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You can either meticulously stalk all opposition within an area and pick them off or selectively rid yourself of problematic ones instead: it’s all about how you want to play. When you discover the ability to turn bodies into shadows, however, Aragami opens up in many different ways. In the game’s early stages, stealth is the focus -avoiding enemies altogether is the path to success- as patrols will detect corpses and put themselves on high alert. With enough scrolls, often hidden in devilishly secluded areas or out in the open, Aragami can unlock new abilities. It isn’t too dissimilar to Dishonored and just like Arkane’s immensely satisfying action-adventurer, there’s plenty of variety to be found where skill progression is concerned. Light is to be avoided at all costs as it will quickly drain you of your shadow abilities and leave you dangerously exposed. Imbued with powers, you are able to transition between shadows with ease and even create shadow paths to avoid detection. The main mechanic of Aragami involves shadows and how you use them to your advantage. Despite being quite powerful as a character, Lince Works do a fantastic job of making Aragami feel just as vulnerable. Failure states will be a familiar sight if you think this is a game all about combos and killstreaks as there isn’t conventional combat: you can only dispose of your foes using stealth attacks. It often requires you to sit back for a few seconds and contemplate your strategy, which sometimes feels like a lost art in gaming.
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Owing a lot to the likes of Tenchu and Shinobido, Aragami doesn’t want you to be running around and chopping everything to bits without finesse or thought. There’s a retro sense to a lot of Aragami and whether it’s possibly nostalgically manipulative or not, it completely enamours.
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Dialogue between yourself and the kidnapped princess Yamiko, who appears to you through projection, is spoken in a garbled mess of gibberish and hints of Japanese, and it’s an effective throwback to what video game dialogue was like before professional voiceovers were the norm. Gorgeous sums up Aragami as a whole it harks back to the glory days of cel-shading with an added “inky” aesthetic, helping the game to get past its low-budget limitations and stand proudly beside its peers. Both of your stories are unfurled on a fascinating tapestry as the game progresses with gorgeous hand-drawn animations driving the flashback scenes. Playing as a god of vengeance called Aragami summoned to rescue a kidnapped princess in feudal Japan, the game asks more questions of you than an Italian plumber in a similar situation.
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There’s a clear adoration for the stealth genre to be found here, but it’s more than just a series of homages stitched together – this is a much cleverer beast and probably the best example of its kind of the current generation of video games.
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As mildly psychotic as that might sound, Aragami is a fine example of the excellence that can come from sticking to the shadows and leaving the bazooka at home.ĭeveloped by Lince Works, Aragami is a passion project, which shows in almost every frame. For all the explosive bluster of most modern combat games, there’s something more to be said about sneaking around and being able to pick off your enemies one-by-one or avoiding them altogether. Just like they do for a lot of people, stealth games have a special place in my heart.
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