Stealth games are a mixed bag in terms of whether the games in a genre are consistently good or not. There are games like Dishonored and Hitman that many people enjoy, but there are also games that just never quite reach their intended goal. A stealth game SHOULD be about making you feel awesome even if you are not the stealthiest gamer around. This is where Aragami comes in; Aragami is a game created by Lince Works where you play a vengeful spirit (called Aragami) who can control the shadows.
Aragami is summoned to the city fortress of Kyuryu by a girl named Yamiko who hopes that Aragami will be able to help her complete her plan to escape. The story that unfolds grows deeper and becomes more than just a tale of escape and rescue. According to the developers, Aragami boasts 8-14 hours of consistent play, though it can be longer depending upon your skill level.
Aragami offers multiple ways to play. While all of these revolve around stealth, how you approach stealth is up to you. If you want to simply remain undetected for the entire level, that is achievable. Or you can kill every enemy. There is a wide array of shadow powers, from teleporting to and from shadows, to creating decoys, or summoning shadow creatures to kill your foes. There are two skill paths that you can take. The Ghost Path is set up so you can remain undetected, while the Demon Path is all about killing your foes. A mix of both can also be used, and there is no penalty for favoring one over the other.
Aragami has settings to turn off blood and multiple language options as well. The blood setting is especially useful for parents who are cautious about what their kids can play, or even want to play a violent/bloody game in front of their kids without feeling bad about it. Aragami also has two player co-op to enable you to enjoy the game with a friend. The multiplayer is also cross-platform, so if you are playing on Playstation 4 and your friend owns the game on Steam, you can still play together.
Aragami has a gorgeous atmosphere and visuals. These visuals serve a dual purpose; not only do they work as a beautiful aesthetic, but the game also gives you visual feedback as to your light level and your energy level (used for utilizing your shadow powers.) When Aragami is cloaked in black shadows, you are out of the light and are in full shadow. When Aragami’s outfit has color, you are not cloaked and if you are standing in the light, the designs on his cape will recede along with your energy level. Aragami’s cape also shows what power you have equipped, and how many uses that power has before you need to recharge with a shrine.
This prevents the need for a complex UI, and also focuses more on artistic style rather than utilities that might break the immersion of the game. The only visible UI element is a reticle that lets you know if you can teleport to a designated area or not, but the reticle doesn’t break the immersive atmosphere all that much. The visuals almost remind me of games like Journey, while also providing a rich, extra layer of crisp color and depth that makes Aragami a feast for the eyes.
This is the point where I mention that I am normally pretty terrible at stealth games. The stealth in Aragami is very fair and very satisfying, though. Even with my lacking skill level, I still felt pretty awesome utilizing aerial kills, stealth kills, and other moves. The controls are set up well, it doesn’t feel forced or unwieldy, and the combat elements are fluid and smooth.
Direct combat isn’t advisable, as your enemies are well equipped to repel a frontal assault. This means that every action you take needs to be well calculated. Planning your moves is key in Aragami, and keeping a keen eye on your surroundings is just as important. Sound also plays a large role, as you can listen for enemy positioning and other important elements.
I honestly have very few issues with Aragami. From someone who normally dislikes stealth focused games, I found that it stands on its own fairly well. The only issue I had is that sometimes checkpoints can be placed too far apart, requiring you to re-tread ground you’ve covered already due to one mistake. With that being said Aragami is fairly forgiving in terms of mistakes, though I do wish that there were multiple difficulty levels in order to provide for gamers who just want to enjoy the storyline while feeling like an awesome ninja.
Aragami gives you opportunities to recover if you make a mistake, by either retreating and trying again, or simply utilizing the skills and powers you have been given to work your way out of a problem area. Aragami is the stealth game I’ve always wanted; despite the checkpoint flaw, it is a well-crafted experience. Between solid controls, a variety of play styles, and an interesting story and premise, Aragami is the stealth game for all sorts of gamers.