By Kerith Busby
This is a 3rd person stealth game where you take the role of an Aragami (a vengeful spirit) who has been summoned by Yamiko, she has invoked you so that you can release her and what remains of her people from the temple they have been sealed in by powerful magic by the light adapts of the clan that have attacked them.
The character you play has the ability to use the shadow powers to assassinate and move around the level unseen so you can tailor the gameplay to how you prefer to work it, with these powers you can do anything from teleporting to summoning a shadow creature to Kill your target. There are extra points at the end of the level for completing a level without killing anyone same as you can gain points by assassinating some or all of the enemies that you encounter during the chapter.
The tutorial is fairly simple and straightforward to follow the spirit self of Yamiko guiding you and teaching you how to use the first of your powers, as you work through the game you will encounter scrolls in hidden or side areas which will give you more skill points to unlock new abilities (my personal favourite is the one where you dispose of bodies) each new skill you unlock means you can adjust your play style to what you prefer.
As you move through the game you will learn about Yamiko and her people and all the things that have befallen them over the decades, you need to find 6 talismans to break the spell that is holding Yamiko captive in the temple and each time you find one of these you will experience visions which help you to explain everything that has happened.
There are areas of the game where stealth is needed and others where you need quick reflexes to avoid traps and sometimes some patience and watching the guards movements is the easiest way forward but there are many different ways to deal with each challenge you find. You can take the game at whatever pace you prefer so you can take things in your stride and hopefully make it through all 13 of the chapters that are in the game.
Alongside this there is an option to play the game in co-op mode and get some help from a friend, I am looking forward to trying this mode out later this week as it think it should bring a new element to the game, the DLC which comes with the game “nightfall” where you play as the shadow assassins Hyo and Shinobu is also going to be available in co-op mode along with new shadow powers and more story missions to get your teeth into.
The game has a lot of achievements you can get as well so it is somewhat of an achievement hunters dream, you will most likely find your self-replaying earlier chapters once you have unlocked some new abilities to see if you can achieve the top grade from each level.
Well I don’t want to go into to much more detail as I don’t want to ruin the story for you, I hope you all enjoy playing this game as much as I have, never know may bump into a few of you in co-op in the coming weeks
Overall Score – 8/10
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