If you can’t commit to a full article: Demon Bluff is single-player Among Us. It’s exceptional. I don’t know why UmiArt decided to attack me personally with the premise of, “What if we made a social deduction game for asocial introverts?” But I couldn’t be happier because I intended to play this demo for, like, 10 minutes tops. Instead, Steam says I played for… …two whole-ass hours.

Calling One's 'Demon Bluff'

In Demon Bluff, you’re given a set number of face-down cards and receive your roster of potential characters. Click a card, reveal the character and their effect. Some characters have abilities that activate immediately upon being played, but there are a few you’ll have to trigger. You want to eliminate all Minions and Demons, making sure to avoid Villagers and good-aligned Outcasts. I will not sit here and go through every ability, but I’ll tell you this: Demon Bluff isn’t fucking around.

In the demo, there’s already more than enough to keep track of. If a character is Corrupted, for example, meaning there’s an evil jackass around forcing them to lie. Or a Doppelganger (a good-aligned Outcast) is secretly helping you by disguising itself as a Judge or Confessor – two insanely crucial roles. I mean that; Judges have come in clutch for me. Confessors have a simple ability: if they’re Evil or Corrupted, they say, “I am dizzy.” …Which gets complicated if they’re Corrupted, since killing Corrupted Villagers knocks down five of your ten health points.

I was going to complain about the choice for the team to refer to Demon Bluff as a “roguelike,” but reading the fine print on the game’s Steam page, the Deckbuilding mode where you draft your own cards isn’t in the demo. Sneaky bastards. “Standard Mode” is pure strategy and tests your deduction skills. Use the clues you have to suss out those villains and end them. But if you want a tip, here it is: pay attention to the possible characters in each round before you start clicking away.

Let Your Brain Be Your Guide

Sometimes, a character will say, “Oh, there aren’t any Corrupted characters present!” But you know there are some Minions or Demons with specific Corruption capabilities. So, that character is either lying and you ice them where they stand, or they’ve been made to lie by a nearby fiend. As you rise through the ranks and climb Ascension levels, you go from five starting cards to nine. The abilities get more complex, requiring more of your brainpower to pull through. Truthfully, I chose poorly on more than one occasion, leading me into situations where I’m forced to guess and start blasting willy-nilly. When that happened, though, I felt it was my fault rather than the game’s.

Most importantly? UmiArt will be adding alternate skins for many of the characters, as well as unique card backs and other enticing customizable elements! You’d think “single-player social deduction game” would fall flat on its face. Taking the unpredictability of playing with friends (or randoms, if you’re nasty) from what’s seen as an inherently multiplayer-focused genre is a bold choice. I’m proud to confirm Demon Bluff, however, has the depth and “Just one more run” feeling the best roguelikes are known for (yeah, yeah, I know what I said earlier – it has roguelike seasoning when I want the dedicated roguelike mode, dammit!).

I’m going to do a little experiment to test my suspicions. One Shaunathan Cichacki adores Among Us and multiplayer social deduction games. I believe Demon Bluff is more than capable of attracting that crowd. But before I publish this article, I’m gonna convince Shaun to play the demo and post his thoughts below. Don’t spoil the surprise. Shhhhhhh.

A SURPRISE CICHACKI APPEARS

Shaun’s Verdict: “I think it's got extremely solid bones and some great meat on it. But I do hope that they add some extra descriptions to the cards. Maybe offer two options: Vaguemaxxing and Idiotmaxxing for people like you and me. Those who are more accustomed and have the heart of the cards in their body and soul, and those who are still learning the ropes of the whole Deck-Builder genre.

“The art? Impeccable. The idea? Genuinely fantastic. The level of frustration I felt because I wasn't about to pull up a Wiki page to understand what was going on? Real. I think it's a game I would GENUINELY enjoy playing, especially with some controller support, wrapped up on the couch with a handheld in my hands. It's got that perfect kind of vibe -- a game you could pick up and either dump a few minutes into or get engrossed for a couple of hours. For sickos that LOVE those kinds of games? It's going to be the perfect addition to their ever-growing collection of card games. But for someone who is still dabbling, just putting their toes in the water? It's... a little overwhelming. I'm glad to see I'm not the only person who feels like it's a little too obtuse at times.”

…Well, I wasn’t wrong! I admit my deckbuilder tolerance threshold is likely way higher than most folks’. Shaun’s also right to point out the vague card descriptions, which is a common criticism shared by a few negative Steam user reviews. For my part, here’s what I’ll add: please get rid of “equidistant.” If you know, you know.