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“Love yourself. When you go for everything that you want to strive for, even if it feels like it’s getting tough, never give up. Because there are going to be times that that battle gets a bit uphill and you feel that rock pushing you back, but you push back stronger, come back stronger.”
DemiGodReviews
Next up in our lineup for our Black Excellence in Gaming series is a creator who you have most likely come across already. Known for their game reviews and playthroughs, DemiGodReviews is hard at work planning their comeback for 2021 with plenty of goals and milestones in mind for this new year.
Ever since watching other “Let’s Play” broadcasters, Demi has wanted to get into doing his own reviews and broadcasts, going so far as to take as many notes as they could when watching some of their favorites. After getting his own Playstation 4 and Xbox, Demi began broadcasting on Twitch after learning more about the integration functions between the consoles and the site, with the first game he played live being a Grand Theft Auto heist. Games like Overwatch, RPGs, and action-adventure games began making their way into his lineup shortly after, and Demi still plays a variety of games to this day.
Some of his favorite games to play and stream include DOOM, DOOM Eternal, Wolfenstein, and plenty of other games from platformers to mystery games to more action-adventure games. A huge fan of CAPCOM and the Resident Evil series specifically, Demi enjoyed their most recent remakes of the second and third games in the franchise. Some of his favorite aspects from those games include the opportunity to play as two different characters in Resident Evil 2, each with different stakes in what is happening and different stories that affect the gameplay as you progress. Resident Evil 3 was his preferred of the two, as it was more action packed and the villain of the game, Nemesis, inspired more fear and dread than his predecessor Mr. X. He is looking forward to Resident Evil Village, a game that has already garnered much excitement and interest from both members of the fan community and new players alike, stating, “they’re setting up something really good with the resident evil franchise right now that they haven’t done in a while since four.”
When it comes to his process for curating game reviews, Demi has a well oiled system in place to make sure he highlights the best and worst aspects of any game that he may play while also making sure to make the review personal and with his own spin. He’ll look at as many elements of the game as he can before integrating them all into as thorough a review as possible, such as the art style, story, graphics, sound design and more. A lot of time and personal discipline goes into planning for and creating these reviews, and even when another game or distraction might be calling from far away, Demi will focus on his goal to complete the review first within the schedule that he has set for himself.
“You’ve got to stay focused. And sometimes, as much as I want to play Among Us or want to play Overwatch or want to play Apex or want to play Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, I have to tell myself, ‘Hey, man. You got a week to finish this.’ Get it done and it’s a pretty long game, too. So sometimes, I do go off that path of being disciplined. But I’ve got to tunnel vision and keep myself focused at all costs.”
His most memorable and impactful playthroughs and reviews to date have been of Red Dead Redemption: 2 and Marvel’s Spider Man: Miles Morales, saying that the amount of work and effort by the team of developers that went into creating those games was absolutely phenomenal. Seldom does a game make Demi cry, but Red Dead managed to hit those chords and leave a personal imprint through its main character Arthur Morgan, who he says is one of the most relatable characters in a video game to date.
But aside from being a reviewer and avid player and fan of video games, Demi also advocates for the representation and equity of Black people in the gaming scene. When asked about his feelings towards Black History Month as it relates to gaming, he states that the efforts should go well beyond February alone. While it’s great that companies, organizations, and individuals wish to support Black creators during this time of the year, these efforts can sometimes feel shallow or hollow, leaving Demi with a sense that some people only do this to either check a box or mark something off their “To Do” list. Rather than wanting to genuinely support these creators who put a lot of their time and effort and honest selves into all the work that they do. He expressed that he would love to see more companies taking the initiative to feature and support Black content creators year round, not just during Black History Month.
“Give me more. Don’t just do it for that month. Do it for the year. Put more Black faces and more Black content creators that’s constantly working and constantly busting their asses to do something much more than just Black History Month. Don’t hit a quota just because it’s February. Don’t hit a quota because you feel like you want to be an ally now you want to be included. Give me more.”
A sentiment that has been shared by other Black content creators throughout our interview series, DemiGodReviews puts these feelings into words in the most clear way possible.We have no doubt that through their continued efforts to not only be honest and upfront about their desires and support for Black gamers, live streamers, and other creators in this space, Demi will help to be a source of inspiration and support for those who want all the same things. Though he is still gearing up for his return to the gaming scene, we look forward to his comeback and the chance to continue to support his work and all that he wishes to set out to do this year.
On behalf of the Off Colour team, we thank Demi for taking the time to chat with us and share more about his path as a creator!
You can be sure to support DemiGodReviews by visiting their Twitch channel and other socials as well. Be sure to check back soon for when we share our full interview on the Off Colour site!
Thank you so much for reading, and we hope you enjoy the rest of our series!