Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first decision is the most enticing one: who do you bring? A party can hold up to five characters, and the combination of ten races with ten classes invites some genuinely offbeat lineups. It is much easier to get curious about an RPG when the character list includes Minotaurs, Sprites, Undead, Assassins, Merchants, and Gladiators rather than stopping at the standard fantasy staples.

Combat is turn-based, so the game should reward a patient, deliberate approach rather than quick reactions. Several races and classes bring special powers into battle, which gives your party composition practical weight. You are not merely choosing a fantasy portrait or a label; at least some of those choices can change what your side is capable of when a fight begins.

This is firmly built in the older PC-RPG mold. It was made for Windows 95 and uses the mouse for almost all input, so anyone returning for nostalgia will likely find that immediately familiar. Newcomers should go in ready for a period interface and a slower pace: the satisfaction is in assembling a group with a plan and working through turn-based encounters, not in instant action.

Graphics

The game is a first-person fantasy RPG from the Windows 95 era. Its visual frame is therefore rooted in the close, player-facing viewpoint common to PC role-playing games of that period, rather than a modern cinematic camera.

Story

Damn Those Demons starts from a strong enough conflict: a civil war is tearing the world apart, and racial hatred and mistrust are feeding it. That gives the fantasy setting more tension than a simple quest to defeat an evil presence, because the danger comes from people and factions being pushed against one another.

A secretive evil force sits behind the conflict, steering the situation for its own ends. It is a familiar fantasy foundation, but it works well with a party system full of different races. The central question is not just whether the world can be saved, but whether a fractured world can recognize what is being done to it.

Don’t expect the premise to reinvent fantasy RPG storytelling. Its strength is the way the civil-war backdrop gives the adventure a darker purpose and makes the broad range of playable peoples feel relevant to the conflict. If racial divisions and hidden manipulation sound more appealing than a purely straightforward demon hunt, the setup has bite.

Overall Experience

The Scent of War I. – Damn Those Demons looks most worthwhile for the gamer who enjoys digging into an old RPG because the party-building possibilities sound fun. A five-character team with this many unusual race and class options is the kind of opening invitation that can carry a lot of goodwill through a traditional structure.

Its limitations are also part of the deal. This is a 1996 Windows game built around mouse input, first-person exploration, and turn-based battles, not a frictionless modern RPG. If you need fast feedback or contemporary convenience, its age may become the main obstacle before the war story has a chance to land.

Still, there is a specific kind of charm in an RPG that lets you start with a strange crew and then asks you to make their abilities count. Give it a chance if you enjoy vintage fantasy systems, deliberately paced combat, and parties that can include an Undead or a Merchant beside more familiar adventurers. For everyone else, it is more of a curious historical detour than an essential stop.

Retro Replay Score

6.8/10