Games In Which You Summon/Control Demons

[shrekfan246]

So, Escapambilidandoes, I have run across a crippling conundrum: I really miss playing a Warlock in World of Warcraft, but I can't afford to resubscribe to World of Warcraft. In its place, I have been desperately trying to think of something that might potentially fill the void in my black soul and allow me to unleash my inner demonologist.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that many games have tapped into this particular brand of magicks. Most games that do allow you a wizard focused around summoning creatures tend to use Necromancers, and I find that I'm a little less interested in the undead than the damned.

Even with its illustrious well of aggregated knowledge, the internet has thus far failed me, so I turn to you, yes, you! in hopes that I might be shown the light of something I had not previously heard of or otherwise considered.

Things it would not be helpful to recommend are:

Shin Megami Tensei - I already know about this franchise, for one, and most of the games aren't quite the style of gameplay I'm particularly craving. I'd like something a bit more action-y, if at all possible, or failing that at least something like Disgaea or Overlord. On that note --

Disgaea - Too many humans or near-humans in the units. And while the anime style of the franchise is something I like and I won't turn away from similar titles, it's not particularly what I'm looking for at the moment either.

Overlord - There's no minion variety. Ideally, I'd love a game that's basically like Overlord but with many different types of creatures available to do your bidding, which is why I won't turn away from strategy/tactical game suggestions if any happen to appear.

Nekro - I already own it, but have not played it because it's in Early Access.

Please, save me from falling back into the pit that is WoW.

EDIT: For the record, the platforms I currently own are PSP, PS Vita, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, 3DS, and PC.

 

[Euryalus]

Boot up Skyrim, use soul trap on your horse until you can summon dremoras, then run around "fighting" enemies you're ill equipped to handle due to leveling quirks.

 

[shrekfan246]

Boot up Skyrim, use soul trap on your horse until you can summon dremoras, then run around "fighting" enemies you're ill equipped to handle due to leveling quirks.

Skyrim kind of falls under the "not enough minion variety" banner. I appreciate what it does have, but very few of them are of any actual use and magic scaling in that game is absolute pants. Well, short of modding at least, but with the recent implementation of paid mods for Skyrim on Steam, I'm less willing to try wading through that quagmire than I used to be. (Also, dremora fall under the "boring character design" banner as well. imo, the only really interesting summons are the Flame and Storm Atronachs and the Seeker. And even those straddle the line of being just another near-human, though that may be me being excessively picky.)

 

[DoPo]

There is, apparently, Geneforge. It's old but it supposedly lets you do that - you play some sort of summoner mage and can specialise in summoning a big minion, many weaker minions or also other unrelated magic and stuff. According to what I've heard, at least.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Please help me find stuff in which I summon demons

Why? Why are you interested in this?

What are you practicing for?

 

[Lufia Erim]

I think Chaos legion is the game you are looking for if you want something actiony. It's DMC with summons. And it looks really good for a ps2 game.

 

[Weaver]

Go back and play Sacrifice! That game was incredible!

 

[shrekfan246]

There is, apparently, Geneforge. It's old but it supposedly lets you do that - you play some sort of summoner mage and can specialise in summoning a big minion, many weaker minions or also other unrelated magic and stuff. According to what I've heard, at least.

I have looked into that a few times but I've never tried it. I'll admit, I have a bit of a hard time getting into games that look and feel "old". It took me a very long time to get to a point where I could enjoy even contemporary 2000-era titles like Baldur's Gate or Deus Ex. Strictly speaking, it doesn't really appear to have many demonic creatures, per se, but the variety does look pretty nice. I might have to give it a go.

Please help me find stuff in which I summon demons

Why? Why are you interested in this?

What are you practicing for?

Uhh... nothing.

[sub][sub][sub][sub]Ph?nglui mglw?nafh Cthulhu R?lyeh wgah?nagl fhtagn.[/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I love demons because I'm creepy!

I've heard this:

http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html

Is an underrated strategy gem. I cannot vouch for that because I haven't played it, but it should be right up your alley, you sinister weirdo.

If you do end up trying it, let me know if it's any good. Always on the lookout for "new" strategy games.

 

[DoPo]

I love demons because I'm creepy!

I've heard this:

http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/SI/Solium_Infernum.html

Is an underrated strategy gem. I cannot vouch for that because I haven't played it, but it should be right up your alley, you sinister weirdo.

If you do end up trying it, let me know if it's any good. Always on the lookout for "new" strategy games.

OOh, that. I've not played it either, mainly because I don't have anybody to play it against - I think it's multiplayer only. Even if it's not, it's supposed to be better in MP - it's all about backstabbing everybody else in order to become the ruler of hell.

I know about it from the RPS piece on it: it's a written description of how a game went down, from the perspective of all 3 people [http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/03/solium-infernum-the-complete-battle-for-hell/].

 

[shrekfan246]

I think Chaos legion is the game you are looking for if you want something actiony. It's DMC with summons. And it looks really good for a ps2 game.

I've actually heard of that. I don't remember why, but I recall looking up gameplay of it a few months ago and thinking it looked like it could be a bit of fun. I didn't realize it had any sort of summon mechanics, though. Neat!

Go back and play Sacrifice! That game was incredible!

I always wrestle with myself whenever I see that go on sale. It does look like something I'd enjoy.

From Hell's Heart I Stab At Thee!

Interesting.

I would say I'm looking for something with more dynamic combat mechanics (I'm spoiled by mainstream games) but I might look into that just because it's a cool premise.

 

[aozgolo]

Well there is a game called "Summoner" although I can't honestly say I've played it, and it's about a decade old now.

Another old game that had a summoner class that I rather enjoyed was Nox, although most Diablo-style Hack n' Slash games nowadays have something similar.

Ni No Kuni on PS3 has an assortment of interesting "familiars" you can summon for battle, though I won't say many fall under the "demonic" branch.

If you don't mind Strategy games, the game "Warlock" and it's sequel "Warlock 2" are styled after Civilization hex-grid turn-based strategy games, with a fantasy element and an interesting twist of being able to cast spells directly onto the landscape, including summoning monsters and demons. Another strategy game with a similar ability is the Disciples franchise.

It may not scratch the itch but Final Fantasy XII had an interesting way of handling summons, with it's Esper system you had to go out and defeat the Esper in very challenging boss battles, then assign them to a character, and then that character can summon them in battle, they replace your party and you don't actively control them but they can do some interesting things.

Then of course there's a huge host of monster battle themed games like Poke'mon, The Dragon Quest Monsters series in particular has demons as a specific family of monsters you can capture and raise.

Dungeons of Dredmor is a roguelike RPG that has multiple skill trees that include summonable enemies. It's very tongue-in-cheek humor though, not very serious.

Chanters from Pillars of Eternity can summon different kinds of monsters at various levels.

 

[Nailzzz]

I tend to play MMO's and ARPG's. I would recommend Marvel Heroes Online. It's one of the best F2P games out currently. You can play as Dr. Strange and he summons demons. They have a few other summoner's as well. Rift is also a game with a lot of summoning options and is also F2P and it is similar to WoW and much better imo when it comes to character build options since you get to triple class.

I would also recommend Titan Quest if you enjoy mythologies and Diablo style gameplay. You can also try out Grim Dawn by throwing a few bucks at steam to try it out. It's currently in beta, but may be exactly what your looking for.

 

[Tilly]

Surprised no-one's mentioned Final Fantasy 10 yet. That's certainly the best in the series for summoning. I really like that Summons are essentially recruited characters instead of just cool magic.
And of course, it does help when summons like Bahamut and Anima are seriously badass.

 

[shrekfan246]

Well there is a game called "Summoner" although I can't honestly say I've played it, and it's about a decade old now.

That's another one I've wrestled with whenever I see it pop up on Steam. $5 isn't much in the way of a barrier to entry, admittedly.

Another old game that had a summoner class that I rather enjoyed was Nox, although most Diablo-style Hack n' Slash games nowadays have something similar.

I've seen Nox brought up every now and then in other "recommend me" threads. I have something of a love-hate relationship with isometric ARPGs; to date, the only one that has really held my interest for longer than ten hours or so is Diablo III. Generally, it's because of how "punchy" the combat feels. Diablo III has a lot of visceral feedback with large swathes of enemies and attacks that clear them all out in clean sweeps, and I highly appreciate the ability to have class skills that aren't reliant on the class resource and replace regular auto-attacks.

Still, that doesn't mean I shouldn't look at it.

Ni No Kuni on PS3 has an assortment of interesting "familiars" you can summon for battle, though I won't say many fall under the "demonic" branch.

This would kind of fall under the Pokemon or Shin Megami Tensei branch for me, I think. While it's something I might potentially enjoy, I don't think it would give me what I'm looking for.

If you don't mind Strategy games, the game "Warlock" and it's sequel "Warlock 2" are styled after Civilization hex-grid turn-based strategy games, with a fantasy element and an interesting twist of being able to cast spells directly onto the landscape, including summoning monsters and demons. Another strategy game with a similar ability is the Disciples franchise.

I do have the first Warlock, though I haven't played it. I'm a picky bugger, and Civ-style combat has always rubbed me the wrong way. Though Disciples is something that's occasionally piqued my interest. Can you give more information about those games?

It may not scratch the itch but Final Fantasy XII had an interesting way of handling summons, with it's Esper system you had to go out and defeat the Esper in very challenging boss battles, then assign them to a character, and then that character can summon them in battle, they replace your party and you don't actively control them but they can do some interesting things.

Heh, Final Fantasy XII is already one of my go-to MMO replacer titles (sort of). The International release of the game does let you give the Espers their own Gambits and whatnot as well!

Then of course there's a huge host of monster battle themed games like Poke'mon, The Dragon Quest Monsters series in particular has demons as a specific family of monsters you can capture and raise.

Dragon Quest Monsters sounds like it might be something to check out, though.

Dungeons of Dredmor is a roguelike RPG that has multiple skill trees that include summonable enemies. It's very tongue-in-cheek humor though, not very serious.

Hm, I'll keep that in mind too. All I'd really known about it was that it was a rougelike, so I never looked any further (not that I dislike roguelikes, they're just typically not high on my radar).

Chanters from Pillars of Eternity can summon different kinds of monsters at various levels.

Well, I like Pillars for other reasons... XD I will say the summoning ability of the Chanter interested me, but not quite for this purpose.

I tend to play MMO's and ARPG's. I would recommend Marvel Heroes Online. It's one of the best F2P games out currently. You can play as Dr. Strange and he summons demons. They have a few other summoner's as well. Rift is also a game with a lot of summoning options and is also F2P and it is similar to WoW and much better imo when it comes to character build options since you get to triple class.

I've thought about trying Marvel Heroes, the only thing that's really stopped me is that it's had a lot of bad press due to their F2P practices. I do have Rift installed as well, but the problem with playing an MMO is that it tends to just make me want to play WoW again.

I would also recommend Titan Quest if you enjoy mythologies and Diablo style gameplay. You can also try out Grim Dawn by throwing a few bucks at steam to try it out. It's currently in beta, but may be exactly what your looking for.

I've got both of those, as well. I've held off on playing Grim Dawn because it's in Early Access, but I have played a small amount of it and it's looking like it'll shape up to be the next ARPG that really grips me. For some reason Titan Quest didn't particularly grab me, though. I'm not sure why.

Surprised no-one's mentioned Final Fantasy 10 yet. That's certainly the best in the series for summoning. I really like that Summons are essentially recruited characters instead of just cool magic.
And of course, it does help when summons like Bahamut and Anima are seriously badass.

I love me some Final Fantasy, it's just not really enough to satisfy the urge.

 

[JCAll]

I think Chaos legion is the game you are looking for if you want something actiony. It's DMC with summons. And it looks really good for a ps2 game.

Good luck leveling that last monster, suckers.

 

[aozgolo]

If you don't mind Strategy games, the game "Warlock" and it's sequel "Warlock 2" are styled after Civilization hex-grid turn-based strategy games, with a fantasy element and an interesting twist of being able to cast spells directly onto the landscape, including summoning monsters and demons. Another strategy game with a similar ability is the Disciples franchise.

I do have the first Warlock, though I haven't played it. I'm a picky bugger, and Civ-style combat has always rubbed me the wrong way. Though Disciples is something that's occasionally piqued my interest. Can you give more information about those games?

I have only played the first two Disciples, and they are pretty identical, although a bit dated but still enjoyable. There are different types of mana crystals on the map that if claimed by your faction provide you x amount of mana points per turn you can use to cast spells, several of these are summoning enemies directly onto the battlefield, anywhere revealed by fog of war I believe. Each faction has it's own kind of summons, one faction is all about the demons. The battle is a bit different than Warlock though, it involves squads of 3 to 6 members (some larger units take up two spots) and really all you do is select their targets, their skill is pre-determined and so you just select their targets in battle, but it's a little more involved than Civilization style.

Not sure if it'll scratch your summoner itch though.

 

[snappydog]

The game just called 'Summoner' is decent if you don't mind some seriously old-school RPG stylings. Bit hard to get into if you're not used to the limited-info school of telling you what to do, but it is fun and definitely worth having a go at.

 

[loa]

Sacrifice is all about summoning all kinds of things and having battles with it while you fling spells.
You might also want to check out age of wonders shadow magic, though that is more tactics and less action but the unit variety is pretty large.

 

[shrekfan246]

I do have the first Warlock, though I haven't played it. I'm a picky bugger, and Civ-style combat has always rubbed me the wrong way. Though Disciples is something that's occasionally piqued my interest. Can you give more information about those games?

I have only played the first two Disciples, and they are pretty identical, although a bit dated but still enjoyable. There are different types of mana crystals on the map that if claimed by your faction provide you x amount of mana points per turn you can use to cast spells, several of these are summoning enemies directly onto the battlefield, anywhere revealed by fog of war I believe. Each faction has it's own kind of summons, one faction is all about the demons. The battle is a bit different than Warlock though, it involves squads of 3 to 6 members (some larger units take up two spots) and really all you do is select their targets, their skill is pre-determined and so you just select their targets in battle, but it's a little more involved than Civilization style.

Not sure if it'll scratch your summoner itch though.

I think I'll check it out next time it's on sale on Steam anyway, and thanks for the other mentions as well!

The game just called 'Summoner' is decent if you don't mind some seriously old-school RPG stylings. Bit hard to get into if you're not used to the limited-info school of telling you what to do, but it is fun and definitely worth having a go at.

Sacrifice is all about summoning all kinds of things and having battles with it while you fling spells.

It's sounding like those two are games I'll have to try as well, so at least that decision has been made for me.

You might also want to check out age of wonders shadow magic, though that is more tactics and less action but the unit variety is pretty large.

I actually have all of the Age of Wonders games, though I've only played III as of right now. Going through the Archdruid campaign map is so close to giving me what I want, but you only have control over beasts.