This past weekend, I was able to sit down and play through the opening chapters of Arc System Works’ upcoming game DAMON and BABY, a twin-stick shooter with a little bit of Diablo-style ARPG DNA thrown into it. You control the titular Damon, a demon who is entrusted with protecting a young baby against a group of rogue demons trying to capture her for an unknown, but surely nefarious reason. Together, they must battle through waves of enemies and collect new weaponry and abilities on their journey to figure out who this baby is and why she is being hunted.
Although I hit a couple of snags along the way, I walked away pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed my time with DAMON and BABY. Arc System Works has tapped into something here that feels familiar but novel at the same time.
Chaotic Action
During my time with the preview, I was able to explore the first two major areas of the game after completing a short tutorial dungeon. The first of these areas consisted of a small rundown town, some old ruins, and a mansion belonging to the lord of the land, aptly named “Lord”. In town, I was able to purchase materials to cook with and some basic upgrades to my inventory space. Upon leaving town, I was met with hordes of enemy demons chomping at the bit to take Damon and the baby out. This is when you get your first real taste of what this game has to offer.
Combat is the crux of DAMON and BABY’s gameplay, and it is damn fun. Damon starts with just his basic handgun at first, but you will soon find your arsenal expanding to machine guns, shotguns, and RPGs. Additionally, Damon will learn new abilities to allow him to traverse areas he couldn’t previously. These were all pretty standard fare upgrades, ranging from a wall jump to reach high areas to a ground pound he can use to bash through cracked floors. I did get quite the chuckle early on when I gained the ability to throw the baby as a means to move over large distances. You see, when the baby was entrusted to Damon, he became bound to the child. This means that wherever the baby goes, Damon goes too. It is essentially a dash move, but I really like how they contextualized it in the game.
First Taste of Dungeons
After rummaging through the ruins outside of town, I was treated to DAMON and BABY’s first real dungeon, the Lord’s mansion. Here, I had to find keys to unlock sections of the mansion to try to find Lord somewhere inside. It was here that the combat was at its most frantic. Enemy encounters were much more cramped while in the mansion, causing me to think more strategically about my positioning. On top of this, I was introduced to new enemy types that were much more aggressive than those I encountered previously. This was a nice change of pace compared to the exploration focus the ruins leading up to the mansion took.
At the end of the mansion, I was treated to a boss fight that brought down the experience a bit. I had to fight a giant demon that spawned giant venus fly trap-like creatures that, when I shot their heads, would turn into platforms that I could stand on. After reaching a certain height, I could then shoot a specific spot on the boss’s head and do a fixed amount of damage. It wasn’t a bad fight, so to speak. It was just a little anticlimactic. Just for clarification, I usually am not a fan of gimmick boss fights, so it was a little underwhelming to have my first experience with a larger dungeon area end with one.
Hitting the Mall
After some cutscenes, I was whisked away to a shopping mall in Seattle. This section is where DAMON and BABY really started to sing for me. I had unlocked a large range of moves and a full arsenal of wonderful weapons, and the game started really expanding on enemy types and variety. The level design also started to get a lot more creative. I was no longer dipping into old ruins, caves, mansions, or locales that are typical of other video games. Instead, I had a massive multi-story shopping mall, with stores I could walk into freely. The massive shift in location and design was not expected, but fantastic.
The enemy encounters also benefit a lot from this change in environment. Being able to take cover between shopping aisles while a giant moth dressed like a safari hunter aimed at me with a sniper rifle is positively absurd in the best way. Which brings me to the other thing that most excited me during the preview: the enemy and character design is overall fantastic. There is so much personality in each character’s design, and the enemy variety in just the first two levels is varied and exciting. I was waiting for them to start throwing different colored variants of the same enemies I had fought previously after the first area, but they kept throwing new enemies at me.
Staying On My Radar
I wasn’t expecting to have as much fun with DAMON and BABY as I did. It has some rough edges that could be filed down, and there were some times when I wish the writing was a bit stronger, but there is enough here to warrant keeping an eye on DAMON and BABY. The combat feels good once you start unlocking abilities, exploration is rewarding, and the enemy variety keeps you on your toes by constantly throwing new enemy types at you. I can’t wait to see what the full game has to offer when DAMON and BABY launches on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on March 25, 2026.
