A unique artistic direction: we played Spirit of the Samurai, the opportunity to patiently wait for Assassin’s Creed Shadows?

Game news A unique artistic direction: we played Spirit of the Samurai, the opportunity to patiently wait for Assassin’s Creed Shadows?

A stop-motion samurai

The Spirit of the Samurai is one of the highly anticipated independent games of recent years. It was presented during the Future Game Show and it was through artistic direction that it stood out: the developers of Digital Mind Games and Kwalee have opted for a stop-motion adventure. A bias which allows us to give character to a narrative framework which stands out less from the rest. The player plays, among other things, a samurai having to defend his village invaded by undead warriors. Monsters from Japanese folklore are also part of the list of enemies encountered by our heroes.

Because in fact, The Spirit of the Samurai promises to play, in addition to the samurai, two additional characters. A komada, a species of forest spirit specific to Japanese folklore, as well as a cat who accompanies our hero. Enough to foreshadow different gameplay in order to make the title dynamic since we should alternate between combat and platform/exploration phases.

Everything that should put players in the atmosphere of a mystical feudal Japan stained with blood and violence.

A short demo but which sets the tone

Expected on December 12 on PC, The Spirit of the Samurai may be an opportunity for many to fill the wait before the release of Assassin’s Creed: Shadow. And to get an idea of ​​the title, it is currently available during the Steam Neo-Fest: an event organized by Steam highlighting multiple independent games whose demo versions are playable for free. Intrigued, the editorial team launched into the demo of The Spirit of The Samurai, which it completed in around forty minutes.

As said, we start by playing the samurai Takeshi. His village is attacked by a horde of monsters and must defend it at all costs. We then control the hero of the story in a two-dimensional environment from left to right. He can jump, crouch or even fight with a sword and bow. To repel his enemies, he relies mainly on the mechanics of perfect parade which consists of pressing the correct button (the controller trigger) at the moment when the opponent should touch you. He can then counterattack by swinging his blade through different sequences that the player has customized.. And it is by keeping the right stick pressed in the desired direction that we attack our enemies.

It must be said that after a first glimpse, we understand why The Spirit of the Samurai appealed. The stop-motion artistic direction is at the center of the game: it has the ability to immerse players behind the screen. This animation technique, it should be remembered, is also called step-by-step animation. There is therefore a certain slowness in the progress of actions. This slow execution fits with the combat: without being difficult, the first confrontations can quickly make you lose your footing since each type of enemy has its own range of moves. The certain heaviness of the gestures does not reduce the sensations of the controller in hand, on the contrary: it underlines the demands of the fights and generates tension. Enough to systematically be relieved at the end of each fight. Stop-motion, however, falls short, from what we have seen, in terms of movement. The samurai moves in a rather jerky manner and covers only a short distance. You must therefore favor jumping to get around rather than traditional walking.

With its demo, The Spirit of the Samurai promises to be attractive. If it is still too early to form a definitive opinion (the demo does not include boss fights or the possibility of playing the kodama or the cat), it is clear that we will have to carefully observe the title in its entirety. release: The Spirit of the Samurai promises to be more than just talk.