You walk into the nearby forest. Within this forest is a large, mysterious mirror. You gaze upon it, and a creature gazes back, dragging you through the glass. This is Demon’s Mirror by Be-Rad Entertainment, published by Good Shepherd Entertainment, a magical deck-building fantasy roguelike that goes through the looking-glass.

The Demon’s Mirror is a portal to a dark realm where grotesque creatures lurk around every corner, and ever-looming threats are abundant. Traversing through various fantastical 2D environments like deep forests and ominous caverns in an enchanting painterly art style, your adventurer chooses their path. Paths split via a map in branching pathways: from enemy encounters, campfires, random events, and vendors to buy various cards and boosts. At the end of your chosen route, there’s a menacing boss to take on across three nightmare realms. The only way to escape the Demon’s Mirror is to reach the castle and slay the final boss.

Beating Demon’s Mirror is easier said than done, as your hero feels as if they have done this many times before in a seemingly endless cycle. I can confirm that I revisited the Mirror on several occasions, too. As a roguelike, it presents quite a challenge and requires plenty of strategic thinking, making the deck-building gameplay all the more crucial to master.

Demon’s Mirror is a potent blend of strategic deck-building and chain-3 mechanics. Players take on the role of one of three heroes – Draga, a dragon-humanoid mage specialising in damage via influence effects and skill combos; Axo – part archer, part engineer, all Axolotl, proficient in shocking enemies and creating chains; and the vicious canine Wulf, a tank who unsurprisingly relies on brute strength and use of specialist zeal cards. Each build provides a unique approach to combat to tailor to what best suits your playstyle.

Encounters occur in a turn-based format. Your chosen hero uses their action points to bring cards into play or chain tiles. It’s a balancing act of offence, defence, and resource management. There are optimum times to hit hard or pull back, focus on buffs, and heal when an enemy is readying for a devastating attack.

The enemies range from a cute dopey little rock, “Smiley Rock”, killer mushrooms and a plethora of significantly more grotesque creatures. Each has their own movements that require a different approach. With over 200 cards, the tactical possibilities are massive. Synergies and chaining create potent moves that can turn the tides of battle. There’s a relatively steep learning curve early on, but once I delved into the Mirror a few times, I became one with the deck.

It may require too much patience to learn for some, but it’s worth braving through for the willing. For some, it may be repetitive after a while, and some runs are less varied than others. However, in short bursts, it’s an excellent way to exercise your mind in a low-stakes game. I found it ridiculously addictive, so every time I failed to escape, it just bolstered my resolve to try again.

While the game is roguelike, the stages are short, so an early death doesn’t feel like a significant loss. Each playthrough generates a new “world” with different paths; I had much better builds in some runs thanks to different cards and trinkets being found. Health doesn’t restore post-encounter, so protecting your hero is as important as beating your enemies. The times when I chose to go too full into the attack and ignored the defence ended up affecting me in the long run.

Death was not the end of me, though, since the more I played, the more I wanted to do better. Testing out different builds and strategies for different outcomes depending on the hero I selected and the enemies spawned. Planning for the road ahead is crucial to success. The risk vs reward throughout the adventure all comes to a head when confronted with a boss who can deal massive damage within moments.

Controls are super simple; they are the way to use the actual mechanics where the challenge lies. Turn-based combat involves mere clicks to complete actions. Demon’s Mirror is fully playable on Steamdeck. It’s a tremendous casual experience while on the go. The game looks and runs wonderfully on PC, and I had no issues during my travels.

The overall journey is perilous but immensely enjoyable. With a beautiful orchestral soundtrack, I feel the fantasy during the intense clashing sounds of attacks and battle music and the more serene moments while exploring each zone on the map. As a massive fantasy RPG fan, Demon’s Mirror harkens back to that wondrous time of 2D turn-based combat, a “choose your own adventure” type of storytelling, where some moments, you’ll come by a mysterious form and choose a boon, or there may be a price to pay for a benefit to be gained. Of course, a wondrous chest appears at the end of each fight, where new cards can be drawn and traded.

Demon’s Mirror captures the fantasy RPG feeling and seamlessly blends multiple mechanics into a magical package. Addictive, engaging and immersive, being stuck in the Demon’s Mirror is a realm I didn’t mind getting trapped in for a while.

Written by: Yasmin Noble