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.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete

Animal Crossing fans may have to wait until the Nintendo Switch’s successor for a sequel, but Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete may fill the gap. Based on the defunct free-to-play title launched in 2017, this is a version of the game without the microtransactions and playable offline. It launches on December 3rd for iOS and Android, retailing for $9.99 until January 31st, 2025, and providing a whopping 10,000+ items to unlock, numerous events, and different animals to interact with while building your ideal camp.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (PS5)

After a troubled launch on PC and some redemption on Xbox Series X/S, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is finally making its way to PS5. Launching on December 3rd, it includes all the improvements and revamps, from the new Talent Trees for each class to Mastery, the Party Finder, and the brand new Havoc system, which adds challenging assignments post-Trust Level 30. If a compelling four-player co-op shooter based on Warhammer 40K sounds like your thing, Darktide may fill that void.

Infinity Nikki

One of my most anticipated games of 2024, Papergames’ Infinity Nikki is a free-to-play open-world title with gacha elements. However, it’s also a dress-up adventure title, where organic exploration and a relaxed atmosphere take precedence over min-maxing characters and still not beating Memory of Chaos 12. As Nikki and Momo arrive in Miraland, there are bosses to tackle, Curio Domains to conquer, and outfits granting different abilities. It’s oddly endearing, and launches on December 5th for PC, PS5, and mobile.

Marvel Rivals

What happens when two Doctor Dooms wreak havoc with time and space, causing heroes from across realities to partake in interdimensional conflicts? You get NetEase’s Marvel Rivals, a free-to-play hero shooter that makes you feel like you’re Spider-Man. Or Venom, Iron Man, Captain America, and Jeff the Shark. With 6v6 battles, Team-Up Attacks that promote synergies between related characters, and a stylish presentation, Marvel Rivals offers its own take on the genre’s objective-based competitive play. It’s out on December 6th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, with 33 heroes, eight maps, and even more content to come post-launch.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – Aiko’s Choice (PS5, Xbox Series X | S)

Mimimi Games is sadly no more, but Shadow Tactics lives on. Xbox Series X/S and PS5 players will finally get their hands on Aiko’s Choice, a standalone expansion focusing on the titular Kunoichi. There are three new main and interlude missions alongside brand new environments, as Aiko must confront her past and defeat her old sensei. If you enjoyed the base game and synergizing your party’s abilities to clear missions, lethally or otherwise, then Aiko’s Choice is a must-play. It goes live on December 6th for consoles.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

MachineGames’ newest full-fledged title is upon us, and it’s decidedly not a shooter-focused affair. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is based on the acclaimed movie series (we don’t know about the latest films), taking place between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade as Indy scours the globe to investigate the Great Circle. Don’t let the first-person, sometimes third-person perspective fool you – this is more of an action-adventure title with platforming and puzzle-solving. You can rely on stealth to knock out enemies or engage in melee combat. With MachineGames touting this as their longest game, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle could be a great way to end the year when it launches on December 9th for Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything from the franchise, and while not a new game, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered is still a dream come true. Out on December 12th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC, it remasters both Soul Reaver titles (if the name didn’t give it away) with improved visuals and even a new map and compass for exploration. Long-time fan or not, both titles are action-adventure classics that must be experienced.

Delta Force

Over 15 years since NovaLogic’s Delta Force: Xtreme 2, the series is making a comeback. Developed by TiMi Studio Group, Delta Force will be available in open beta form on PC starting December 5th. The free-to-play title features single-player and co-op, but multiplayer is the real appeal alongside an extraction shooter mode, Hazard Operations, and massive battles with vehicles and dozens of players available. Could it finally restore some luster to the Delta Force? We’ll find out next week.

Path of Exile 2 (Early Access)

Between all the delays since it was first announced, Grinding Gear Games’ long-awaited Path of Exile 2 is finally out on December 6th, albeit in early access, for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. Don’t take this to mean it’s lacking content. There will be three campaign Acts, six classes (each with two Ascendancies), hundreds of passives, tons of Skill Gems, and much more to play around with. It should take a newcomer about 25 hours to finish the story content, but then you get to the endgame. The Atlas of Worlds has changed and taken some points out of Last Epoch’s Monoliths of Fate.

With Waystones equipped, you travel to nearby map nodes, clearing out enemies and bosses to clear corruption. Accessing Towers will unlock more of the map, which means more corruption and challenges. You’ll encounter revamped league mechanics like Breach, Delirium, Ritual, and Expedition, each with different rewards, bosses, and pursuits. The amount of content doubling during early access is mind-boggling, and we can’t wait to dive in.

Alien: Rogue Incursion

Alien: Isolation 2 is official at long last, but it will take a while to arrive. In the meantime, Alien: Rogue Incursion could serve as a decent substitute, at least for those with PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 3, and SteamVR headsets. It launches on December 19th and focuses on Zula Hendricks, a former Colonial Marine who ventures to the planet, Purdan, to investigate an SOS. As you might guess, it’s Xenomorphs, and while iconic tools like the Motion Tracker, Pulse Rifle and Shotgun are available to fight them off, caution and careful movement are also important for survival.

Overthrown (Early Access)

With so many noteworthy survival crafting titles this year, it seems right to end with another, specifically Brimstone Games’ Overthrown. The premise is as you’d expect, with resource-gathering, farming, construction, and more, as you throw objects at them to expand. However, there’s a fair bit of combat as you fight off bandits and other threats. As one of the more popular titles during the last Steam Next Fest, Overthrown has generated some hype. Here’s hoping it delivers even more when it arrives in early access on December 5th for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

The Spirit of the Samurai

One of the more intriguing side-scrolling action games we’ve seen over the years, The Spirit of the Samurai focuses on three characters: the samurai Takeshi, the spirit Kodama, and Chisai, a cat. Between exploration and fighting off Tengu and Jorogumo, the real hook is the stop-motion animation, resulting in an unorthodox yet hypnotizing aesthetic. The Spirit of the Samurai launches on December 12th for PC, and if you’re looking for an unconventional Metroid-style experience, this could be worth checking out.

UFL

Aside from EA Sports FC, there isn’t much by way of other football titles to really embrace. UFL could change that, offering a free-to-play experience developed on Unreal Engine 5 with over 4500 real-life players, club management, a Premier Division, and much more to dive into. Given how other free-to-play titles like eFootball ended up, we’re a little skeptical, but UFL is still worth watching out for when it launches on December 5th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Skydance’s Behemoth

If you’re looking for a different kind of VR experience, something with more visceral melee combat, there’s Skydance’s Behemoth. Set in the Forsaken Lands, players control Wren the Hunter and embark on a quest to take down the Behemoths to end a terrible curse. Developed by the team behind The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, it’s out on December 5th for PlayStation VR2 and Meta Quest and has offered some pretty satisfying combat thus far.

My First Gran Turismo

Less of a full game and more of a free trial version of Gran Turismo 7, My First Gran Turismo is meant to get newcomers into the franchise with specific tracks, cars, and events. It’s out this Holiday season for PS4 and PS5, potentially launching on December 3rd (the same day as PlayStation’s 30th anniversary). Though the content remains unknown, if you’ve ever been unsure about Gran Turismo 7, My First GT could be the perfect test.

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.

While Takeshi fights with a sword, spear and bow and can parry blows, Chisai appears more stealth-focused (but is also capable of fighting). Kodama can seemingly venture into smaller spaces and fight enemies below the surface. It’s a combination of combat and platforming as players venture to mountain caves, cemeteries and more, battling all kinds of horrors rendered in disturbing stop-motion.

You gain experience from slaying foes and can upgrade stats and abilities. There’s even an editor for creating combos. The Spirit of the Samurai is coming to PC, Xbox, PS5 and Atari VCS in 2024. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Black Myth: Wukong

Developer Game Science’s upcoming Black Myth: Wukong is based upon the classic Chinese novel Journey to The West. Players assume the role of a hero who traverses through fantastical lands and fights off vicious beasts while engaging in a high-stakes and fast-paced combat system that’s heavily inspired by FromSoftware’s Souls games. The game looks absolutely gorgeous on both a visual and technical level, courtesy of Epic’s Unreal Engine 5. Black Myth: Wukong releases for PC and consoles sometime in 2023.