The Spirit of the Samurai has a great visual style that I just can’t get enough of

There is something eerie yet ethereal about it The spirit of the samurai. I’m not sure if it’s the stop-motion inspired animation or the dark and moody graphics, but something about this game has me in a stranglehold. I’m always ready to get involved in something interesting, e.g Hike to Yomi before that. But The spirit of the samurai has a hold on me like nothing else.

The art of stop motion in video games is incredible to behold

There are a number of games that utilize the stop motion concept in their graphics. Harold Halibut was a competition supplement released earlier this year, with stunning Claymation-style graphics. Apart from that, The spirit of the samurai It just feels like the spiritual successor to a canceled Ronin-themed Tim Burton film and I just can’t get enough of it.

Videos from VICE

Dark, moody, atmospheric. The spirit of the samurai has some of the most incredible art direction I’ve ever seen in a video game. The fact that this is being developed by an indie team as a debut title; Color me more than impressed. As impressive as the game is, it also seems to have a great combat system and beautiful level design.

Kitty Questwhich is no longer available for download on the Google Play Store, was technically their first game. But after seeing the cat get eaten by a centipede in the trailer, I might know why it’s no longer available. I’m going to have nightmares about this now.

Hike to Yomi was one of my favorite indies of 2022. And this seems like an improvement over this one in almost every way. As long as the fight matches the visuals, there’s a chance my GOTY might have to switch at the last minute. The spirit of the samurai has Hike to Yomi visually striking. But will it have the same grip with its Metroidvania gameplay?

If you feel like diving in and seeing what The spirit of the samurai it’s all about that, there’s a free demo on its Steam page. Just be prepared to lose countless hours when this product finally becomes available on December 12, 2024.