Definitely my goty 2014 and my gotg.

Shinji Mikami delivered for me with his, as of the time of writing, final directed release. The majority of the game is a masterfully designed sin wave of obstacle-courses and arena-fights. It's carefully balanced with a trap-economy. There are traps that are explicitly in your favor, such as bales of hay to set on fire, neutral traps, such as a bear trap you and enemies can get stuck in, and traps that are out to get you, such as a proximity-triggered acid-shower. It's your choice to use them as is, or dismantle them for trap-parts which allow you to design your own traps for enemies. The combination of unusually-demanding strategy and quick-action make the game's combat addictive. Guns are not going to cut it. While the shotgun-match combo is effective and the sniper has a 100% crit-rate, ammo is scarce. Even your handgun can only hold 16 total rounds including what's loaded in it. This is not a run and gun, and the experience is so much richer for its focus on alternate means of dispatching enemies. I can still return to this game after hundreds of hours and dozens of runs at any time. It's absolutely up there with Mikami's best in the genre.

I have my gripes with it, and they're petty, but I want to be fair. The first chapter's protracted stealth-tutorial is a bit much, especially on replays. It's 10 minutes if you beeline it out of there, but still. Chapter 2 even is a bit light with its only real challenge being to get the gate lifted in the small area you're let loose in.

These complaints do nothing to take from the fun I've had with it though. If this is Mikami's final game, it's a hell of a game to go out on.

Reviewed on Apr 25, 2023


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