Devil Book is a new mobile MMORPG which launched in Japan a couple of days ago, and I have actually followed the game since it was announced in early 2018. Developed by indie South Korean team STARTER, Devil Book’s unique hand-drawn style of design captured my attention immediately. Crafted using Unity, most of the game’s functions are automated, but I do love its combat system. Using the Jan Ken Pon (rock–paper–scissors) formula, each character and monster belongs to 1 of these 3 groups, replacing the usual elemental resistance and advantage system which can be confusing. Here is a video of my brief trip!
While the graphics and combat system are the highlights, along with the overall visual design, there are some issues which I think will affect Devil Book in the long run. First, most quests are simply to slay X monsters. While other games do have this, there was at least a variety of different quests, not just a single type. Also, there is a long cool-down of 1 min to switch between characters, and the different variety of monsters in some areas means players cannot take advantage of the Jan Ken Pon formula. This is very frustrating!
While there are many open field maps, team dungeons and party raids, there doesn’t seem to have any PVP features implemented yet. New features are most probably going to be added post-launch, and hopefully it will make Devil Book more interesting. In my opinion, the game would certainly be more interesting if each player could control all 3 active characters at the same time, rather than having to switch in and out while waiting for the cool-down to go away. There is currently no word if Devil Book will launch in other regions.
