There are several genres that come to mind for creating a video game based on the anime and manga Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba-. A hack-and-slash adventure or traditional RPG would be logical choices. A fighting game would follow the trend that other anime games have followed over the past few years, and the cast is sizable enough to pull one off. A board game/minigame collection is not what many people would think to use the license on, but that's exactly the kind of game that Sega and CyberConnect2 have landed on with Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep The Board!, which has made its way to the PC and other consoles after a few months of exclusivity on the Nintendo Switch.

As this is a board game, there's no real narrative. You simply choose a character, up to three opponents, and select a board to play on. There are other options to mess with, such as the number of rounds you'll play and whether bonuses will be given out at the end of a match.

If you're familiar with the Mario Party game series or other titles that tried to emulate it, you'll find the formula to be similar. You each roll a giant die to determine how many spaces you'll move on the board. Some spaces cause you to lose coins, others help you gain them, and some give you other benefits, like shopping for items or getting an ally so you have access to special dice and extra dice rolls. At the end of one round, you'll all participate in a minigame to earn more coins and then start the cycle anew as you try to earn points to win the game.

It's only familiar if you play during the day. Once anyone reaches the first goal spot, the game enters a night cycle, where you'll lose any minigames, and you'll be hunting down a major demon while also fighting against minor demons along the way. The demon fights are more like big QTE events, as you'll hit the given button at the right time, mash buttons, or flick the analog stick in a given direction to score hits. The most interesting part is that all of the major demon fights are done cooperatively, so anyone can score points based on their performance. Once you defeat the major demon, you return to the day cycle and repeat the process until all of the turns are depleted.

The battles against the demons, both minor and major, are perhaps the highlight of the minigames. They seem simple in execution, but they remain fun since they fit in well with the license. They can be frantic but enjoyable, and the fact that everyone gets in on the fight is a good move. Sitting and watching a long battle would've quickly drained the fun from the game. The only drawback is that your icon is never in the same place all the time, so you may sometimes be lost and unclear of what you should pay attention to during a demon fighting stage.

The rest of the minigames are very hit-and-miss in terms of fun. There are a few decent ones like Chanbara and smacking around Daruma blocks in the right direction. The same goes for games like the firework display, but more games are in line with spinning tops or badminton, where they're fine but not at all memorable. Then there's stuff like memory, which is bland. The number of minigames also isn't very large, so it doesn't take very long to go through all of them.

It also doesn't help that there are only five boards in the game. To be fair, each board covers one of the anime's major story arcs, and the layout is quite good even when taking into account the different modes of shortcut transportation. However, you'll go through these boards pretty quickly, and while there have been some extra characters and cosmetics in the recent free patches, having a new board to play in would be much more appreciated.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about the game is its CPU opponents. Having to watch them roll the dice and move around isn't so bad, especially since their actions aren't accompanied by pausing, like the Switch version is. Seeing them play their minigames is also fine, since other party games have done similar things. The problem is that the game will always pick one CPU player to be a superstar. They'll rarely roll low, they'll always reach the important spaces first, and they'll get lucky enough to get points instead of coins in their own minigames. Even if you somehow come out ahead, the game decides at that moment to go for bonuses that only the CPU player lucked out on. It feels impossible to win against a full lineup of CPU players, even when you set them all to the easy difficulty. Solo players should be prepared to encounter frustration before the game may choose benevolence and give you a close win.

Beyond the board games, there are a few things to explore. Skill Training allows you to play any of the minigames individually, but you can also do a random selection of four games or a random selection of games that are only 2v2. You'll want to play these games pretty often. Not only are most of the Achievements tied to them, but that's also the fastest way to earn coins that can then be used in the raffle to win random items. All of the items are cosmetic in nature, from profile frames and backgrounds to stamps. The costumes are perhaps the most valuable things to win, since they are distinct instead of just being a new color palette.

Sweep the Board! features online play, which is always nice since most party games usually omit this feature. However, the online performance isn't very good. The amount of lag in your controls is noticeable, and it's enough to make many of the demon fights feel like a crapshoot in hitting the icons. Then again, you might not mind the lag that much, since finding a match online is a rarity. There's no cross-play support, and with many people scoffing at the game's high price, it could be a while before you'll find full groups to play against with any consistency.

This is a CyberConnect2 game, so there's little doubt that the team can pull off a presentation that would match the anime source material. Those who have seen the team's work on the various .hack games and Naruto titles already know that the team is excellent when it comes to ensuring that the graphics match the anime's style, and Sweep the Board! is no exception, with fluid movements and gorgeous backgrounds. The only knock is that some of the levels feature people that don't move at all, making the game feel lifeless. The voices and music are just as good as the graphics, and the option for both Japanese and English vocal tracks is always welcome.

Steam Deck users will find that the game works pretty well on the device. After a brief scare when the initial save text appears, the game displays everything normally, albeit at 1280x720 despite the options claiming 1280x800. The text is very clean and readable, and the game is nearly locked at 60fps despite all of the settings being at their highest level. You will want to lower them a bit, as the battery life from a Steam Deck LCD only hits a little over two hours on a full charge. Lowering the graphical settings doesn't affect the overall picture that much.

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep The Board! appeals to a very specific type of player: someone who's already a big fan of the series and also loves digital board games. The concept is fine, and the day/night cycle and demon fights make this an intriguing party game. That said, between the mediocre collection of minigames, small board selection, unfair CPU characters, and poor online performance, there's not much to keep players interested for very long. It's not a terrible party game, but you'll only be tempted to grab it if you really, really need to play a party game.

Score: 6.5/10