Independent developer Thing Trunk announces Book of Demons, a fantasy-themed action/RPG coming to Windows in the third quarter of this year. They describe this as a cross between Paper Mario and Diablo, and promise further details and a gameplay trailer soon. In the meantime, you can learn more about their plan on this website where they provide this announcement trailer, say to expect a beta in Q2, and link to where you can preorder. Here's word:

What makes Book of Demons stand out from the rest of fantasy hack & slash games are its many twists in the basic gameplay mechanics, paper cut-out graphics, unprecedented accessibility, and a dark theme intertwined with a fair dose of humor any fan of classic games should enjoy. The character system is built around a card system that supersedes and unifies items, skills, and spells. Current hack & slash games employ countless statistics that change the mechanics by a percentile in a continuous fashion. Book of Demons features multiple discrete player and monster mechanics that can be combined in a virtually infinite number of interesting ways to create near endless replayability.

Book of Demons is the first installment in the Return 2 Games series which was announced by Thing Trunk last year. Each game in the R2G series takes place in Paperverse where all characters and objects are made of folded paper. True to the origins of the hack & slash genre, Book of Demons tells the universal story of good vs evil, of a hero's quest to save the world from the ultimate devilry.

“We were always fascinated by the intensity of the experiences in the games from the 90's, especially Diablo 1, which in our opinion is one of the best hack & slash games of all time” said Maciej Biedrzycki, Thing Trunk co-founder. “Book of Demons is a tribute to this sentiment.”

Key features of Book of Demons:

• Paper cut-out graphics
• Upgradable card system that unifies items, spells, and skills
• Unique movement and fighting system for more strategic gameplay
• Flexiscope™ system that adjusts sessions size to players' liking
• Endless end-game mode with 100+ challenges
• First truly accessible hack & slash
• Randomized dungeons
• Single-player campaign with 3 character classes
• 60+ different monster types
• Lots of humor