The Devil’s Due is a shiny new poker-themed roguelike deckbuilder, it’s by a developer called Games People Play, and it launched today on Windows PC.
As someone who knows his Monty Python and who also enjoys a hand or two of poker every now and then, The Devil’s Due is right up my proverbial street.
The influence of Terry Gilliam’s cut-out animation style cannot be understated here, but the obese Count Creosote, a reference to The Meaning of Life, whom you face at one point, confirms that the studio’s admiration extends to the whole Flying Circus and not just Gilliam’s absurd, theatrical art.
With the Monty Python styling so obvious yet also so well done, when I was sent access, I resolved to take a closer look at The Devil’s Due before telling you about it. I’ve not had long enough to write a review, but I have played enough to tell you about the game while confirming that it’s out now on PC (Windows).
A hell-icious first impression
The Devil’s Due is set in Hell. You see, you played poker with the Devil, lost your soul (oops), and now you’ve got to play your way out of trouble. In this endeavour, you must face off against a series of surreal card-playing demons, play a few rounds of poker with them, and cheat as much as you can get away with.
You get to manipulate the deck, kinda like Balatro, in between rounds, which sways your chances of certain things happening when you’re playing, and the cards start to turn over. You can further change the odds by outright cheating, such as swapping cards from your hand with your opponents, or changing one of the cards you are holding.
Your hand, plus modifiers, is then compared to your enemy’s stats, and damage is deducted from both of you, again and again until one of you is done. It’s a simple enough setup, but there are loads of trinkets to change things up and change the odds further in your favour, plus starting decks to further mix things up.
It didn’t take long for things to start getting more challenging, and after one evening of play, I’ve not managed to save my soul yet. I’m having a jolly good time with it, though. The poker bit is well delivered, the writing is funny and supports the animations, the whole thing looks fantastic, and the first couple of hours have entertained me quite thoroughly.
