Skövde’s Angry Demon Studio Celebrated for Gori: Cuddly Carnage

Angry Demon Studio is one of many Swedish game companies started in Skövde, supported by Sweden Game Startup - Science Park Skövde's startup program. After meeting as students at the University of Skövde, John Kalderon and his team joined the program, where they spent their first three years as full-time game developers.

"We all come from different parts of Sweden, including Helsingborg, Stenungsund, and Nyköping. What unites us is that we’re a passionate group of game developers who just want to create cool games that people can enjoy," says Kalderon.

After creating various games, from horror to Norse mythology-themed ones, Angry Demon Studio moved into its own office in Skövde, as they describe, "entering the real world."

"We gained a lot of valuable knowledge from our time at Science Park Skövde and in the startup program. Without it, we wouldn’t have had any idea about running a business. It gave us an important foundation, allowing us to establish our studio for real. Before that, we didn’t have any infrastructure, and much of what we did was ad-hoc. After having the chance to set up our own base, our development picked up," says Kalderon, adding:

"We didn’t know much about basic business and financial matters. We knew how to develop games, but that was about it. The startup program coaches provided invaluable help, which we’ve benefited from daily ever since."

At the end of the summer, Angry Demon Studio released their latest and largest game, Gori: Cuddly Carnage. It’s described as a hoverboarding, skate-and-slash game in which players control a cat on a hoverboard who fights unicorns in an exciting and humorous storyline.

"The game is inspired by the era of games that shaped us as kids. This style of game had an overarching story, but a clear level-based structure that allowed you to keep progressing. Some of the games we used to play included Darksiders, Devil May Cry, and God of War," says Kalderon.

So, what sets Gori apart from similar games of the past?

"Gori is a hybrid of this type of game, but with modern conveniences. We wanted to create a game similar to the ones we loved growing up, but with modern technology."

Gori was released on August 29 across all platforms. So, whether you have a Steam account, PS5, or Nintendo Switch, you can try out the game developed right here in Skövde. And it’s been a hit.

"On Steam, where only those who have bought the game can review it, over 97% of the first 500 reviewers gave us positive feedback. On Metacritic, the largest game review site, we’re in the green (above 75 points) across all platforms. We’re very grateful for that."

With the release of the game, this fall will mostly involve maintaining Gori, as some bugs may slip through the review process. With support from the community, these will be addressed continuously. But new ideas are already on the horizon.

"When the game is stable, we’ll move on to new projects. We each have small ideas of what we’d like to work on, and in the relatively near future, we hope to present a fully designed new game. It’s very exciting, and we promise to share more about it in the future!"

When it comes to game development, Angry Demon has chosen to follow their instincts.

"We could totally focus on what the market wants and go from there, but that feels as uncertain as just going with our gut. Since we started, we’ve done what we want and followed our passions. We’re going where our experience and instincts take us, and we believe that will lead to the best projects in the end."

Will the studio stay in Skövde?

"That’s definitely the plan! We’ve put down roots here, and we really enjoy the city and everything about it. We’ve been running Angry Demon Studio in Skövde for seven years now, and we’re aiming for at least seven more," concludes Kalderon.