Way of the Samurai pits the player as a Ronan samurai named Kenji who is passing through an area called Rokkotsu Pass. The game gives you very little by way of instructions and instead suggests you explore the game, it's characters, and plot beats as you see fit.

The game runs on an in-game timer such that after a few days of in-game time, the game ends and you receive certain endings depending on your actions. These runs never take more than an hour or two, so the game encourages the player to go back through and see how their decisions could effect the Rokkotsu Pass.

While certainly not as sophisticated as modern games that employ looping mechanics such as Hades, Deathloop, or The Outer Wilds, Way of the Samurai manages to capture the same sense of wonder and exploration that comes with taking the reins off the player and allowing them to wander through a story in the way that they see fit. You're not going to get any narrative reasons for being able to play the game over and over again, but it's still thrilling to see how the game plays out if you ally yourself with any of the rival clans found in the game, and then turn around and do nearly the opposite.

I have a lot of love for this game given just how fresh the mechanics feel today, and also because you can kick a radish in the air and into your mouth to heal yourself, that rules.