Whenever I failed in Aragami, it was most definitely because of my own mistakes, and not particularly thanks to clever enemy AI. Time your Leap wrong, leave a corpse exposed in a frequently patrolled place, or get caught red-handed with your blade through a soldier’s heart, and you’re almost guaranteed to take the express route back to the latest checkpoint. That excellent pacing is a necessity if you wish to beat the game, too, because all it takes to reset your progress to the latest checkpoint is but one direct blow. The gameplay feels fast and responsive, never forcing you to slow down or speed up but rather encouraging you to tackle any given situation the way you like to play through it. I’ve tried a ton of variations, ranging from a complete ghost playthrough to an all-out murder spree, and I found every possible combination in between to be satisfying and rewarding in its own way. I may take out a guard by Shadow Leaping behind him, finishing him off with a swift stab through the heart, whereas someone else might finish the job from afar with the toss of a Kunai dagger, or even evade the bloodshed altogether.
Thanks to its incredibly fluid stealth controls, playing Aragami the way you like is nothing short of a joy, which on its own terms will encourage you to experiment with different Shadow Ability combinations or switch up your general approach. Going from one extreme to the other truly makes the gameplay freedom in Aragami shine, although it’s quite likely that you’ll either play through a level killing everybody or nobody altogether, just to claim one of the two medals reliant on the amount of kills you do or do not score.
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Killing every Kaiho guard can become a tricky stealth puzzle, forcing you to make full use of the Abilities at your disposal as well as relying on your general stealth skills, whereas making it through a level unseen can prove to be equally challenging. Seeing how two of these medals are exact opposites of each other, Aragami encourages you to replay its chapters, which is something I unexpectedly loved doing. Using Shadow Leap is one of the first things Aragami teaches you, and in theory, it’s perfectly possible to beat the entire game Leaping from shadow to shadow without ever taking a soldier’s life or being detected, and the game naturally rewards you for playing a certain way, too.Īt the end of each chapter, you’re scored and granted up to three medals: a Yurei medal that’s awarded for remaining undetected, an Oni medal given for taking out every enemy in the level, or the Kami medal that rewards those who didn’t harm a soul. This lets you teleport from one shadow to another, allowing you to traverse the world unseen and at a rapid pace. The main ability you’ll use, however, is the Shadow Leap Ability, which is reminiscent to the Blink ability you have at your disposal in Dishonored. Some of the game’s more powerful Abilities, however, require charges that can be refilled at Shrines. Most of these so-called Shadow Abilities require Shadow Essence to use, which refills when you’re hiding out in the shadows, and drains by logically using said Abilities or exposing yourself to bright lights for too long. That rustic beauty is perfectly complemented by a cel-shaded art direction that removes all clutter from the environment, lending Aragami a sleek visual elegance that makes it look like a painting in motion.Īs a dark spiritual entity, you have some intriguing abilities at your disposal that masterfully embrace the very core of any stealth game, namely sticking to the shadows. It should go without saying that Aragami’s setting takes some obvious cues from feudal Japan, from the cherry blossom petals swirling past traditional torii gates to the dead silent ninja you embody. In Aragami, you play as the titular vengeful spirit, who is summoned by a girl named Yamiko to liberate the occupied city fortress of Kyuryu.
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