Ted Litchfield, Associate Editor: Labyrinth of the Demon King is a singular, uncompromising horror game and one of my favorite releases of 2025. You're told you are a low-ranking ashigaru foot soldier, set on the trail of the titular demon who slew your lord, but there's something off about this cover story.

The thing that secured this game's place in my heart is the atmosphere: This desolate Japanese castle sent to the Silent Hill rust dimension, with striking music and hellish sound design from musician Remu Daifuku that ensure you're only ever at ease in the tea shop safe haven (complete with soothing save room music).

My time with Demon King was full of moments of profound, unsettling discovery, like crawling down a narrow cave to emerge in a hidden chapel that feels like it's at the center of the earth, the base of a Kanji-covered pillar commemorating a human sacrifice rising into the cavernous ceiling to support the castle above.

Demon King has excellent first person combat with an unforgiving stamina system⁠—its pace is languid, with you anxiously struggling against your character's slow movement and swings, but it's possible to reach a state of flow and mastery not unlike the tank control Resident Evil games.

But you're never fully safe or in control: The crushing atmosphere, limited resources, and omnipresent threat of an unkillable yokai you accidentally released by blaspheming against the Buddha (it makes sense in context) ensure that Demon King is tense from start to finish. And similar to films like Oldboy, no amount of combat mastery will let you shake the queasy feeling that this story can't possibly have a happy ending.

Shaun Prescott, Australian editor: Labyrinth of the Demon King borrows a lot from FromSoftware's '90s console RPGs, but unlike most other indies exploring similar nostalgic ground, J.R. Hudepohl infuses his work with a sense of paralysing, insensate dread I haven't experienced in a game since P.T. or Murder House. The contemporary indie horror scene is an embarrassment of quick and nasty riches, but Labyrinth feels remarkable even against the bigger budget horrors of 2025.