Looking for a comprehensive Ikai Review? We’ve got you covered! Japanise Folklore tells of demons and apparitions that thrive in the darkness, these beings are known as Yokai. Here is our Ikai Review.
Enter into the Japanese tale of demons and monsters as a shrine priestess battles her inner demons. Developed by Endflame and published by PM Studios this Horror thrill ride is one to enjoy. While it is a short, and somewhat sweet adventure, it has the traits of a horror game through and through.
Story:
Although a very short game the story follows the hero character Naoko trying to fix something that her blood has caused. With the use of her blood, evil spirits, known as Yokai, have been released and she is the only person who can put them to rest through the act of Purification. Although there is a total of 4 spirits to put down it feels like there should be more, considering the environment is the same, and strangely it felt large and varied. Whether this had to do with the principle I would like to refer to as the “Ryu Ga Gotoku Effect” or not was unclear but unlike the signature PlayStation series of Yakuza, Ikai felt like there was a lack of depth in the environment and things were missing.
Graphics and Gameplay:
Both areas are primitive but very well done. The graphics are basic but advanced enough to look more realistic, which coupled with the lighting condition and atmosphere of the game makes it feel at times like the player is involved with the action on a personal level. As mechanics go there are some interesting ones in this small title. The one that caught our attention was the Kanji writing.
Not being Japanese it’s hard to say if these are accurate, however in terms of the game these are really rather fascinating. Talismans and charms have been used to ward off evil as seen in other games such as Nioh, however having to draw them out like this set us in mind of the PS2 game from Capcom, Ōkami.
Conclusion:
To conclude the game is short but a sweet adventure with a bit of a twist. We can’t analyse the characters as there is not that much depth to the game, however, the collectables are something worth the time. The reason for this is there are 3 types; objects, letters, and yokai writings. Personally, the Yokai writings are the most impactfully presented as they illustrate the different yoki and give a description. For someone interested in the Japanese folktales and myths this was a nice collectable and came as a surprise.
Overall the game is good when it comes to jump scares, Kanji talismans, and a horror atmosphere, for everything else I personally felt disappointed. That’s not because the game is limited in any way, the concept is there, and I feel it was an implementation problem. The only reason is that the environment is pretty big but feels empty a lot of the time.
Looking for more reviews to read? Be sure to visit this page and discover a wide range of informative and insightful reviews.
