Onikira is an indie game, from a not too well known development studio. As most indie games, this game tries to reel in players with flashy colors and exciting music. And, like most of them, it fails to actually succeed.
The easiest way to describe this game is as an attempt to copy the best elements of two much more popular titles – Mark of the Ninja and Assassins Creed Chronicles: China. Therefore, this is a samurai adventure set in feudal Japan, played as a side-scroller, in which the gameplay basis is: “go forward, destroy a bunch of enemies, go forward…”. Besides having a basic attack and weapon, as you progress you’ll acquire new weapons and combos that you can use depending on what kind of gear you equip.
All in all, it works pretty well – you progress through levels by cutting down your enemies while the music caresses you eardrums, but…
All of this gets very repetitive and boring pretty fast, kind of like the Game of Thrones show (hehehe). The environment doesn’t change, it’s almost identical throughout the whole game and most of the enemies are exactly the same as well. You’ll be under the impression that you’re standing still the whole time. This isn’t just a product of repetitiveness, but also of the game’s difficulty. However, this isn’t Dark Souls type of difficulty, but simply dumb, frustrating difficulty which will make you barely get past the first level. Also, the game doesn’t have a quicksave option, meaning that every death returns you back to the previous checkpoint.
The graphics are great, a mix of sharp textures of your fighter and enemies with the blurred background that reminds of ink stains on a parchment. The color contrast and the dominant blacks and reds add to the overall dark atmosphere and fit into the setting perfectly. Combat animations are fluid and realistic; you gain the impression that the weapon and the fighter are one.
If you’re a fan of side-scrollers, definitely try it out. Don’t be deterred by the number of bugs present. Nice graphics and good music, along with a relatively fluid gameplay, are guaranteed to provide a few hours of fun. But in the end, that’s all this game has to offer which separates it from sub-mediocrity.
Author: Borislav Lalović
Onikira: Demon Killer
Pros:
- Likeable graphics
- Background music
- Fun setting
Cons:
- Difficulty levels
- Nothing new
- Fun for one afternoon
