As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of experience under my belt, I must say that The Spirit of the Samurai left me more frustrated than a cat chasing its tail. I initially found the concept intriguing – a trio of unlikely heroes battling an unstoppable army, all presented in captivating stop-motion visuals.
Digital Mind Games’ “The Spirit of the Samurai” initially appears to be an innovative concept distinct from other games. As a side-scrolling action title, it presents a samurai perspective, but in a 2D stop-motion format. This unusual art style can result in some visually stunning scenes and moments. Furthermore, additional concepts seem to have been added to distinguish the game from its contemporaries. For instance, navigating as a kitten, dodging and sneaking past terrifying creatures, is included. Additionally, assuming the role of a kodama and engaging in combat at a smaller scale with a sword is also possible, albeit unexpectedly.
Despite appearing quite unusual in its combination, “The Spirit of the Samurai” struggles to deliver on the essential aspects of both its combat and exploration. The intriguing initial concept soon becomes an uninteresting journey.
In this captivating game steeped in Japanese folklore, I find myself as Takeshi, a samurai who’s been visited by an enigmatic Kitsune in my dreams. My village is gearing up for the Shuten-doji festival, but the Kitsune forewarns us of an impending attack from their army. Before I can warn the villagers, the Kitsune tells me that my kitten, Chisai, will be involved too. Despite the obvious warnings, things appear eerily peaceful – to the point where even my leader dismisses my dream, focusing instead on training.
Maintaining consistency is crucial in combat systems, and unfortunately, The Spirit of the Samurai does not deliver this consistently. While it can momentarily shine during one-on-one fights, showcasing what could be a more enjoyable gaming experience, these instances are rare and sporadic.
Nevertheless, astonishingly, an attack transpires, causing the village to crumble swiftly. Soldiers who fell in battle are transformed into the undead by wicked beings. It’s now up to Takeshi to attempt to rectify the situation, whether it’s aiding other villagers or rescuing his kitten so that it can…unusually participate in combat. To claim that The Spirit of the Samurai doesn’t boast a compelling narrative would be an understatement, even if the writing isn’t abysmal. The plot doesn’t merely degenerate into implausible twists – it fails to develop any of its characters or evoke empathy for them. Even Chisai, a charming kitten who should naturally evoke your concern, seems to just be tagging along.
The gameplay should ideally compensate for any weaknesses, and it appears that The Spirit of the Samurai‘s combat looks intriguing on paper. You can execute various attacks by moving the right stick in different directions and tailor combos accordingly. Some attacks may be slower but cause more damage, while others are quick but lack the same impact. The type of attack varies depending on whether you’re guarding or running, each action draining some of your stamina gauge. Of course, there is a standard attack button that can be customized as well. As you progress or explore the surroundings, you will discover new attacks, some only accessible in specific directions.
In theory, a mix of swift and powerful attacks seems like the strategy, but unfortunately, this approach crumbles rapidly. Besides defending yourself, you can also counterattack by parrying or dodging, with the latter being particularly useful when maneuvering behind enemies. However, you can’t switch sides while blocking, but you can launch attacks in different directions to change positions. The movement mechanics feel clumsy, especially when transitioning between crouching and standing up, but gradually, things start to make sense. Unfortunately, you encounter irregular timings with the dodge roll, parries happening unintentionally even when not pressing the button, and trying to defend against enemies attacking from various directions. In the end, it’s all for nothing.
A significant concern with the combat in this game is that hitboxes appear inconsistent, and the outcome often seems arbitrary. For instance, executing a flamboyant spin attack on an adversary might seem to miss, yet they miraculously get pulled in and perish. Conversely, attacks from both you and your enemy may pass harmlessly through each other without causing damage. Adequate consistency is crucial for a combat system such as this, but The Spirit of the Samurai falls short in this regard. Occasionally, it manages to deliver smooth one-on-one battles, offering tantalizing glimpses into what could be an excellent gaming experience, but these instances are rare.
The animation sequences could be the most captivating aspect of this encounter, showcasing terrifying creatures at every turn. The special effects and images, such as heaps of decaying bodies, are particularly striking.
Beyond being problematic, navigating as Takeshi during platforming segments is particularly unpleasant. A challenging part involves numerous lethal traps such as pits with spikes that can instantly end your game if you land in them, even if it seems like you’ve successfully jumped over them. To add to the frustration, climbing ladders and maneuvering around obstacles feels stiff and unresponsive.
Gathering items can be quite bothersome as well. There are shrines and offerings involved, where offering the latter rewards essence for purchasing healing items, ammunition like arrows, lockpicks, and various other supplies. However, due to the abundance of items that drop, you can accumulate a considerable collection. The issue lies in having to watch the animation each time and repeat the process until boredom ensues, which often happens very quickly.
It’s not helpful when certain objects are hidden and can only be picked up by repeatedly tapping the interaction button. As an additional point, interacting with shrines allows you to boost your stats, but they don’t save your game progress. Instead, checkpoints do. If you invest time in enhancing your stats and offering items for essence, only to perish without saving at a shrine, you’ll have to start over because your previous progress won’t be saved.
From my perspective as a dedicated fan, interacting with Chisai and Kodama adds a delightful twist to the game’s narrative, but their sections pale in comparison to the extensive storyline revolving around Takeshi. Instead of constantly alternating between all three characters, I find myself mainly controlling Takeshi, with occasional breaks to guide Chisai and Kodama. This approach makes sense given the intricate combo system, yet it somewhat gives an impression that there’s less variety than expected.
The stop-motion visuals may well be the only highlight of the experience, presenting some vicious-looking horrors throughout. Even the effects and certain sights, like piles of corpses, look impressive. The sad part is that it seemingly suffers from some film grain effect that ruins the overall image quality. In some parts, the lighting also comes across as super-exposed and looks awful. However, the worst part is the cutscene quality, seemingly rendered at a lower resolution than everything else. Since cutscenes are interspersed throughout, sometimes unnecessarily, it’s super jarring.
There are only a few positive aspects to note amidst the game’s sluggish controls, visual problems, monotonous item gathering, erratic battles, odd character movements, and a storyline that falls short of expectation.
In addition to some peculiar battle scenarios and questionable jumping mechanics, I encountered a puzzling bug that disrupted Takeshi’s movement. Instead of moving forward when sprinting, he would remain stationary yet slide rapidly if I jumped unexpectedly. It was quite unusual to observe, but the issue seemed to resolve itself following the next scene change. Fortunately, I didn’t experience any performance problems, however, others haven’t been as fortunate.
I was eager to try out “The Spirit of the Samurai“, primarily attracted by its striking visuals, and the idea of three unusual partners banding together to confront an almost invincible force intrigued me. However, I encountered numerous issues such as unresponsive controls, graphics glitches, monotonous item gathering, random battles, awkward maneuverability, and a disappointing storyline. The game has very few commendable aspects. If you’re determined to purchase it, even at a reduced price, you might want to hold off until patches and user-friendly updates are released. Even after these improvements, given the brief playtime, it’s challenging to advocate for it.
This game was reviewed on PC.
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2024-12-18 10:41