to waste time losing, I want to consistently progress the story.

I don't consider this an h-game. This is just a normal RPG with age-restriction at best.

Why did a hentai game just make me cry?
This is a long game - I played on easy mode and it still took me >40h to complete my first run. It's worth it tho, believe me

Story; 10/10
Play it and don't skip too much. I don't want to spoil but just be aware that this isn't one of the "play the bad guys" games.

Gameplay: 8.5/10
It's still RPG Maker so it has the usual input system problems and weird enemy pathing but it does some important things right:
- Turn based combat
- very deep equipment, skill and magic system
Overall very fun. Even though I played easy mode I still tried to minmax a lot.

R18Art: 8/10
The art is very hot but if you don't die you won't see too much of it because it's bad end to a large degree. However once you complete the game you unlock everything. This is not voiced or even sound effected but the art is still quite good.

Best RPGM game in years, with the best use of the base RPGM combat mechanics probably ever. The protagonist is actually complex, attractive, and not annoying. The game has a plot and it is actually great! It is not even grindy and the devs are not afraid to start trying stuff that usually works. The art is Amazing and only leaves you wanting more. It is definitely not going to scratch some itches of you motherfuckers who just want to nut but it is definitely worth a play and i recommend you try it and purchase it later if you like it, as i have.

10/10

Demon Roots is an interestingly quirky game that manages both to please and disappoint expectations.

For the pleasant part: it has good production value, the graphics are well made, the system works without flaw and the gameplay is decent. The plot premise is a cut above average but nothing special if you have consumed media for a while, but I can understand how new people might enjoy it more than I did. The meaty substance is the cast, all very distinct girls with intersting personalities.

Now to the bad and the ugly: Despite having an interesting premise, DRs plot is buried deep into a series of long drawn dungeons. The main game objective and what you're going to spend most of your 35-45~ hours is moving from region to region so demonkind can conquer the world map. This makes the game extremely formulaic, you fly to a region, there's a bit of text then you are throw into combat. Too many combats.

The bad part is specially bad considering the site you're reading this on and the sort of expectations you probably have: It's an abysmal choice to get off to. You can spend ~3 hours to the next erotic scene which starts and end very fast with 0 buildup, zero.

The H part is literally a side minigame inserted into an immersion breaking chunk: a region called DoReMi Fuckdom (o_Ô) which works like a sex themed park where you can whore your characters in a completely tangential fashion to the rest of the game. There's some content here that is only considerable taking into account the cast size and the length of the game, but in perspective it's very very limited and a mostly rehashed amount of scenes. Then there's like 5% of small content spready every 4 hours or so.

The other half is a "bad end" minigame which you get throw into more dungeons to see the more abuse centered content, but which ultimely is a tangential dead end since you're removed from the main plot line and eventually have to retry/reload back.

There's very little exploration, every region has a town or equivalent that have negligible content except a shop or two and item hunting, everything is barren beyond the battle sequences and combat chatter. The game simply fails to provide any and all expected tropes while giving barely anything else in return

~

So, despite having an above average story - which may not be a really big deal considering the weak competition in the genre - demon roots doesn't impress me as much as other works available out there - and completely fails to satisfy me erotically.

IF you are looking for tilitation this game ISN'T for you
IF you are looking for a great story there are better ones out there
IF you are looking for a quirky, above average story with just a dash of H, you can have a good time.

This is the second time i just turn off / ignore the Hentai content of a game. First one was Monster Girl Quest, so i am not going to talk about it.

What make this game so good, is the story and characters, they are so well writed that you are going to cry, laugh and love them, something that is really hard for a game to archive.

The game is super long, took me more that 30 hours to complete without the post game

I dont want to spoil any fun, if you played and like games like SHRIFT or MGQ, be sure to play this Demon Roots.

super very good story many plot twist and very good ending that can make me cry
but bad and dead end r-18 screan is damm scary for real

also I have to play for 21 hour to end this game

even I play in cinematic mode I have to play 21 hour if I play in normal mode ahh I dont want to think

Demon roots covers all of its bases as a standard RPGM game. Combat mechanics are wack (just always keep Ange, and you win). Don't lose cause Lolis are illegal, and the story is wack.

Besides for the part where losing is illegal, the narrative also keeps you from wanting to lose at any point.

8 out of 10.
Completed ver. 1.02, 40 hrs playtime.

If you are here to nut, prepare the time. Hentai parts are definitely 9/10, it is rare to see a real good 'art'. Demons roots is story rich or you could say TOO much of it. So if you're the type to get bored, definitely skip this game. Find some art or save file somewhere by yourself.

That's it, now to more in depth;
-Beginning story line, flashbacks, journeys, emotions, and the adventures, are all great.
-Ending, I dislike it. no spoils.
-H part is worth the effort, as long as you like the story.
-Lots of amazing characters.
-I apparently saw this game on steam, and does it worth the money? For me, no.

I would definitely type more and better, but I am tired. Cried 2 times, then slept like a log for 14 hrs. What the fuck am I doing in this life?

Amazing game with 40-50 hours of story rich gameplay. Characters are interesting, funny, and memorable. The story is very unique for a JRPG game, and there are a lot of twists and turns throughout the game. This is one of the very few games I'd give 10/10.

The good:

• The story is very enthralling, with several touching moments and various unexpected (and some expected) twists.
• The game has many memorable characters, with the amazing protagonist Deathpolca being a particular highlight.
• While most of the music is standard RPG Maker fare, the original battle BGM is a joy to listen to.
• The art is, in a word, nice. Not necessarily the best I've seen in a game or a visual novel, but still nice.
• Finding your way through the puzzle-like Bad End dungeon is a nice change of pace.
• Hidden items and achievements reward exploration.

The neutral:

• The combat is fairly well balanced by RPG Maker standards, but that is admittedly not a high bar to clear.
• There are a respectable number of H-scenes, but their contents are a bit... meh. I enjoyed the dark and brutal Bad End scenes, but they are definitely not for everyone, and it is unfortunate that there are no boss-specific defeat scenes. On the other hand, the wacky and light-hearted prostitution scenes don't really fit the game's overall tone.
• The "extra" character's storyline is interesting in its own right, but it is a bit too detached from the main story for my liking.
• While I don't dislike the game's ending, I wish it was fleshed out a bit more.

In conclusion, Demons Roots might not wow anyone with its gameplay or H-content (although those aspects aren't bad either), but storywise, it is definitely one of the best H-games I have ever played. For that reason, I cannot recommend this game enough.

I really wanted to give this one a perfect score but i can't ignore how bad the H-Content is, there is barely a single H-scene in the main story and the H-art barely has any changes as the dialogue progresses it is one of thoses games where the dialogue box says X thing is happening but the H-art itself contradicts the dialogue wich is one of if not THE worst type of H-content theses types of games can have, i am 100% sure that the hentai in this whole game was an after thought, as if the Devs just tossed a coin after they finished the game to decide if they should put nudity and h-scenes.

That aside, Story was VERY enjoyable really liked most characters (Sarasa was the best girl btw) i wish the three Remenants were more present in the story especially after knowing how the ending goes, i also have some issues with the ending but it wasn't anything that made the story bad, it was just a bit stupid and ''too good'' to be taken seriously.
The story is super long and there are many stuff i could go over but it would be too much, so i will just say that it was overall very good but i hate seeing how they failed with the H-content.

The Facts
*Play as Deathpolca the demon, who fights alongside other demons and slaves to secure their freedom against a cruel genocidal empire. There will be segments where you control other characters for story reasons.
*Select destinations from a world map for invasion and exploration.
*Scenes are mostly limited to a certain map destination or a post-surrender dungeon. The former is prostitution with varying levels of reluctance, the latter is rape with goreless ryona elements.
*Scenes are a couple of CGs with dialogue/narration, no animation, some sex sound effects, no voices.
*Scenes are mostly human and hetero, sprinkle of lesbian, and there’s a femboy Astolfo-at-home character. There’s a CG or two of monster sex, pregnancy, other depraved stuff in the surrender dungeon.
*There is zero combat rape. There are some unavoidable rape scenes from story progression, which can be optionally censored along with all other scenes but still remain canon.

The Good
+The build up towards shonen anime cathartic hype moments with both writing and integrating game systems with it. Things like a character unlocking their ultimate during boss battles and finally curbstomping their lifelong nemesis gets the blood pumping.
+The characters are interesting and charming. Some are more one dimensional, but the writing/translation keeps it enjoyable.
+The game has its heart in the right place.. mostly. The desire of demons and slaves to end the cycle of revenge but also to win the right to exist, it makes you root for them. Some might think their opponents are cartoonishly evil, but to speak briefly of the real world, people in power and their supporters are often just as awful. It also adds to the allegorical nature of the story.
+High production values and good presentation that elevates the game far away from generic RPGM. High quality art, great and memorable music that I want to listen to outside the game.
+Good game design ideas. This is the first RPGM that I’ve enjoyed using a tank archetype party member, and as an evasion tank at that. Other characters have fun skillsets to mess with too. The bosses gain an act twice buff when badly hurt, making things more dramatic.
+Gearing and coming up with party formations, ex dungeons, special enemies and secret bosses scratch that RPG itch well.

The Bad
-Trash mobs can get rather tedious. Density and map size are both high, escaping isn’t guaranteed.
-JRPG tropes aplenty. Bad guys will walk up to trash talk and retreat unscathed, until they can’t. Brilliant plans are brilliant because they said so. Everyone is as strong as they need to be for the story. I still rolled with it, personally.
-But the ending sequence drops the ball. There’s a lot of lore bombs. It drags on and flip flops. It goes from “I’m invested” to “OK I guess this is happening now?” I know this game is a prequel and the creator wants to tie it to the first game, but the quality of Demons Roots itself suffers from that decision.
-This is not a good porn game. There’s actually a decent number of scenes, but they don’t add to the narrative because of how they’re mostly quarantined in two locations.
-And after mulling it over, I’m leaning towards the opinion that this game would be better without the porn. It sort of fundamentally undermines the message? And it’s a shame I can’t recommend the game to members of the general public without a big caveat.

The Verdict
4.5/5: Bad porn game. Good JRPG that doesn’t quite stick the landing, but well worth the 30, 40+ hours before the end.

One of the best eroge games story wise. I was engaged with the plot the whole way through. This is truly just a great JRPG on its own. The sexual content doesn't even have a place really except for like a few scenes. 95% of them could have been deleted and you wouldn't even notice.

-45% some side region you can go where people have sex all the time, barely makes any sense in lore
-45% you choose to go to a special "BAD END" area and do loss scenes
-5% random sexy thing happening in story
-5% kind of story relevant between characters etc

I found it a little bit grindy, and enjoyed it more after I edited my stats to max about halfway through. Not terrible though if youre into the JRPG grind.

100% reccomend you play this for the story and the characters, there is quite a lot of scenes but they are all static and very much side content imo. Don't play if you just want eroge, do play if you want an awesome story in a JRPG with some H-scenes on the side.

(Also OST was great and always set the mood really well for scenes)

I only heard of this game because of Kagura Games was going to initially dismiss it as one of those shitty RPGM's with defeat scenes. But when I looked over the Dlsite page and noticed the one who made the soundtrack I was immediately intrigued. Shade has made banger OST's from games such as the legendary Rance Series. I immediately tried it and boy I kid you not the game is really great. I highly recommend it to people who want to enjoy a very solid story line. It's apparently a prequel to King's Exit but you don't have to play that at all to get an enjoyable time.

Once again I implore you to try the game out for the story and banger OST from the legendary Shade.

Unto World Domination my fellow degenerates!