Presented at the Future Game Show in June 2023, The Spirit of the Samurai made news for its stop-motion aesthetic. Atypical art direction is enough? At the Steam Neo-Fest, we were able to play the game with a demo version and we give you our first opinion.
Game Overview
The Spirit of the Samurai is one of the most anticipated indie Samurai games of recent years. It was during the Future Game Show that it was presented and it is by artistic direction that it distinguished itself: the developers of Digital Mind Games and Kwalee have opted for an adventure using stop-motion.
A bias that allows character to be given to a narrative framework that is less emphasized. The player plays, among other things, a samurai who must defend his village invaded by undead warriors. Japanese folklore monsters are also part of the list of enemies encountered by our hero.
In fact, The Spirit of the Samurai promises to play, in addition to the samurai, two additional characters. A Kodama, a kind of forest spirit specific to Japanese folklore, as well as a cat that accompanies our hero.
Which portends different gameplay in order to make the title dynamic as we must alternate between fighting and platforming/exploration phases. A whole that should put players in the mood of a mystical feudal Japan stained with blood and violence.
Gameplay
Expected Dec. 12 on PC, The Spirit of the Samurai may be the chance for many to fill the wait before the release of Assassin’s Creed: Shadow. And to get a feel for the title, it’s available right now during Steam Neo-Fest: an event hosted by Steam featuring multiple indie games with demo versions that can be played for free. Intrigued, the editorial team embarked on the demo of The Spirit of The Samurai, which was over in about forty minutes.
As stated, we begin by playing the samurai Takeshi. His village is attacked by a horde of monsters and he must defend it at all costs.
We then control the hero of the story in a two-dimensional environment from left to right. Can jump, crouch, or sword fight and bow. To repel your enemies, you rely primarily on the perfect parry mechanic which consists of pressing the right button (the controller trigger) at the moment when the opponent should touch you.
You can then counter the attack by making your sword go through different sequences that the player has customized. And it is by keeping the stick straight in the desired direction that we attack our enemies.
Game Style
There is only one independent scene to get us out of similar mixes! This action game blends in a way Ghost of Tsushima and the old-school aesthetics of Mortal Kombat, not very similar to our game Samurai Warriors 4, but surely one of the best upcoming samurai games to try!
If the list of the best games of 2024 is slowly emerging, don’t forget that the nuggets, well, we can have them until December. We want it as proof of The Spirit of the Samurai, an action-adventure game expected Dec. 12 on PC (Steam | Epic Games Store).
The title, created by the animation studio Digital Mind, relies on a rather unique, stop-motion art direction reminiscent of the rotoscoping of the first Mortal Kombat in the 1990s. Digital Mind pays tribute to Ray Harryhausen, a major figure in the field of special effects in cinema. He improved the stop-motion technique to bring gigantic fantasy creatures to life, as in Jason and the Argonauts (1963).
A vibrant tribute
And fantastic creatures, The Spirit of the Samurai overflows with them, but not from Greek folklore. As its title suggests, Digital Mind’s creation embarks us on a fantastic Japan where the traditional demons and the undead meet. A terrifying army seeking to conquer a village, tirelessly protected by Takeshi, the character you embody. The warrior will also be able to count on the help of Chisai, a cat, and Kodama, a spirit with magical powers.
In all this, The Spirit of the Samurai is therefore an action-adventure game, more precisely a title that mixes Metroidvania aspects, with exploration in interconnected areas, and like Souls games, you can see that this aspect will go in particular through a progression system similar to Elden Ring and company where it will be necessary to spend experience points on very precise statistics. But, we can also see bosses and imagine that the challenge will be quite high.
Animation: Stop-motion
It must be said that after a first glance, we understand why the Spirit of the Samurai challenged. Stop-motion art direction is at the heart 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 development of the actions. This slow execution rubs off on the fights: without being difficult, the first few confrontations can quickly knock you off your feet as each type of enemy has its own range of blows.
The certain heaviness of the gestures does not lower the sensations in the hand, on the contrary: it emphasizes the demand for fighting and generates tension. This is something that must be systematically relieved at the end of each fight.
Stop-motion falls short, however, in what we saw, at the level of the movements. The samurai moves rather grumpily and travels a short distance. Then it is necessary to privilege jumping to move instead of traditional walking.
With its demonstration, The Spirit of the Samurai portends to be seductive. If it is still too early to make a definitive opinion (the demo does not include boss fights or the ability to play the kodama or cat), it is clear that it will be necessary to watch the title carefully at launch: The Spirit of the Samurai promises to be more than just eye candy.
Attacks
Takeshi will also be able to count on an arsenal with a katana-bow, and a parry, but also with another system that seems frankly interesting: customizable combos.
Through the adventure, we will unlock new attacks that you can arrange as you like in various slots (there is one dedicated to vertical and another to horizontal hits, for example). We were able to test all of this on the occasion of Steam Neo Fest, feel free to read this.
