Diabolical Demo

Being evil is frowned upon in most video games, except D&D RPGs, where you have the option to be a prick with everyone you meet. Even still, there are few instances when you can be truly evil, because it usually resumes to saying something nasty or resorting to violence a bit more often. As such, it would be a nice change to be able to play the role of a villain and not care about doing good deeds at all.

Diabolical is an interactive novel that allows you to change the story as you go, as well as choose a unique path for your character. There are no visual cues whatsoever, so you’ll have to read everything instead, which might not be very attractive to many modern gamers. On the other hand, if you recognize the value of a good story and you enjoy reading, this is definitely one of the better choices you can make.

As mentioned earlier, parts of the story are almost entirely dependent on what you choose to do, but there is a plot you must follow anyway. Hence, you play the role of a villain doing his best to make his name known around the city. It is possible to choose one of several personas, such as a high-tech daredevil, or a terrifying apparition. Your personality can be adjusted in the beginning as well, depending on what sort of choices you make.

Since it is possible to steer the story in whichever direction you like, the game allows you to view your stats and see how each decision impacts your attributes. Thus, you can focus on grandiose appearances and try to terrify people as much as possible, or you can choose pragmatism instead and plan everything down to the last detail. It all depends on how much bloodshed you like to cause, and the game accommodates all types.

As mentioned before, there are no graphics to talk about, since it’s all text and radio buttons. You can fill in the blanks using your imagination, on the other hand, and the writing is strong enough to make that much easier than it sounds. Each action and environment is nicely described to help you picture it, and you can add your own music in the background as well.

In the end, Diabolical’s most appealing feature is the very fact that it allows you to be a terrifying villain ready to kill and plunder without remorse. Since there are not many other games like this out there, this one definitely deserves a shot from anyone who’s willing to do a bit of reading.