Devil's Hunt is a supernatural-themed third-person Beat 'em Up action game developed by Layopi Games, with a story loosely based on Paweł Leśniak's novel Equilibrium.
Desmond Pearce, a Miami-based champion kickboxer and only son of a rich entrepreneur whose relationship with his father Richard has fallen apart, lose his remaining will to live after discovering his fiancee, Kristen, had an affair with his best friend behind his back, merely a week before his wedding; unable to accept the truth, Desmond attempts killing himself by driving his car off a bridge into the Florida Bay.
Unexpectedly surviving his suicide, Desmond awakes in the realm of the underworld, somehwere in hell. Where against his will, he's sentenced to be the devil's executioner to atone for his attempted self-killing and sins as a mortal, and sent back to the world of mortals. Where he finds out there is a war between angels and demons, and like it or not, Desmond is caught in-between the mess.
The One who lost his life, returns to seize what has been taken from him...
He will return on earth as the Saviour or the Destroyer... to fulfill his Destiny.
- Absurdly Ineffective Barricade: Lampooned when Desmond confronts Archangel Gabriel after infiltrating her quarters... and killing his way through the lesser angel guards. Before confronting Gabriel, Desmond blocks the door with a chair.Gabriel: You think a chair can stop angels?
- Aim for the Horn: The first boss, a Big Red Devil with curved horns, is killed when Desmond - in his own demon form - pulls the boss' horns off before shoving it through the demon's skull.
- Back from the Dead: Desmond returns after a botched suicide attempt, owing to making a Deal with the Devil.
- Battle Amongst the Flames: The opening stage is set in a burning city, where Desmond fights assorted demons, including the first boss, amids the inferno. The last few stages are set in flames, too - interestingly enough, the opening stage is chronologically set concurrently with the last stages.
- Camera Abuse: Whenever Desmond receives damage, the screen's corners becomes bloodied. Even though the game is in third person.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Desmond's friend, Embry, lets out a string of these after finding Desmond still alive and waiting for him in his apartment, mere weeks after attending Desmond's funeral.Embry: Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck? Desmond?
Desmond: You looked like you've seen a ghost, Embry. - Contemplative Boss: Desmond's father, Richard Pearce, the CEO of Pearce Enterprises is introduced in this manner, looking out his skyscraper penthouse across Miami and hardly reacting when Desmond steps into his office.
- Coup de Grâce Cutscene: Finishing off an enemy with a special move often leads to one; either Desmond uppercutting a demon into the air before punching a hole through their spine as they land, smashing them to the floor and stomping their skulls in, pulling off craniums, and the like.
- A Dick in Name: Played straight with Desmond's father, Richard Pearce. A wealthy entrepreneur who ignores his son after his wife's passing, and talks down on his son after Desmond lose a fight.Richard: Desmond, Desmond, Desmond... will you ever be anything other than a burden? First I'm cleaning up the mess you've made of my company, then you're getting your ass handed to you in front of all my friends and colleagues. The only good is your mother didn't live long enough to witness this failure.
[after Richard left]
Paramedic: Who was that prick?
Desmond: That was my father. - Distaff Counterpart: This game's version of Archangel Gabriel turns out to be a woman with flowing blond hair.
- Driven to Suicide: Desmond's botched attempt to kill himself by deliberately driving his car into Tampa Bay - before he's forcefully recruited by hell - kicks off the main plot.
- Flash Step: Demons assuming human forms can side-step at rapid speed without moving their legs, even flash-stepping circle around Desmond. The hero can gain and upgrade this ability roughly halfway through.
- Giant Mook: The gigantic demons who towers above Desmond, and wield spiked maces the size of regular demons. They tank a lot of hits before they collapse, and Desmond performing a Coup de Grâce Cutscene on these enemies have him relieving the demons of their maces and sending it down their skulls.
- The Goomba: The "Forsaken" enemies are pale, zombie-like creatures whose bodies are embedded with spikes and in constant agony. Being the lowest in hell's food chain, they appear in large numbers early on and can be killed easily.
- The Grim Reaper: Unsurprisingly, the Grim Reaper himself appears as Lucifer's right-hand, being the one who bestows Desmond his powers and pushes him back to the world of living. He's depicted as a hooded skeleton, though sans scythe - since Grim's forefinger is already a long scythe.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: A restrained Desmond managed to trick a lesser demon mook into unlocking his cell and releasing his bonds just by whistling and facial intimidation. Once the demon let Desmond go, Desmond breaks its neck.
- Heaven Versus Hell: For most of the game, there's a war between angels and demons going on off-camera; the game revovles around Desmond being reluctantly caught in-between after his suicide and recruit by the forces of hell.
- Hulking Out: Desmond can alternate between human and demon form, the latter which deals greater damage but costs mana. However, all the demon and angel bosses who usually assumes a human form can do this too.
- Missing Mom: Desmond's mother died prior to the backstory, when he was a child. His relationship with his father Richard quickly becomes sour afterwards.
- Monstrous Cannibalism: The higher-level Lesser Demon is introduced in a cutscene... chomping down and devouring a low-level Forsaken zombie. Even a badass like Desmond seems rather unnerved.Desmond: Hey, leave... whatever that is... alone!
- Our Angels Are Different: The Angel enemies usually assumes a humanoid form, until they reveal they have wings and are actually pale, hairless humanoid beings
- Rise from Your Grave: Desmond, post-resurrection as the devil's collector of souls and returns to the land of living. We see a close-up of his tombstone before his hand pops out.DESMOND PEARCE
1993 - 2019
REST IN PEACE
[hand breaks out of soil] - Skyward Scream: Desmond does this after killing the second demon boss (his first chronological kill as a demon-human hybrid, since the previous boss is from the A Taste of Power segment). His eyes emit a golden-yellow glow as he howls, an indicator of his evil side's emergence.
- Sword Beam: One of the last powers Desmond obtains in demon form is his claw beams, where his talons can release red, crescent-shaped projectiles. On the flipside, the common angel mooks armed with swords can release light energy bolts with their blades.
- A Taste of Power: Desmond in the opening stage is already a monster-killing badass with his demon form fully upgraded (including his Talon Beam that he doesn't obtain until halfway through), where he gets to slaughter hordes and hordes of zombies, ghouls, and lesser demons until killing the first boss. The next stage flashes back to days ago, when Desmond is a regular human, and it takes a few hours before the game catches up with the intro.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Example where the good guy does it, Desmond can execute an enemy by pressing his left hand on their torso and absorb their souls. His life increases whenever he does this.
