The momentum of Demon Slayer‘s success ain’t stopping and now with Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep The Board, you can even experience its world in family party fun. With a glance at Demon Slayer‘s premise, one would expect that if it were to get a video game adaptation, it would be some action-adventure title. Somehow, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep The Board came around and surprised us with… a digital party board game?

It is certainly an interesting way to take an action-focused manga and give it a zany spin. After all, aside from high-octane sword fights, the series does have many light-hearted moments with Zenitsu’s frequent wimping and Inosuke’s brashy personality.

So how does a Demon Slayer board game play? Well, it is a Monopoly-style game where players select their favorite character, whether Tanjiro, Nezuko, or any of the Hashira, roll some dice to move accordingly, and accumulate wealth and abilities. You can play either offline, or in multiplayer through local wireless play or online.

The game is primarily divided into its namesake “Sweep the Board”, which is the main board game-style mode, or “Skill Training”, which is composed of various minigames.

Sweep the Board with Thy Swords

In Sweep the Board, as explained earlier, you go about the progression like you’re playing Monopoly and traveling to many iconic locales from the series such as Fujikasane Yama, Asakusa, and Swordsmith Village.

Supporting up to 4 players, the game can also be played solo or with CPU partners. Before starting your adventure, you can choose the number of rounds, game boards, and characters. To explore all aspects of the game, we recommend increasing the number of rounds to 15 or more. Early gameplay focuses on triggering events and accumulating funds to purchase items. Turns progress swiftly, with a minigame at the end of each round. 

As the game progresses, you roll dice to advance, and in doing so, you may encounter various forms of minigames during the day, such as 4-player free-for-all or 2-versus-2 team battles. If you are familiar with the source material, then nighttime comes with its danger as demons will show up on the board to wreak havoc. If you were to land in any space where a demon is chilling, then you must spin a spinner to determine whether you fight or earn points. Before the night moon rises, you can prepare yourself by purchasing various items from the shop.

In fights, you deal damage through quick-time events using the Joy-Con motion controls, but button presses or directional inputs are also options. Once you slay a demon, daytime returns, and new goals arise. In subsequent rounds, new random events may occur and may grant you ways to move faster such as having a shortcut – which is nice for the more casual crowd in helping them catch up.

Moreover, allies can join the game, allowing the use of their specific dice or obtaining random items. These items are rather intriguing; for example, you may increase the number of dice rolls, swap positions with other players, or bring everyone to your location. These are easily obtainable, leading to chaotic turns and making players feel that no one is safe.

Worth mentioning is that there are “special prizes” in the game, which sometimes leave suspense for players of similar strength, and the other players can often achieve a comeback at this moment. Some of these include “the person who works most closely with his partners”, “the person who works the hardest”, “the person who buys the most props”, and so on. Winners of these special prizes can get points, so the player will likely jump directly from the last place to the first place through luck. 

Minigame Galore

Meanwhile, in the Skill Training mode, you can freely choose and replay the minigames you have unlocked throughout the run. There is a good variety and surprisingly easy to pick up, learn, and start having fun. Even if you are not sure about how the minigame plays, the game does provide you with a practice mode until you become familiar with the gameplay. Quite a considerate inclusion, in my opinion, helps prevent players from feeling overwhelmed when they start the minigames.

Like any party game, the fun indeed lies in the minigames, and they add a lot of replayability as you unlock more elements over time. While playing multiplayer, you can communicate with other players using stamps, which is quite cute.

Aside from minigames, you can also obtain a corresponding number of “Kimetsu Tablets” through the final settlement rewards of the game, which can be used in the lottery mode to receive stamps, character costumes, game backgrounds, titles, and many other rewards to be used in the game.

Board Game Breathing Technique 

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep The Board is a lovely surprise, taking a beloved anime series and putting on an unexpected fresh spin of it with a Monopoly-style gameplay. If you are already of fan of Tanjiro and its heart-blazing adventures, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep The Board is no doubt a fun game to re-experience the characters once again.

For a party game, Sweep The Board is not lacking in quantity in terms of minigames, and many are absolutely fun. That said, some minigames does not exactly feel like Demon Slayer, and more so added in for the quantity.

All in all, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep The Board is a lovely party game for fans of the series to introduce their parents to how awesome Tanjiro and his friends are, with ample fun minigames to experience.

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep The Board was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch.

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu No Yaiba- Sweep the Board!

Publisher: Sega, Aniplex

Developer: CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.

Release Date: 2024-04-26

Nintendo Switch

Become a Demon Slayer. Take control of iconic characters, explore landmarks from the anime, and fight demons!