5. Darksiders (Series)
While not a perfect game, the demon-slicing gameplay always delivers. The fun of slaughtering hordes of monsters from the depths of hell is matched by the game’s unique art style and presentation. War, the first Horseman of the Apocalypse, may have been blamed with the premature arrival of Armageddon, but he and his brothers sure as hell aren’t going to take it sitting down. Armed with a myriad of different weapons, gadgets, and abilities, both Darksiders and Darksiders II provide players with ample opportunity to dish out otherworldly vengeance without moral dilemma. And besides, what other game has a stat tracker for how many gallons of demon blood you’ve spilled?
~Peter Starr
4. Onimusha (Series)
Before we had Devil May Cry to get our stylish fix of pummeling and perforating demon hoards, Onimusha had already been there, done that. Released between an awkward transitional period where Capcom was looking for new third person control schemes, this game served as a nice stepping stone to DMC, providing gamers with a solid mix of swordplay and limited ranged combat. And of course, plenty of demons to test these weapons and skills out on. These games had demons big and small, from swift ninja types up to large minotaur. While the combat is far slower paced than that of DMC, it requires just as much precision and mastery to succeed. Even to this day, the satisfaction from pulling off a chain of perfect “Issens”, (the games counter attack system) on a group of demons just to watch them split in half, is a hard feeling to match.
~ Nick Grave
3. Devil May Cry (Series)
“Lets rock, baby!” One of the many lines from iconic demon slayer Dante, this series probably needs little explanation why it’s on this list. While other hyper violent, metal music infused games were dormant in development hell, this little devil decided to fill the gap with both guns blazing. The main goal of this series is a simple one, eradicate every demon that you see with as much grace, style and over the top action as your reflexes can handle. The variety of demons throughout the series, especially the first, give players plenty of memorable monsters to maim. From the second you arrive at the castle on Mallet Island to the moment the credits role in DMC 4, you’ll have dealt with more demons than an AA meeting between Max Payne and The Punisher.
~ Nick Grave
2. Diablo (Series)
From cult classic to gaming phenomenon, the Diablo series has given and continues to give players endless hours of simulated demon genocide. And there’s really no other word to use but genocide, because thanks to the overhead, Gauntlet-esque playstyle that it uses, it allows for far larger hoards to be on screen. Naturally, this in turns leads to demon massacres of epic proportions. Demons come in many forms in this series, including that of evil cows. Yes, evil cows. That’s totally a thing and if you didn’t know, well, look into it ASAP. Now, you’d think with the mass amounts of demon killing done in this series, and the fact that The Devil is not only the boss but in the damn title of the game, that this should surely be number one, right? But, there’s only one who can slay them all. Cue hardcore metal riff…now!
~ Nick Grave