4 – Onimusha: Way of The Sword
The last time I played Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams was on the PlayStation 2, and while I don’t think I have ever seen the game’s credits roll, the experience stuck with me for the longest of times, and I’m not even sure why that was. I do remember its demon-infested setting, classical PS2-style of action combat, and colorful and bigger-than-life characters. Then I saw that Onimusha: Way of the Sword was available on the Steam Next Fest and thought: why not give this old friend a visit? What I found was a short, but sweet demo that will have you go over the first mission of the game, figuring out the fundamentals of combat, topping it off with a flashy, but simple boss fight. I do enjoy the variation the game has when it comes to its combat, and I have to praise it for not going full souls-like, as many games do. It feels like a modern throwback to the PS2-era style of combat. Aside from that, I have nothing else to add when it comes to the story, because nothing of note was unveiled, but you play the legendary Myamoto Musashi, so that’s cool. The performance of the game was stellar on my machine, and the game’s graphics are top-notch. Really nice, and I might even pick this one up later down the line, when it’s on sale.
3 – Mortal Shell II
Soulslikes are a dime a dozen these days, so it’s going to take a lot more than slapping that label on something to have me enjoying it, and I wasn’t really expecting Mortal Shell II to be anything special, really. The bleak, grey setting peppered with sword-wielding baddies did nothing to excite me. However, it’s tight combat animations and hitboxes, the parrying and defense mechanics, as well as the addition of a very much needed ranged option, turn Mortal Shell into something special. Add on top of that the fantastic graphics, the perfect performance (which is a necessity for a game like this), and a linear map design that I very much appreciate (I know some of you don’t), and this was an absolute blast to play. If you play more than 30 minutes, you’ll also get a cool skin to play around with when the game comes out, so that’s fun, too.
2 – Over The Hill
I promise I’m done writing about soulslike. I wrote that so much in the article that the word is starting to lose all meaning (again). In this entry, what we have is a relaxed version of Spintires. Remember that? If not, then think Saber Interactive Expeditions. It’s the same thing. Over the Hill is a chill driving game where you explore an open, mostly off-road map. There’s not a whole lot of depth to it, really. Just put the car in the right gear, use your winch every now and then, and put a podcast or music playing in the background while you explore the great outdoors. The demo area is quite expansive, so you can have a couple of nights off playing this. I’ll buy it when it comes out.
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