Fantastic game with great characters, a nice story and funny dialogue, I absolutely love it! The game was a bit on the easier side even on normal mode but that is fine. Oh, and the constant fucked up text formatting.. that was a bit annoying but I was able to understand what it was supposed to say so it is what it is.

A shame you haven't done any more games after this.. I'd love to see more from you.

Some time ago, I played this game, one of my first titles on Itch. I've been on the platform before, but the games I was usually shown by friends tended to be either extraordinarily weird, super basic, or both.

When I first happened across this game, it was shortly after I decided to give the site an independent lookthrough rather than being pointed to xyz. At the time I was looking for titles made in EasyRPG, as I had been newly introduced to it, and I remember coming across this game perhaps a week after it was first released.

I played the game in browser back then, and today I'm using the Itch launcher to write this review as this game is the game that changed my views on this platform, my views on indie games, and without coming off as being over-the-top, my views on video games as a whole.

I went into this game not knowing what to expect. The introduction of the game is memorable nearly a year after having first played the game. The contrast between the start and end of the game's introduction is night and day, and immediately shows the traits of all three characters: comedic, friendly, nervous, but most importantly, flawed.

The characters are relatable, and the player feels an attachment to those characters because of that. The characters are unique in many ways, but the one that stands out the most far and away is Pail.

What can't be said about Pail? A character with a unique and memorable name, fashion sense, background, and stutter. ojosama does a fantastic job at making their characters unique in every sense of the word, and I am floored at how this talent was displayed in their second game published to the platform, and for a game jam no less.

 Speaking of which, while the game jam aspect of Pail in the Court of the Demon King is very much apparent with it's pacing, the overarching story presented within it makes one almost forget about it entirely. One aspect of the game I will be critical on was the combat system, as the opponents, putting aside those directly involved in the story, were largely the same. However, this is made up both by the unique abilities of each of the three characters in battle, making this part of the game enjoyable as the rest, as well as the overarching story once again as the player's connection to the three main characters makes them determined to get the best possible outcome for them.

The number puzzle segment of the game is creative, and I enjoy the fact that while the player can brute force their way through it, that the puzzle's solution isn't immediately clear to the player and requires a little more thought.

Lastly, the game's ending. Incredible, I loved the final boss, their relation to the characters, the backstory built up around them throughout the rest of the game, and more. The connection built between the trio is a stark contrast compared to how it was in the game's beginning. While Pail's dialogue in the final battle admittedly partially came off as cheesy or cliche, the succeeding scene in which Pail makes the decision to make a better life for herself is anything but.

I loved the gameplay, I loved the characters, I loved ojosama's unique ability in both developing those characters on paper and artistically, I loved the story, creativity, incentive of bonus content that was not at all expected from them, but made anyway...

This game is above and beyond, the very few things I didn't fully enjoy were completely overshadowed by the demonstration of talent presented in such a compact and time-constrained work. I have yet to play any of ojosama's releases after this game, but even with a first glance at their game library one can immediately tell that they have done nothing but build on both the few shortcomings this title had, as well as their already amazing strengths showcased here, and I can not wait for when I have the opportunity to play another one of their titles.

5/5 to the game, and 5/5 to the mind behind it. Thank you a thousand times over for making this title be the one to reinvigorate my interest in single-player indie games after a decade.