Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark

I came into this one expecting a tighter version of Demon Purge with a bigger map, and that is roughly what Servants of the Dark delivers, with some frustrating asterisks attached. The core action is genuinely fast and responsive: Kirika handles ranged combat with demonic guns while Masha works close-range with a whip, and swapping between them mid-run feels slick whether you are solo or have a second player locked in. Inti Creates still knows how to build a 2D action game that feels good under the fingers, and that core competence carries you a long way. The Metroidvania structure is where things get complicated. Progression runs on collecting Maxim's scattered bones and ferrying them back to the castle throne, which means every power-up involves a trek to your home base rather than rewarding you on the spot. Fast travel exists, but the nodes are spread thin enough that backtracking becomes a genuine grind rather than a satisfying loop. The level design compounds this: too many rooms recycle flat corridors and zigzag layouts, and the map management system requires pulling up a full pause-screen map rather than a live minimap, which gets old fast. Post-launch patches have addressed some of the worst offenders, including balance passes on enemies and weapon skills, so the launch-window roughness is not the full picture anymore. What holds up well is the dual-character combat system and the boss encounters. Each sister has her own health bar, and the revive mechanic, where mashing through a revival animation buys a few seconds of invincibility, creates genuine tension in boss fights. Sub-weapons like the Royal Arms triple combo and Masha's Summon Pod bug swarm add build variety without overcomplicating things. Three difficulty styles, Casual, Veteran, and the post-game Ultimaid mode, mean the game scales reasonably for newcomers and for players who want real punishment after credits roll. Co-op is the strongest argument for picking this up right now. Local and online two-player are both supported, and Inti Creates added a proper online Multiplayer Lobby mode via update 1.6.1, which arrived after a delay. With each player controlling one sister, the character-switching tension dissolves and the sisters' asymmetric kits start to sing. Kirika players can fish for safe ranged pressure while Masha players dive in and absorb aggro. It is the mode the game clearly wants you to play. Solo is fine, but the design was clearly built around the pair. The presentation lands mostly on the right side. Pixel art is clean and expressive, the gothic-anime aesthetic is consistent, voice acting is charming, and the enemy roster is eclectic enough to stay interesting. The soundtrack is the one area where most reviewers agree the game undershoots, sitting quieter and less memorable than you would expect for the tone. Bottom line: this is a mid-tier Metroidvania with an above-average action engine, a co-op mode that genuinely differentiates it from a crowded genre, and a post-launch patch history that shows the developer was paying attention. It is not Hollow Knight and it is not Demon Purge either. It is something in between, flawed and fixable, worth your time if you have a co-op partner lined up.

Fred · Scout Team

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