Gal Guardians: Demon Purge

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is one of Inti Creates' better releases, and it feels great to play on both Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck. The 2D action adventure also works well with Steam Remote Play Together for co-op.

Gal Guardians: Demon Purge is a balancing act: between modern and retro game design, between loving homage and forging its own identity, between “Classicvania” and “Metroidvania”. It walks those tightropes admirably, and the result is a game that anyone with a fondness for Castlevania—whichever era it may be—should check out.

For Metroidvania fans and lovers of Inti Creates' works, Grim Guardians certainly does enough to please. Getting to grips with combat negotiations and levelling up your weaponry brings with it a sense of reward and progression, and it’s enjoyable to backtrack for secrets. It’s not quite on the level of Curse of the Moon, its closest relative, but it’s not far off — and the sibling switching idea is at least novel and fun to work with. Gory, spritely, and occasionally creatively inspired, it hits all the right notes, just sometimes in a little too sparse a manner to be considered overwhelmingly compelling.

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is the spiritual sequel to Bloodstained and Castlevania, an interesting but not without flaws action platformer.

If you’re on the hunt for a well-built 2D action game, particularly one you can play with a friend, then Grim Guardians: Demon Purge will likely satisfy. It’s a highly experienced developer working in the genre it’s best known for, and the resulting level of quality is hardly a big surprise. I think it’s more for the fans of the developer than the fans of the property it draws its themes from, and I do wish it had a little more bite to its challenge. An enjoyable romp, but nothing all that special.