Thanks to a long history of visual novels and anime tying together in one way or another, most visual novels take their inspiration from this medium. The result is that even games developed outside of Japan often feature a heavy anime aesthetic and storylines focused on high schoolers. As such, it’s tremendously refreshing when a game like Tell a Demon makes it way out. Instead of opting for a modern day setting, it situates itself in a more fantastical version of the 1920s. Basically, imagine that era’s art, fashion sense and technology but with a history inexplicably linked to a dangerous goddess. Not only that, but demons roam the streets at night and consume whatever prey they can get their icy hands on.
Despite this, there’s also a conflict between the fantastical reality of the situation and people’s wishes to turn toward rationality. Many refuse to believe that demons actually exist. Even so, they buy special charms to keep such monsters at bay. Tell a Demon definitely has an intriguing backdrop, but that alone isn’t enough to make a game really pop. This visual novel also happens to feature a trio of protagonists rather than just one. Tell is a young woman who has just moved to the big city to live with her aunt after the sudden death of her cousin. Julius is a demon who, while still alive, fell in love with Tell’s cousin. Upon her death, he simply took a train out of town without another word. Kalevel is another of the immortals who finds herself caught in demonic games and betrayals over the years.
Suffice it to say that there is a whole heck of a lot going on narratively in Tell a Demon. In fact, it’s a little overwhelming at first. The game begins by providing a brief history of the realm and how an enigmatic empress wreaked all manner of havoc both in the past and present. Despite all the apparently ancient history, there are still characters (demons) from that time living among the “modern” day citizens. These multi-year grudges and demonic deals continue to cause strife, as players will quickly find out when exploring the storylines of Kalevel, Julius and Tell. These storylines also converge with one another as you delve deeper into any of the character’s decisions. It all remains mildly confounding until you’ve through the game a few times to suss it out.
Tell a Demon features a surprising variety of routes to unlock. If you’re really awful and end up getting the shortest storyline for each character then the game will take just around 90 minutes to finish. However, with a title like this, you’re really urged to keep going back and collecting other endings. It only takes one “bad” attempt to realize which options to avoid like the plague in future playthroughs. Not only are there multiple main endings for each of the three protagonists but there are also variations on most endings. These give a slightly different bit of text and sometimes character interactions are modified as well.
The most exciting part about replaying Tell a Demon is that you can never be quite sure what will happen next or how characters will respond to a certain choice. With a lot of dialogue options to make on any playthrough there are tons of variables for the game to work with. Making a deal with someone early on might lead to a horrible fate for a character. Or perhaps it’ll work in their favor and help lead to a conclusion where people actually survive. This is not a visual novel with terribly transparent results based on droll decisions. Because of all the choices to be made, a player looking to get 100% completion might keep skipping over the last few endings by mistake, leading to late-game frustration.
One aspect of Tell a Demon cannot be ignored. In fact, it is likely the thing that will draw many to play it. The artwork is absolutely astounding in most instances. Each character is decked out in 1920s fashion and the sprites look more classic than cartoony. CGs are where the game’s art shines the brightest. Much of it provides a timeless quality and is leagues beyond what most other indie visual novels offer from a visual perspective. Of course, everything perfectly fits the tone, as well. Only on rare occasions does the art stick out in a negative way. This occurs when sporadically a CG doesn’t seem as polished as the rest.
There’s no voice acting to hear in Tell a Demon, but there is a lovely soundtrack to keep players engaged. It is not a super long soundtrack but the tracks that are included make it worth picking up the soundtrack DLC. One surprising aspect of this visual novel is that it goes beyond what is typically offered for the genre in regards to accessibility. Yes, there is an auto button and skip feature, but it goes further. There is also an option to change the font if you’re dyslexic. Another option adds in a screen reader for folks who require that assistance. These are all great choices and make me hope to see more indie developers using these features in their own Ren’py-developed titles.
Closing Comments:
Tell a Demon is a haunting visual novel which makes readers yearn for more. With sixteen endings in all the short single-game length can be forgiven due to the high replayability factor. Still, it feels that we’ll need to wait for an entirely new game in the series to really grasp all the goings on in this one. There’s a lot to like about Tell a Demon due to the obvious care it received in regards to storytelling, editing, visuals and audio. Visual novel fans looking for something different will find it here.
