Sometimes there’s not a lot of information about eShop titles. I can get an idea of what to expect by looking at the developer’s history and a gameplay video. With Unholy Heights, a 3DS game that also appeared on Steam and the Xbox 360 a few years ago, I didn’t have that issue. I knew it was a management simulator and it looked cute, but I didn’t end up grabbing it until it came to the Nintendo 3DS. And as it turns out, it’s a devilishly good time.

The star of Unholy Heights is the devil himself. He is sick of his salaryman days and decides to build an apartment complex. He wants to create spaces for various monsters to live in, and earn money from it as quickly as possible since money is the root of all evil. That’s easier said than done, because every single one of these creatures is unique. They have their own personalities, wishes and changes that come into play, and the evil landlord’s task is to keep them happy and at ease. Some will ask you for the little things to keep them entertained, while others need items to live. Treating the residents right lets you raise their rent which will allow you to increase the number of apartments and start the entire process anew.

The gameplay stars simply and slowly. The building starts with four apartments and very limited resources. There’s some little things to do at the start, but early on you’ll have to take some risks which can end the story. The other way to make money and grow is fighting human adventurers. They had an eye on the devil for a while now and they see it as their duty to protect humanity. A successful defense against a human grants the money needed to expand, but losing will cost you resources and lower the morale of the tenants.

Unholy Heights was constantly asking me to take that leap of faith. It’s heavily luck based, and a string of losses will eventually cause players to drop the game entirely. I had a couple of runs like that and that kept my playing time short. If you persist and use the in-game tools to learn about the options, the apartment will grow. It feels incredibly awesome to see it all come together, even if the work towards it can be rough. It is why I can only recommend to play this one in short bursts, otherwise fatigue will kick in. Other than that, I just had a good time. What makes the effort so much worth it, is seeing actual families build up. In time, husbands, wifes and even kids will all be under the same roof. It shows that even the devil has a little heart.

The game looks great on the Nintendo 3DS. The stylized characters look fantastic and despite starring the devil, the game’s look is bright and colorful. Despite being a port from a PC game, it feels made from top to bottom for the system. I adore the music a ton as well, which brings a mellow synthesized tone throughout. Sadly, there are only five tracks in the game and they repeat a bit too soon. It is a shame as more variety could have gone a long way.

Unholy Heights left a great impression on me. It is an incredibly charming resource simulator that is made to be played on a Nintendo 3DS. The controls are easy enough that anyone can start playing, but the gameplay will challenge everyone who tries it. The game takes time to build and progress, which won't certainly be for everyone. It gets worse if your runs end up being terrible and you are left with nowhere else to go. This is a frustration that you have to deal with as you search for the run that brings everything together. When that happens, Unholy Heights becomes one of the more intriguing Nintendo 3DS titles this year.