There was a time in my life…many years ago…when I had an unhealthy addiction to D&D. I had pretty much everything TSR and Judges Guild published, hundreds of miniatures, buckets of dice, you name it. I was the traveling DM of Purdue University back in the early 80’s, hosting games all over campus, but all that ended after college. Friends moved away and I discovered video games, but I always missed the magic of those D&D gatherings and playing a physical game around a table with other people.
Demeo captures all that magic and more; the perfect blend of “actual” miniatures, a physical playing area, and even the simple act of rolling a d20 and praying for a critical hit, all perfectly recreated in VR. Now, Demeo has been out since mid-2021, but I only got around to playing it when I got my Quest 3, and mostly as a precursor to playing and reviewing the newer Demeo Battles game that released just a few months ago. And while the Steam versions of these games can be played in non-VR mode on a traditional screen, once you’ve experienced Demeo in VR there is simply no other way to play.
It all starts before you even get into the main game, or at least it can if you check out the Heroes Hangout, this dream clubhouse where you can invite your friends (via room code) to join you for some archery target practice or maybe play an arcade knockoff of Gauntlet. A bookshelf has all the guides and monster manuals and documentation for the game all cleverly integrated into the virtual world, but the best surprise was in the very back…a PAINT ROOM where you can sit down and paint your own miniatures using a variety of brushes and infinite colors.
While a virtual miniature paint lab might be enough to close this deal for some of you, there is an actual game outside this basement paradise, so let us proceed to the main menu and a smaller basement where we can begin our adventure. No matter if you are playing alone or with friends in online co-op, Demeo plays out the same. You have an assortment of adventures presented exactly like those TSR modules. Each module has a specific theme that dictates the look and flavor ranging from spooky crypts and dungeons to rat-infested sewers and abandoned castles. Each mission also has a difficulty rating worthy of your attention, as this game is challenging to start and only gets tougher.
No matter how many players you have, only four characters can team up, and assembling a balanced party can be challenging when you have such a diverse cast of heroes to choose from. Obvious heavies like the Barbarian and Guardian are great for melee while the Hunter, Warlock, and Sorcerer are perfect for magic and ranged attacks, but who would have guessed that the Bard would prove to be one of the more useful classes in the game. Once your party has been chosen you are dropped into the entry area of the game map where you can move to the door and start the dungeon.
The rules are simple. Each character gets two action points (AP) that they can use to move about the board within their restricted range or play a card from their specific deck of action cards. These cards can cast spells, perform specific attacks or actions, and do just about anything you can imagine. A major portion of this game resides in the expansive deck of cards, otherwise you are left to simple melee combat. Even having the Hunter fire an arrow or the Guardian throw a spear requires playing a card.
You start each game with a random set of cards for each character, and these are added to over time by earning XP, finding new cards in chests, and purchasing new cards in the store between missions with all that gold you’ve been collecting. Once you have access to more cards you can start to strategize, like having one character play a water card to get the enemy wet and then have your next character do a lightning attack for extra damage due to their wet status. Trapping enemies in poison gas with a web bomb is another great and deadly combo.
Everything is turn-based, and when everyone has used their action points the enemy will make their moves and you repeat until there is an actual encounter. While you have a full view of the entire playing field, enemies only appear when in line of sight, so just opening a door or turning a corner can lead to one of those SURPRISE party moments. Encounters can be thrilling and stressful because all of your best tactics can be foiled with a bad toss of the d20. There is one chance for a critical hit and one chance for a critical miss, often damaging your own teammates in the failed attack, but the odds are in your favor that you will do at least some damage with each attack. Once you have killed the main monster with the gold key, you are free to leave, or you can explore each level as thoroughly as you wish, collecting gold and new cards from chests.
Each adventure consists of two main levels and a final boss fight. The first two levels can take 30-60 minutes to complete, and the final boss level can also last upwards of 30 minutes, so carving out 2-3 hours to play an entire mission can be challenging for both your social and your battery life. Since this is a seated game, I had no problem plugging in for extended play sessions – 6.5 hours is longest session so far. It is worth noting that if you are using the AR camera to play in your own space that you cannot charge and play at the same time. The battery will start to drain at a slower rate, but it can’t hold the charge with AR turned on.
Speaking of the new camera and AR ability of the Quest 3, there is something undeniably magical about having the Demeo gameboard floating in my own room. With a swipe of my hands the game becomes larger than a pool table with miniatures now looking like action figures, or with another swipe I can shrink it all down to a chessboard. Looking around my room the game has decorated the walls with fun framed art from the game, and there is a dragon plush dangling from my ceiling. Another nice AR touch is having any stray d20 rolls actually land and tumble across your floor. As much fun as all this is the first time you see it, this battery-draining feature is best left off. Honestly, I found the default basement design warm and cozy, definite man-cave goals.
I guess my only real complaint with Demeo is its lack of persistent progression. Nobody is getting better stuff, and nobody is leveling up, so you are going to have to beat a lv3 dungeon with the same characters who may have struggled with easier missions. Choosing the right mix of characters goes a long way into your mission success rate, but I was surprised that the game doesn’t scale the difficulty based on party size. I tried The Black Sarcophagus (easiest) mission with just a Champion, and he was mercilessly executed by spiders in the first enemy movement phase. The game is clearly balanced for four characters, but nothing is stopping you from duplicates or even a full team of Barbarians or a quartet of Bards.
I’ve spent 30+ hours playing the single-player Skirmish mode, but the best part of Demeo is just how authentic it feels to connect with another human and engage in casual conversation and strategizing while moving these cool animated action figures around these amazing 3D dioramas; it’s like having the biggest action playset you could ever imagine that can be setup and put away with the touch of a button. Hooking up with friends is as easy as hosting a room and giving out your room number, which makes it convenient for cross-play connections.
I’ve always scoffed at VR’s attempts to join us all in this virtual world of social interaction, but Demeo has changed all of that. Whether you are teaming up to take down that three-headed Hydra or just chilling around the table painting your own miniatures, VR is finally showing that it can bring people together in new and creative ways. It’s been almost 40 years since I played a real D&D game with real miniatures, and this sparked some core memories. Demeo is a must-play VR game, especially for anyone with a history in D&D, miniatures, and board games. It’s a nostalgic blast from the past that I don’t plan on giving up any time soon.
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