Review: Aragami: Shadow Edition (PlayStation 4)
You are Aragami, a vengeful spirit with the power to control the shadows. You’ve been summoned by Yamiko, a girl imprisoned in the city fortress of Kyuryu. Embark on a dark journey full of blood and secrets to discover the truth about Aragami. Infiltrate the occupied city of Kyuryu with your supernatural powers and fight Light with Shadow. Uncover a story about twin souls bound together by destiny that surpasses time and memory.
Pros:
- Cool cell shaded graphics.
- 8.74GB download size. DLC is around 1.6GB.
- Graphics options-AA, Gamma, and V-Sync option.
- FOV slider.
- Two new characters for the DLC- Hyo, and Shinobu
- Opening tutorial with a help section on hand.
- Can invert controls.
- Platinum trophy.
- 12 new trophies for the DLC.
- Stealth action puzzler gameplay. Use the shadows to leap between the darkness and take out or avoid enemy encounters.
- DLC is the same gameplay as the base game but introduces new levels, New stealth attacks but maintains all the core mechanics.
- Cape/hood feature where it has a design on it that fills up when you have charge and able to jump between shadows, It also has icons to show how many abilities uses you have. It’s a cool feature that was first used in Journey with the scarf.
- Scrolls can be found in levels and are used to unlock and upgrade new abilities like make dead bodies disappear or decoy to name but a few of the many abilities you can get.
- Checkpoints throughout the level.
- Can play the game how you want, Take enemies out or avoid them it is up to you. Levels are big enough where you can take your own routes.
- Earn points by kills, Disposing of bodies into the darkness and finishing levels.
- Seals: Awarded at the end of the level you can earn up to 3 and they are given for finishing the level and hitting the criteria. The 3 seals are finish a level without being detected, Killing everyone and killing no one.
- Newly hidden collectibles for the DLC.
- DLC- You can turn seals on and off to affect the gameplay like harder enemies or more health.
- Can replay levels, Even doing so without messing up your story run through as it’s in a separate section.
- Rewarding experience.
- Oozing in atmosphere and really scratches the Tenchu itch.
- Decent loading times.
- Loading screens have tips on them.
- Online co-op with join/host options and an invite and private option. Including region.
- Loads of replayability.
- DLC has four new chapters.
- Can skip cutscenes.
- Decent AI behavior for the most part, They can investigate noises and go on alert status and hunt for you.
Cons:
- Slight stutter when entering a cutscene.
- Bad performance in the DLC it has constant screen tearing irrelevant to the graphics options.
- Few issues with screen tearing in built-up areas.
- Shadow leaping is awkward at first and has a slight learning curve especially with ledges.
- AI line of sight is a bit messed up with some ability to see further than others.
- Difficulty spikes.
- Enemies can sometimes go on alert on an already found corpse.
- Aiming shadow leap is clumsy and hard to judge.
- Says him when you are playing as a girl.
- A slow starter in terms of abilities.
- Make noise ability AOE seems a bit on the large side.
- Random glitches like clipping and scenery popping in and out.
- The show objective button spins the camera but its a short glance and disorientates more than it helps.
- Stealth animations are long.
- Looking around corners and general observation stuff is hard due to pop in or the way in which the camera works.
- Easy in most cases to just run through to the objective with little penalty.
The Numbers:
- Graphics - 9/109/10
- Sound - 8/108/10
- Accessability - 8/108/10
- Length - 9/109/10
- Fun Factor - 9/109/10
Summary
Returning to this game after such a long time was like coming home, The game is really inviting and very easy to just pick up and play. The new DLC gives us more story and some terrific levels to play in. The main issue I had was just how bad it all ran, Its like it has regressed as we get constant screen tearing, Slow down and all round issues. It really can hinder your experience but I have faith that will all be sorted out. So if you ever fancied a next-gen Tenchu, You have that here as its such a love letter but changes up the mechanics enough to establish itself. Worth a look for sure especially for stealth fans.