Inspired by The Shadow Out of Time by H.P. Lovecraft, players will control Professor Harry Everhart and his student Evangeline Drayton, who discovered a strange artifact several years prior. As with anything Eldritch-related, it’s had a terrible effect on their sleep cycles, and thus, they venture forth to find some peace of mind.

Much like Call of the Sea, you’ll explore environments and search for clues while solving puzzles, whether it’s in New England, the Australian outback or “otherworldly cities out of time.” You’ll have to switch between both characters at times, and various Occult Books offer “new reality-warping enigmas” to challenge you.

Of course, you can also soften the difficulty by enabling hints and icons. Best of all, the adventure is carried by the talents of Yuri Lowenthal and Cissy Jones, who voice Everhart and Drayton, respectively. Stay tuned for more updates, and in the meantime, check out our review for Call of the Sea.

We were quite happy with the sequel, although some players have since reported issues. These include blocked progression and rewards from bosses not showing up. The latest patch fixes all of this while

While the full list of fixes can be found here, the major talking points include the ability to return to where you fought bosses for their rewards. Important items required for progression will make their way directly to your inventory, and you can also smash through that pesky wall in Upper Kankan now. There’s also been a bit of balancing around your Breath’s healing, i-frames on parries and dodges, improved Dash Counters, and a few adjustments to attack speeds and hitboxes on select bosses.

The developer also revealed that they’re pondering the return of the boss rush feature from the first game as they try to fix the issue of some bosses dying before you get to fight them. You get the rewards if that’s happened to you, while the option to take them on somewhere down the line could be very welcome, considering how each one is quite memorable.

Major Patch – Combat, Platforming, and Bugs – 1.0.17551c

Major bugs:

• Boss Rewards bug – Every single player which died alongside a boss and lost access to it’s rewards for any reason, you can go to their arena now and gain that reward. Missing progression items will appear in your inventory upon loading your save with this patch.
• Missed Bosses – Bosses that previously died randomly due to a bug has gotten extra protections to prevent such cases. The reward you lost should be in the arena. We can’t safely return to bosses to your save in order to fight them, but we’ll use this as an incentive to explore an earlier re-introduction of the boss gauntlet system from GRIME.
• Kankan wall blocker – Anyone who got stuck behind a one sided wall in Upper Kankan can now simply break it from both sides to get out.

Combat Balancing:

• Attribute value increased – You now gain more value out of your attribute stats. Especially from Health, with a smaller drop-off every milestone. This will increase a lot of your power in the late game.
• Healing increased – All Breathcrowns healing value has increased across the board, giving you more value per heal.
• Parry Immunity has been extended.
• Player Immunity upon taking a hit has been extended.
• Dash Counter range increased significantly, making it easier to perform.
• Dash Counters which require you perform them from the air had their VFX updated to be clearer.
• Visagehand major bug fixes and polish.
• Updates to various bosses’ hitboxes, clarity and cooldowns.
• Quadblade now has a Breath-ward in their HP.
• Various attacks have been slowed down.
• Many, many more.

It smartly reworks familiar ideas through a new lens, weaving its themes into the journey of the Formless, an art mimic brought to life by the mysterious Rippler of Waves and told that the world before it exists to sate its appetite. That setup gives real purpose to the combat, pushing you deeper into the world as you cut down enemy after enemy and encounter the occasional ally along the way.

"The world itself carries an ethereal charm to it, its dangers seeming so natural and organic that you’re compelled to learn more about how it came to be the way that it is."

Before getting into combat and progression, though, it’s worth highlighting how strongly GRIME 2 is built around the idea of individual agency, with hands serving as a constant visual and mechanical expression of that theme. That idea runs through the entire game, and the repeated presence of hands in the world, in enemy designs, and even on your character, helps reinforce it in a way that feels organic rather than forced.

The world itself carries an ethereal charm to it, its dangers seeming so natural and organic that you’re compelled to learn more about how it came to be the way that it is. It’s also elegantly structured, with areas folding back into one another so naturally that the path forward remains coherent even when you’re poking around every hidden corner for much-needed upgrades.

Part of what makes that structure work is how vulnerable the Formless feels at the start. You begin with light and heavy attacks, along with a jump, dash, and parry for movement and defense. It’s a simple setup that the developers have utilized well with additional layers and moves opening up as you keep taking down some incredible bosses.

Each area teaches you how to use the mechanics it introduces, and its boss usually serves as the final exam, forcing those lessons into your muscle memory through punishing attacks. While I wouldn’t put them on the same level as a full-blown Soulsborne, they still offer a stern challenge, with the standard difficulty in particular keeping me on the back foot more often than I’d care to admit.

"The environment could work either for you or against you, depending on how you use it, which adds interesting wrinkles to fights."

Every boss fight you take on is tough but fair, requiring precise use of dodges, parries, and a grapple that’s introduced a little later. The weapons you use against them are also quite varied, and nailing down the timings on each animation was a huge part of the fun. You’ll likely settle into a preferred pairing of melee and ranged options, which gives you the flexibility to handle most encounters efficiently.

Of course, the art mimic does have one massive trick up its sleeve, and that’s the ability to absorb Molds of your enemies, using their own moves against them. Several enemies come with a yellow dot on their health bars. Whittling them down to their breaking point opens them up to a grapple that lets you copy their abilities. Repeat the process enough times, and that move gets added to a growing list that you can then mix and match to make your mimic your own.

The environment could work either for you or against you, depending on how you use it, which adds interesting wrinkles to fights, ensuring that things in this weird world never get boring. That’s because exploring each level requires a fair bit of dexterity on your part, be it in dealing with the various enemies in differing combinations that stand in your way, or some platforming challenges that were a pleasure to pull off correctly, thanks to how cool it all looked! Even slight mistakes can quickly shatter your rhythm, whether that means eating damage from enemies or blundering into carefully placed traps.

You recover health through the Breath mechanic, which involves building up the eponymous meter by killing enemies in the field before you use it all up to give yourself a heal-over-time effect. It’s fairly quick but does require that you continue to avoid damage in case you’re really low on health. The Force meter adds an interesting layer to offense, rewarding you for managing it well rather than simply mashing attacks.

"The story helps set it all up with context for your adventures, and is another solid part of the experience."

Managing all of these elements when you’re juggling multiple enemies or trying to learn the ins and outs of a boss’s attacks is deviously delightful. It looks so simple to a spectator, as you’re probably going to see for yourself if you dive in, but it is challenging and incredibly satisfying to pull off. It’s the kind of combat system that feels instantly inviting even while demanding real concentration and precision.

The story helps set it all up with context for your adventures, and is another solid part of the experience. I’m a fan of games that tell their stories through world-building, and this one has that in spades. You meet a range of characters, some welcoming and others decidedly less so, who stand out thanks to strong visual design and sharp writing. It’s a testament to GRIME 2’s quality that there is a certain wit and charm to be found in its bleak world, and the story brings it all together very well.

The soundtrack deserves special mention, giving many areas a haunting beauty that makes it easy to stop and simply take in the atmosphere. I’m particularly fond of the adorable noises some enemies make when they let an attack loose. It made me chuckle to myself even as I was laser-focused on the action.

The game performed very well on my base PS5, running smoothly enough for its combat and platforming to consistently look and feel excellent. Although there aren’t any graphical options on offer, I reckon they’re an unnecessary addition to a game that looks and performs like this one does.

"Its combat is spot on, while its platforming trappings can have you grinding your teeth as you try to nail down the timing on its various challenges."

I did encounter one early bug that froze the game and forced a restart before I could continue, but beyond that, I ran into no major technical issues. There was also the occasional bit of pop-in when traversing between areas, but you’re unlikely to notice it unless you’re actively looking for it. It does bear mentioning, though.

You’ve probably already guessed that for me, this one’s very easy to recommend. Its combat is spot on, while its platforming trappings can have you grinding your teeth as you try to nail down the timing on its various challenges. Put that challenging gameplay loop beside a world and story that are quite intriguing, and you’ve got the recipe for a title that lets you fully immerse yourself in its absurdity.

If you were a fan of the original title, you’re going to love this one. If you’re new to GRIME, strap in for a very entertaining romp through a world that’s spellbinding right from the get-go. Either way, this one’s worth your cash and the time and effort it takes to master all it has to offer. Its difficulty may look intimidating from the outside, but it shouldn’t put you off, because you’d be missing out on one of the more compelling RPGs in recent memory.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Wielding heavy masses, throwing daggers, and even using a bow is child’s play for the new protagonist. What’s really interesting is its core ability to create Molds, thus gaining new appearances and weapons. It can also grapple around with its tendrils, ascending walls faster than Akhlan and even smacking enemies from afar.

The result is a much faster tempo of combat and exploration, but you don’t have to take our word for it. A free demo is available now on PC via Steam, where players battle through the Temple of Hands. Thus far, it’s rated “Very Positive” based on 99 percent approval from its 127 user reviews.

GRIME 2 doesn’t have a release date, and it’s currently only in development for PC.

The story revolves around Professor Harry Everhart (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) and his student, Evangeline Drayton (Cissy Jones), who face hallucinations and nightmares after discovering an artifact several years prior. If that weren’t enough, their loved ones have gone missing. Thus, the duo embark on a globe-trotting adventure, from New England to the Australian outback and more, to find out what’s going on.

Of course, as implied by the title, powerful Eldritch beings are involved and may not let them leave with their sanity intact. Developed on Unreal Engine 5, Call of the Elder Gods challenges players to hunt for clues and solve puzzles, engage in “reality-warping enigmas” with Occult Books, and more. Stay tuned for updates, including a release date, in the coming months.

“We’ve been blown away by all of the positive comments we’ve received and all of the useful bug reports and feedback that you have sent our way,” posted the studio. “We wanted to assure you that, even though we may not respond to every single review or report, we are looking at all of them and incorporating them into our future strategy.”

The studio has described five of the big issues that its programming team is hard at work on fixing: general bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements, crime rate balancing, AI behaviour, and escort unit fixes. Plans to fix these core issues have been described as its short-term goal. In the mid-to-long-term, however, Fallen Tree Games is asking players for feedback about what new features and content can be developed for the game.

For general bug fixes, the studio has said that it is focusing on the major bugs that players have discovered and have been providing feedback about. It also notes that there will likely be quite a few edge cases and unique bugs that are difficult to track and fix owing to the scope of the open-world game. The developers are also taking player feedback into account as it incorporates more quality-of-life features going forward.

As for rebalancing the game’s crime rate, the studio has described the in-game city’s crime rate being too severe. “Crime in Averno City may be bad, but we want to keep it at least somewhat realistic,” it posted. To that end, work is currently being done to reduce the number of overlapping incidents that can happen. AI behaviour as well as escort units will also get some tweaks.

“This is what we’re focusing on in the short-term, but in the mid- to long-term we’re also compiling suggestions from your feedback to decide what extra features and content we can add to The Precinct in the future,” wrote Fallen Tree Games. “We are committed to adding more content to the game, but we haven’t decided yet exactly what that will be.”

The Precinct was released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S earlier this week. There is also a physical edition available which comes with a Steelbook, a digital copy of the game’s original soundtrack, as well a physical map of Averno City that players can make use of as they navigate through its crime-ridden streets. The game is priced at $29.99 on all platforms.

For more details about The Precinct, check out our review, where we gave it a score of six out of 10. We praised its stylish visuals, presentation, and nuanced take on police work, while also criticising its performance issues, cheesy dialogue, and clunky combat.

Intriguing mechanics and a decent aesthetic aside, the writing can be hit or miss. The police work becomes predictable and sometimes repetitive, and the gunplay could use more polish. Nevertheless, it is a unique gameplay loop.

"It’s one thing to take inspiration from the banter of old cop movies and another to translate that enjoyably. When it’s not trying to be comedic, many of the exchanges are passable enough, even if Cordell Jr. doesn’t get much say outside of the dialogue choices you select."

It’s 1983 in Averno City, which is described as rotten to the core. Gangs are noted to rule the streets, even though you barely encounter any, and when you do, they’re extremely good at adhering to the speed limit. You play as Nick Cordell Jr., a rookie cop who just joined the force even as the murder of your father, a legend in the force, looms large over the police department and the city as a whole.

After initially foiling a bank robbery, you’re quickly involved in larger cases, whether tracking down the August Gang’s leader or going undercover to take down a street racing ring. All this is in service of eventually finding out how your father died and meting out justice the ACPD way. It’s fairly straightforward and more than a little cliched, with the overall vibe and music taking inspiration from old-school cop movies. However, the developer does a decent job of immersing you in the experience.

The same goes for introducing its cast of misfits, from Kowalski, who doles out shift assignments, to Chandler, who bears a suspicious resemblance to Kowalski, the jokester Christie and the nonchalant Kelly, who’s close to retirement. Of course, other characters are introduced as you progress, like Eugene, the evidence guy, and detectives Li and Ferrera, who you know are detectives because one has suspenders and the other has a long coat. I wish their characteristics were more defining.

As such, the lines range from overtly cheesy to outright unnatural. It’s one thing to take inspiration from the banter of old cop movies and another to translate that enjoyably. When it’s not trying to be comedic, many of the exchanges are passable enough, even if Cordell Jr. doesn’t get much say outside of the dialogue choices you select.

"Shooting civilians is also out of the question – it’s an automatic game over, though surprisingly, running over multiple civilians, who dodge-roll Dark Souls-style, isn’t. "

Characters aside, The Precinct is focused on implementing the nitty gritty – or recreating it as much as possible – that constitutes real police work. You have a shift that runs for a certain number of hours and can focus on specific crimes like vandalism, which often involves dealing with those spraying graffiti, giving out speeding tickets (and engaging in hot pursuits against those who don’t play nice, and on-foot patrols.

Depending on the assignment, there’s enough leeway to pursue a little of everything. You could be driving around a specific district and suddenly get a call about a street fight or burglary in progress. It’s also possible to randomly check license plates and speeds of different cars to determine if they should be investigated. As you resolve various crimes, you’ll earn progress towards unlocking the next location and level up to unlock upgrade tokens for new skills.

As for the actual police work, you can’t just go around smacking everyone in the head with a baton. Shooting civilians is also out of the question – it’s an automatic game over, though surprisingly, running over multiple civilians, who dodge-roll Dark Souls-style, isn’t. When confronting a perpetrator, you must go through several steps, like checking their ID, searching them for any potentially illegal contraband or weapons, giving them a breathalyzer test if they’re intoxicated, etc.

Depending on the circumstances, you can tack on different offenses. If you encounter a burglar attempting to flee or even trying to fight, you can throw in evading arrest or assault for bonus XP. Other acts like reading them their rights or covering up bodies also provide XP.

"The same can’t be said of the cover-based shooting. It’s a little haphazard on controller, especially when trying to line up the height of a shot. Enemies perfectly landing their shots when you barely peak out of cover doesn’t help. The mouse and keyboard feel better when aiming, but it’s still clunky at times."

Learning the due process can take some time, but there is some enjoyment in figuring out the different offenses to tack on since selecting the wrong ones results in a slight XP penalty. However, while there is a variety of crimes to tackle that can feel vastly different – the relatively peaceful ticketing of parking infractions versus a high-speed chase where the crook escapes their vehicle and takes a hostage – many devolve into the same booking process more often than not. It adds the tedium of a shift, especially as you’re trying to obtain evidence to advance your investigation into the city’s gangs.

At least you can eventually customize a shift, from the duration and location to the type. As for the actual story missions, they’re fairly rote and don’t offer much beyond more extensive shootouts or chases. They could have been more memorable if the dialogue was up to snuff, but alas. There are other activities to discover on the map, like hitting jumps and partaking in challenges that your fellow officers have set up for the best times. I’m not sure how either is explained away as part of the job, but they break up the monotony, at least.

Additional tools are unlocked as you level up, including better weapons like shotguns and beefier vehicles like 4x4s. You also get new support options to call in when required, and while it’s funny to T-bone a perp’s car with a fellow cruiser, oftentimes they feel superfluous and unhelpful. I’m not sure what helicopter support is supposed to really offer in the early going but at least flying around isn’t too shabby.

The same can’t be said of the cover-based shooting. It’s a little haphazard on controller, especially when trying to line up the height of a shot. Enemies perfectly landing their shots when you barely peak out of cover doesn’t help. The mouse and keyboard feel better when aiming, but it’s still clunky at times. The actual movement itself is acceptable, even if it’s odd that criminals never lose stamina while you, a fresh out-of-the-academy recruit, are continuously sucking wind. It is somewhat odd that Cordell ragdolls when tackling an escaping perp. Funny, but still odd.

"While The Precinct is a throwback to the old days of Grand Theft Auto and offers its own unique twists due to the police perspective, it’s hard to recommend. Even if bugs are ironed out, and the performance is improved, the story and characters just aren’t compelling enough to get you invested."

The Precinct’s presentation is passable – Averno City is lit well enough with decent details, even if the depth of the sandbox, like dynamic interactions between NPCs, is limited. You’ll spot the same ID portrait more than once for some as well, which isn’t a big deal but does sully the immersion.

Outside of bugs, like a perp’s neck turning more than 90 degrees to look at you before fixing itself, the biggest annoyance is the performance. Even while being well beyond the system requirements, the slowdown was enough to warrant dialling down the settings, and even then, there were issues.

While The Precinct is a throwback to the old days of Grand Theft Auto and offers its own unique twists due to the police perspective, it’s hard to recommend. Even if bugs are ironed out, and the performance is improved, the story and characters just aren’t compelling enough to get you invested. The actual gameplay can feel novel, though it can also wear out its welcome over longer periods. It’s worth checking if you’re looking for a different take on the cops and robbers dynamic and feeling generous. Otherwise, there are plenty of other indie sandbox titles that are more worth your time.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Along with the digital release, The Precinct is also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in physical form as part of a collaboration between Kwalee, Fallen Tree Games and Microids. The physical edition of The Precinct comes with a Steelbook, a digital copy of the game’s original soundtrack, and a physical map of the game’s main setting – Averno City.

The Precinct was originally announced all the way back in June 2023 with a trailer. The title puts players in the shoes of rookie officer Nick Cordell Jr. Set in the crime-ridden streets of 1980s America, The Precinct has players doing their part in bringing peace to Averno City by taking on the various gangs, as well as uncovering corruption that might end up going all the way to the top. Check out the launch trailer that shows off the general vibes of the game, while also giving us a look at some of its gameplay, below.

Back in May 2024, the game got another trailer narrated by art director Lewis Boadle that gave us a look at some of the minute-to-minute action that players can expect in their role as a beat cop. Along with patrolling the streets, players will have to also take an active role in stopping and preventing crime, ranging from petting infarctions like jaywalking or littering, all the way up to more intricate crimes in progress like massive heists and even government corruption.

Fallen Tree Games also revealed some more details about The Precinct back in October 2023, letting us know how different aspects of the game would work. One of the title’s key features, procedurally-generated crime, was described as being a way to offer players endless gameplay possibilities.

“The game has a day and night cycle, and when you start your shift you’ll be presented with a list of shift options,” explained the studio. “These will include vehicle and foot patrols, helicopter support, and issuing parking tickets. During these shifts, almost anything can and will happen, ranging from muggings to gang wars, graffiti incidents to store holdups. You’ll have callouts come through on the radio, and you will also have the ability to identify incidents on your own. Although accepting these callouts is not mandatory, failing to meet your quotas will affect your progress.”

The studio also revealed that, despite superficial similarities between The Precinct and its previous title, American Fugitive, players in the latest title will have to take a more deliberate approach to situations. “While The Precinct shares many similarities with American Fugitive in terms of its camera system, physics, and vehicle mechanics, you will need to take a more deliberative approach when taking the role of the pursuer rather than the pursued. You can’t ram into the bad guys or recklessly plough through civilians,” it said.

For more details, check out our full interview with the studio.

As bizarre as the overall mixture seems, The Spirit of the Samurai fails to execute the fundamentals of its combat and exploration. Even the premise, which starts out promising, quickly devolves into a dull ride.

Touted as inspired by Japanese mythology, the story is about Takeshi, a samurai who’s visited in his dreams by a mysterious Kitsune. The former’s village has been prepping for Shuten-doij and his army, but the latter warns they’re on their way. Before Takeshi sets out to warn the villagers, he’s told that his kitten, Chisai, will also play a part. Blatant foreshadowing aside, things are seemingly quiet all around – to the extent that his leader doesn’t even hear about his dream, insisting on training first.

"Consistency in a combat system like this is important, and The Spirit of the Samurai doesn’t offer that. It can occasionally flow in one-on-one battles, providing glimpses of a better game, but they’re few and far between."

However, lo and behold, the attack occurs, and the village quickly falls. Fallen soldiers are converted into the undead by malicious creatures. It’s now on Takeshi to try and salvage the situation, whether it’s helping other villagers or rescuing his kitten so that it can…inexplicably join him in combat. To say that The Spirit of the Samurai doesn’t sport the most tout narrative would be an understatement, even if the writing isn’t completely horrible. The plot doesn’t just devolve into contrived twists – it fails to build any of its characters or make you empathize with them. Even Chisai, an adorable kitten you should care about by default, is kind of just along for the ride.

The gameplay should ideally pick up the slack, and The Spirit of the Samurai’s combat sounds promising on paper. You can unleash different attacks by pressing the right stick in different directions and customize combos accordingly. Some attacks may be slower but deal more damage, while others are quick yet lacking the same oomph. Attacks also change depending on if you’re guarding or running, with each action consuming some of your stamina bar. Of course, you also have a default attack button, which can be customized. As you level up or explore the environment, you learn new attacks, some specific to certain directions.

Theoretically, finding the right balance of quick and heavy attacks should be the play, but it all falls apart quickly. On top of guarding, you can parry, and dodge roll, the latter ideal for getting behind enemies. You can’t change sides when blocking, but you can unleash strikes in the opposite direction to switch. Movement feels awkward, especially when crouching and standing up, but you slowly begin to piece things together. Then you face odd timings on the dodge roll, parries coming out despite not even pressing the button and trying to fend off foes from multiple directions, and it’s all for nought.

Key among the combat issues is that hitboxes seem made up, and the points don’t matter. Unleash a stylish twirl into a heavy slash on an enemy, and even if it looks like they’re out of range, they’ll suddenly magnetize into it and die. On other occasions, hits from you and the enemy will pass right through with neither taking damage. Consistency in a combat system like this is important, and The Spirit of the Samurai doesn’t offer that. It can occasionally flow in one-on-one battles, providing glimpses of a better game, but they’re few and far between.

"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."

If that weren’t enough, the movement feels especially horrendous when platforming as Takeshi. One section features multiple traps that can insta-kill, including pits with spikes. Even if it looks like you made the jump, you’ll still seemingly fall into the trap and die. The stiff clambering and climbing up and down ladders also feel terrible.

Item collection is another annoyance. You also have the shrines and offerings, where providing the latter earns essence for purchasing healing items and other supplies like arrows, lockpicks, and whatnot. However, you can build a tidy collection due to the amount of stuff that drops. Just watch the animation each time and repeat until tedium sets in, which is pretty much immediate.

The fact that some items are invisible and require madly tapping the interact button to pick them up doesn’t help. Also, as a side note: Interacting with shrines, where you also spend points to level up stats, doesn’t save your game, but checkpoints do. If you spend time levelling up and offering things for essence to purchase items, then die, prepare to do it all over again because you didn’t think to hit that shrine.

The sections with Chisai and Kodama offer some variety, though they’re nowhere near as extensive as Takeshi’s. You’re not switching between all three so much as playing Takeshi for most of the story and taking breaks to control the others. It makes some sense with all the work that went into the combo system, yet feels somewhat misleading. And while Chisai is short in stature, his movement still feels as unwieldy as Takeshi.

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.

"Between unresponsive controls, visual issues, tedious item collecting, random combat, awkward movement, and an underwhelming narrative, there are very few redeeming qualities."

Alongside the odd combat interactions and iffy platforming, I also ran into a baffling glitch which broke Takeshi’s movement. Sprinting wouldn’t move him forward, but if I jumped suddenly, he would slide while standing still at impressive speeds. It was bizarre to witness but things cleared up after the next cutscene. I didn’t run into performance issues, thankfully, but others haven’t been so lucky.

I wanted to give The Spirit of the Samurai a fair shake, mostly due to its visuals but because three unlikely allies teaming up to fight a nigh-unstoppable army seemed appealing. Between unresponsive controls, visual issues, tedious item collecting, random combat, awkward movement, and an underwhelming narrative, there are very few redeeming qualities. If you’re set on picking it up, even on a discount, you might want to wait for patches and quality-of-life improvements first. Even then, given the short runtime, it’s almost impossible to recommend.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Throughout the trailer, protagonist Takeshi makes his way through various environments, along with their companion cat Chisai, as well as a small spirit, Kodama. Along the way, players will have to take on many different enemies in brutal combat, including epic boss fights. All of the action is punctuated by the trademark choppiness of the game’s chosen stop-motion animation-inspired style.

The game had gotten another trailer back in June 2023, where we got our earliest look at some of the gameplay in The Spirit of the Samurai. The trailer from last year indicated that each of the playable characters will have their own unique specialties, with abilities that make them suited to tackle situations in different ways.

The Spirit of the Samurai is coming to PC in Fall 2024.