5 Best RPGs Where You Play As A Demon

Playing as a ‘good guy’ is one of the most common tropes in video games, and a vast majority of titles are based around this fantasy. Take up the mantle of the hero, rescue the princess, strike down the monsters, and save the kingdom. It’s a formula that’s known to work wonderfully and, while a bit bland, has enough pull as a concept to never go out of style. At a certain point, however, the idea of playing on the side of good can feel contrived and campy in the worst way possible. For these gamers, games that let them play on the opposite side of the fight between good and evil hold much more appeal.

Games where players play as the bad guy are rare, but if there is one genre that gives players this option more often than others, it’s role-playing games. This is because the goal of an RPG is to let the player define the character they want to play instead of railroading them down a preset path to follow. RPGs where you are a demon, specifically, are not very common, but the gaming landscape is vast, and there are some hidden gems out there, just waiting to be found.

5 Darksiders 2

Play As Death, The Horseman Of The Apocalypse

The Darksiders franchise is a series of hack-and-slash action role-playing games that allow the player to control the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a different one in each game, and go on a rampage against demons and monsters in a variety of locations. Of the three mainline games, Darksiders 2 is the best at what it does.

In Darksiders 2, players take on the role of Death himself, riding a skeletal horse, Despair, and a raven named Dust to guide him across the world. As players progress through the story, Death unlocks new special abilities, weapons, and ways to traverse the world. As they defeat more monsters and earn XP, they earn skill points through level-ups, which can then be used to acquire new powers from the skill tree. In addition, gear can be equipped to improve Death’s stats, and combo moves can be bought from certain trainers in the game. Most importantly, the gameplay loop is incredibly fun, similar to Devil May Cry in a lot of ways but with an RPG twist that gives a sense of progression, never letting the game feel stale.

4 Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance

A Tactical RPG With A Vengeful Demon Protagonist

Systems

Released

October 6, 2015

Developer(s)

Nippon Ichi Software

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Disgaea 5 is a turn-based strategy role-playing game where players assume the role of Killia, a once-powerful now-reformed demon seeking revenge against the Demon Emporer Void Dark, alongside a host of companions seeking the same goal. In Disgaea 5, the goal is to recruit a team of demons, monsters, and heroes to eventually take down Void Dark.

Disgaea 5 follows the familiar Disgaea formula but sprinkles in some new mechanics, classes, and enemy types to keep things fresh. Underneath all of that, however, it’s still undeniably a Disgaea game, and that’s not a bad thing. The sheer amount of recruitable characters, classes, equipment pieces, accessories, and how they all interact with each other is where Disgaea 5 shines. The tactical turn-based combat is rich, complex, and as addicting as ever, with players needing to think through their actions carefully before making a move.

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As an entry point to the series, Disgaea 5 is perhaps not the first game players should aim to play—that honor should go to Disgaea 2—but for players looking to play as a demon in a game with a more serious tone, this is it.

3 Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

A CRPG Where You Transform Into A Demon

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a CRPG developed by Owlcat Games based on the Pathfinder TTRPG. A sequel to Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Wrath of the Righteous builds on top of the systems introduced in the first game in a ton of fun ways. This includes new classes, archetypes, companions, and a lot more. A key mechanic in both of the Pathfinder games is Mythic Paths, which are essentially special classes on top of the existing ones that add unique skills, abilities, and powers to the character. Not only that, but Mythic Paths dictate how a character progresses in their story and what sort of legend they become.

There are 10 Mythic Paths in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, including GoldDragon, Lick, Legend, Azata, Angel, and, yes, Demon. The Demon Mythic Path transforms the player into a demonic being who is always on the verge of losing self-control and rampaging across the battlefield in a mindless rage. Players can customize their demonic powers further by using Demonic Aspects, like the Aspect of Babau, which focuses on trickery, the Aspect of Incubus, which increases persuasive powers, and many more. In addition, the Demon can learn demonic spells like Abyssal Chains, Demonic Form, Devour, and Blood Haze to further lean into this aspect.

2 Tales of Berseria

A Dark Journey Of Daemonic Vengeance

Tales of Berseria

Systems

Released

January 24, 2017

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

Tales of Berseria is the sixth JRPG in the Tales series, telling a grim, dark story that’s entirely different from the Tales games that came before it. Instead of a light-hearted adventure, Tales of Berseria is a story of vengeance and deep resentment of the established order.

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The main character, Velvet, was not born a daemon, but she was infected by Daemonblight during an event in her childhood. As a result, Velvet can use demonic powers at will because she is a daemon variant called a Therion who can absorb the power of other daemons. In Tales of Berseria, the bad guys are actually the Paladin and Priest equivalents in the world setting, with their overarching goal being to get rid of Daemonblight by removing emotion from all of humanity because they know that the disease is actually a manifestation of humanity’s negative emotions. Velvet and her allies must stop this faction from achieving their goals in order to save the world.

1 Nioh 2

A Soulslike RPG As A Half-Human/Half-Yokai

Systems

Released

March 13, 2020

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Nioh 2 is a Soulslike RPG set in Sengoku-era Japan, where players take control of a half-Yokai protagonist born to a demon mother and a human father. In Japanese folklore, Yokai is the name for humanoid demons or evil spirits with animal characteristics. A lot of Japanese media, including anime like Mushishi and Spirited Away, portray Yokai as supernatural entities with mysterious motives.

One of Nioh 2’s strong points is its weapon variety. Players are not limited to the standard weapons archetypes like a sword, hammer, and greatsword but can use weapons like the Odachi (a long katana), a kusarigama (two small sickles with a swinging spiked metal ball at the end), and many more. Another addition to Nioh 2 is the ability to use Yokai skills, unlocked by defeating and obtaining a Soul Core from the Yokai in question. This means that cool, overpowered abilities that enemies use are not exclusive to them; the player can farm them until they drop the ability and equip it for their character to use.

As a Soulslike, combat is the main focus of Nioh 2, and it shows. Even the weakest enemies aren’t pushovers; all of them have access to unblockable attacks that are devastating if they hit. To balance this, the parry system is designed to counter these attacks and render enemies vulnerable, making it a requirement for anyone who wants to get really good at the game to engage with the game’s systems and not rely on overpowered equipment and weapons.

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