Online game "Demon Slayer 3"

Demon Slayer 3 is a free-to-play game created at the intersection of two genres, role-playing and strategy. Although usually entertainment launched directly in the browser lacks depth and detail, this is clearly not the case. The authors have added everything at once. On the expanses of fairyland you must fight evil, develop a town, collect taxes, train horses, train troops, make raids on neighbors, cultivate land, graze livestock, participate in mini-games with prizes, give the cat mats - it's easy to say what there is not. Let's find out what Demon Slayer 3 is capable of fascinating the player with.

From the very beginning you are given a choice of character. Three choices of classes - knight, mage and archer - and gender. But whoever you take under control, the plot hook is the same: the kingdom of Balenor is attacked by hordes of demons, led by the main villain named Jaros. Given this misfortune, peaceful nations join forces to fight back the fiends of hell. A large role in this struggle should play and your hero (or heroine - depending on who you take at the start). Only first he has to deal with personal turmoil, because his family castle was looted, his father was killed, and enemies are hovering around the family estate in search of prey. True, they do not yet know who they are mixed up with.

Fortunately, in addition to enemies, the hero has allies to help him get used to the new conditions and revive the family nest. And there is always something to do within the ancient walls. Upgrading the barracks opens up access to various warriors that can be added to the squad and carried with them in case of a fight. The sacred tree is an entire complex of buildings, with space for the oak tree itself, which bears rare resources, as well as a pasture and a warehouse with a vegetable garden. Each of these parts is a separate mechanic: for example, the beds need to be dug and cleaned of vermin to grow something sensible on them and expand the cultivated area. Under the castle there is an entrance to an abandoned dungeon with its own atmosphere: you feel as if you are entering a role-playing action film with a view from above, similar to the Diablo series, and destroying evil creatures there.

Mysterious gates allow you to move your castle to any location on the map. Want to go from the desert to the swamps? You're welcome, there will even be other kinds of monsters. In the academy and laboratory you can improve the equipment, improve the combat training of soldiers and unlock bonuses useful in battle. And the main building of the city is the town hall. Here you can manually set the amount of taxes collected from civilians and manage the occupied territories. Yes, the game allows you to go to war with your neighbors and take control of free villages for the sake of increasing the profits from the possessions - there is an element of management.

But that's not all. In addition to the development of the city in Demon Slayer 3 there are "Campaign" and "Wildlands". The first mode advances the story through communication with the characters and a series of battles: you have to explore the ruins, temples and dungeons, running from one enemy to another until you defeat the boss. In Wildlands, you're free to roam the map behind the fortress walls, raiding your neighbors and battling the monsters that terrorize the area. According to the scenario you always have several tasks on your hands at once, and not all of them are related to the need to break the devils horns - there are missions for research, development of the castle, and social activities. No one prevents you from choosing the option to your liking and mood. Although the lion's share of time you have to devote to fighting.

You fight for any reason and in different circumstances: then in an open field beasts attack the squad, then the dungeon must be cleaned up from someone or perform in the arena for a valuable prize. There's even training before battles against live players - the mode is called "Path of Glory", and although it's more of a training mode, there is a reward for victories in it, too. During the fight the hero does not act alone, and with the support of other fighters under the control of artificial intelligence - first from the barracks come lances, and then, with the development of technology, you can hire gunners and representatives of other military specialties. Here begins the tactic with the choice of construction: if, for example, the same lances are advantageous to put the main character to cover him from the frontal attacks, the archers in the vanguard quickly lose health. Such tricks are learned, of course, in practice. You meet the enemy, press the battle button, and what happens next is, as the name of the game says, carving up the demons.

The battle itself opens in a separate window, where you can see the arrangement of soldiers and a panel of special moves. Everything happens in turn-based mode, but you can only turn on the hero's skills as they charge up - the assigned hit will automatically be queued up and will trigger when you get the chance. When enemies hit members of your squad, the anger bar fills up drop by drop - once you reach 100%, you can deliver an ultimatum blow with five times the damage. But here, as with other combat skills, it is important not to miss the moment and have time to click on the attack icon. Otherwise "left crown, right funeral" will have to postpone until the next turn - during this time there is a risk to suffer defeat.

Demon Slayer 3 is one of those role-playing games where, in exchange for resources and experience, you develop everything, from a whole city to boots. For the hero alone, you can improve basic characteristics and skills, sharpen weapons and armor, create and buy magic spheres that give bonuses in war, and upgrade your riding animal and pet. Add reputation points, which affect your abilities in the kingdom and guild, and you'll understand how varied the progression here is. But we're not just an RPG in front of us, but also a strategy, so individual buildings and warriors in your squad have their ways to perfection. For example, there are situations when the hero is at level 15, and his companions are at level 10 and you have to defeat the enemy at level 16. The lag of soldiers will show up on the battlefield - often in such situations they turn into "cannon fodder", and at the end of the fight you are left alone with the boss.

This whole system looks solid, but it has an important nuance. Different activities bring different resources, and the number of resources is always limited. If you collect, say, taxes in the form of gold coins, you are immediately faced with the choice of whether to improve the soldiers already in your squad, or to hire someone more interesting in the barracks. It's the same with equipment upgrades, castle development and other aspects of the game. Or you won, for example, in one of the modes, for which you were given a few chests with prizes, but the gems in the pockets are enough to open only one of them. And then you have two options: either do what brings the missing resource, or invest a token amount of real money. In principle, both plans are good - you can choose the one you like best.

In the game you always have a wide field of activity. If you've finished the storyline and pumped up for PvP battles between live users, one dueling arena is not enough. Still there is a lot of activities within the clan, where you can join at any convenient time - if only the application is accepted. And then - entertainment for all tastes: guild and server wars, group tours to the most powerful monsters, adventures in the modes "Outlander" and "Dawn". When the fighting tiresome, no one interferes with returning home to the family castle to do everyday chores - weeding beds, petting the cat, fishing, sitting with a fishing rod on the beach. You can even arrange the interior of the farm - with flooring, carpets, furniture, and everything else that is appropriate in such cases.

Sometimes you come across quite unexpected activities. For example, when you enter "Exploring the Universe", you see a star map and a minigame with a reward next to each star. And what is this "exploration"? A field with holes that you have to hit with a piece of meat when mice peek out. The farther you move through the constellations, the bigger the prizes, but also the more agile the rodents. But no one's stopping you from enjoying a more serious game of Texas Hold'em Poker. The struggle between good and evil is important, of course, but let it wait while you and your clan friends play cards.

Demon Slayer 3 is surprisingly diverse, as for a browser game conditionally free. This RPG with a detailed development of everything in the world, and a strategy with the control of their own domain, and a lot of additional activities for every taste. In addition it is decorated in a bright three-dimensional style with detailed character tracing - ladies in armored bras attached. Only beauty requires sacrifice: when changing scenes and during the transition between locations have to endure loading for 10-20 seconds. However, such a minor inconvenience does not negate the fact that we are faced with one of the best games of this format.

An interesting feature of Demon Slayer 3 is a choice between its launch in the browser and a separate client. So that everyone can settle on the convenient for themselves option: some are more comfortable from time to time to look into a fabulous world, sandwiched between the working tabs, and others - just install the program on your computer and focus on the war with demons more thoroughly.

December 2020