Demonschool review

Saturday morning carcasses

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ysbryd Games

A wonderful tactics RPG that delights through its character writing and comedy just as much as its combat.

• Developer: Necrosoft Games
• Publisher: Ysbryd Games
• Release: November 19th, 2025
• On: Windows
• From: Steam
• Price: £20/$25/€22
• Reviewed on: Intel Core i5-13500, 32GB RAM, Nvidia Geforce RTX 2060 Super, Windows 11

To say that Demonschool comes out swinging with its premise would be an understatement. Trapped on the isolated Hemsk Island and surrounded by increasingly spooky occurrences, it quickly becomes clear that Faye and her classmates have no choice but to kick demons’ spines out, pass their semester without going to prison, and face the greatest horror of all: making friends in university.

A turn-based tactics RPG with as heavy a focus on lining up demons and knocking them down as building up bonds with party members, Demonschool grants you ten weeks to stop the apocalypse and have some fun along the way. The tone is light across the board, with students, gangsters, and the school staff regarding their impending doom with a similar degree of concern to a group presentation deadline.

Demonschool excels at one of the trickiest elements to nail in a story like this: making the jokes actually funny . It’s bursting with tiny gags, sometimes as simple as one-two punches of character names and dialogue — an understated highlight was a yakuza named Tiny Gangster muttering “Hold me closer” to himself. Interactions between the party are consistently witty enough to make you at least crack a smile if not embarrassingly snort, with particular compliments to Faye’s unhinged sapphic aggressiveness towards just about everything (equal in love and in violence) and Destin’s repeated, adorable inability to grasp the severity of the school’s situation. With worse writing, this style of humour could easily tip over the edge from breakneck wit to cliche trite, but Demonschool manages to keep the comedic momentum up without going too far and making caricatures of its characters. More than anything, Demonschool is just relentlessly charming.

As the conspiracy at the heart of Demonschool’s narrative unfolded, with patriarchs returning from beyond the grave and eldritch nightmares summoned by demonic rituals, I was at one point struck by a sudden realisation: this story has the same vibe as a season of Scooby-Doo. I mean this as a great compliment. Hell, there’s literally an ‘artifact-of-the-week’ structure to each weekly cycle, placing Hemsk Island Incorporated on wild goose chases to find/repair items adjacent to the prophecy, inevitably facing a horrifying boss battle to acquire them and end each week.

Speaking of battling, the combat system is how you’ll be spending the majority of your time. Despite laying its cards out on the grid fairly early on, the depth, difficulty, visual flair, and efficiency of it all guarantees you’ll always be finding new strategies and struggling in novel ways throughout. Four party members enter the fray, with the AP cost of each party member’s move steadily increasing within each turn, forcing choices on not just which abilities to use, but when. Varying greatly between characters in their utility, special attacks earned by attacking or healing are powerful enough to turn the tide in one turn (and thus instill a sense of dread when you realise your actions in one turn don’t quite fill up the special bar you needed).

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ysbryd Games

Demonschool starts off easy, even for someone new to the tactics subgenre like me, but will happily kick your teeth in later if you’re on autopilot. Even with the infinite time granted for decisions in each turn, I still often found myself biting my lip and praying that I hadn’t just made a terrible mistake as soon as I committed to the turn (and then watching my party perish for my hubris, obviously). Performance in combat, judged by the mortality of your party and reaching the sealing phase to end battles under each fight’s pre-established turn par, also decides the amount of medals received, which are spent on unlocking character modifiers. Thankfully, Demonschool is kind enough to include the ability to freely undo and redo actions until you’re sure you want to commit to that turn, as well as restart battles at any time to use your acquired knowledge to make better choices from the start (or immediately restart after finishing, if your initial rank is poor).

Demonschool rounds out at 15 party members, granted gradually throughout the narrative as Faye and co. manage to convince classmates to join their club with increasingly absurd motivations. Cinnamon-sweet Mercy, for example, joins up after finding an adorable canine familiar, but quickly realises she might not be up to ‘fighting giant skeletons and stuff.’ There’s a risk of the sheer size making the party feel less than the sum of its parts, through having less space to focus on each member in narrative and divergent battle synergy, but Demonschool sidesteps this effortlessly by giving each student a specialised role.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ysbryd Games

Even with a relatively small selection of elements assigned at one per character - Almighty, Flame, Earth, Flood, Ice and Metal - there’s no overlap between roles, and each party member has something entirely unique to offer within the team of four that goes into battle. Namako and Aina might both attack by phasing through enemies and swapping places, but where Namako debuffs and stuns to set up another classmate’s attack, Aina slices clean through demons with a graceful violence. Even the resident healer and pacifist Knute plays around with the archetype: healing an ally with full health will instead buff their damage, giving reason to really think about whether to mend your wounded or go scorched earth with a damage dealer like Faye or Destin. This is complicated further by the techniques and aspect shifts unlocked via awarded medals or opal (the standard currency), which alter character traits in avenues as standard as doubling knockback, or as game-changing as allowing them to inexplicably loop around to the other end of the grid.

You can, by all means, run through the game with a party of personal preference — I kept a ‘comfort’ team of Faye, Aina, Destin and Knute as my default for some time — but enemy weaknesses, initial enemy placement, and their attack properties mean you should often take a minute to think about who is truly best for the fight that lays ahead. Despite all of the complexity in synergy that Demonschool offers, I’ve no shame in admitting that nothing made my neurons fire quite like the simple kineticism of watching Faye’s special attack send enemies flying across the grid, exploding into blinding pillars of almighty light. Listen, you show me a cute and intimidating girl kicking a line of incompetent yakuza into the ether, and you’ve sold me on your game.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ysbryd Games

There’s far more than just combat in Demonschool, though - why have a party if you can’t spend time with them outside of kicking demon ass? While some side activities are quite simple, like cooking and fishing (discounting the unholy biology of Hemsk’s marine life), others add unique twists to established RPG minigames. Like a Dragon ’s karaoke is a rhythm game, but Demonschool’s rendition tasks you with identifying a lyrical theme and selecting the matching verses with great haste. Demonschool also takes a leaf out of Like a Dragon’s book by including a few of Necrosoft’s older titles as games-within-a-game, playable on arcade machines in the party’s clubhouse. A favourite of mine is visiting a physical tape collector with movie buff Knute and picking out a (real) classic film, who’ll watch it in his downtime between demons and write a short review for the university paper. What’s wonderful is that you can actually read these via the town square’s mailbox - it’s the difference between just saying Knute is a physical media purist and film critic, and showing it. Activities also raise bonds between the party, with friendships deepening, combat synergy improving, and the possibility of some becoming more than just friends.

All of this is presented in a beautiful blend of stunning 2.5D pixel art, striking hand-drawn illustrations, and low-poly 3D models often cleverly reserved for bosses, making them look even more otherworldly and wrong . Necrosoft has noted design inspirations including Shin Megami Tensei, ukiyo-e prints, the work of Junji Ito, and even classic Italian horror such as Suspiria, and nowhere are these horrific touchstones clearer than in the bosses - I can’t say I’ve ever seen a skeleton recoil from an attack by popping out its brain in a torrent of blood. Special mention goes to the explosive manga-cutout impact panels that flash up on a successful combo attack, which add exciting visual flair and represent your party’s growing synergy perfectly.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Ysbryd Games

Environments in and outside of battle are also a pleasure to just sit and take in the ambience of, which in turn necessitates mention of Kurt Feldman’s incredible soundtrack. Spanning upbeat, gentle tracks befitting the slice-of-life school setting and hard rock battle tracks to keep the blood pumping while toiling over your next turn, Demonschool’s soundtrack is dynamic in more ways than just its tonal variety. Instruments fall in and out of tracks as combat switches between planning and action, or as overworld travel transitions into key story scenes; it’s a real neat trick, and I can happily thank Feldman for having the Friday Battle (Action) track repeating in my head at any time I wasn’t playing.

Demonschool has a very clear intent in its design, and it succeeds in that intent with perfect marks. I adore the characters, setting, combat, side content, design, music, everything. As soon as I finish writing this, I’m going straight back to playing more of it. There’s just nothing that looks, sounds or plays quite like Demonschool, and I feel very fortunate to live in the same demon-free world as it.

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Demonschool

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC , Nintendo Switch

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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