When it comes to action video games, virtual reality (VR) developers have you covered, there are plenty of them. The same cannot be said for the more secret-oriented titles. A couple comes to mind as Expires 1: Virtual reality operation or Phantom: Covert Ops but, what if you want to go a little further to the old school, hidden in the shadows like a ninja assassin? For this you will want Arashi: Castles of Sin of Endeavor One, which combines exciting storytelling and gameplay into one.
Arashi: Castles of Sin it takes you back to feudal Japan, the setting in which you play a deadly assassin for the House of Arashi. In a wave of violence, six bandits known as the Six Iga of Iga have spread throughout the region and killed everyone in their path. Therefore, you have the task of eliminating these threats, heading to their castles and dethroning these dangerous warlords.
And so begins a shadowy adventure, using era-specific weapons to make its way through armies or not, Arashi: Castles of Sin after all, it’s a cunning video game. Levels are defined as a giant castle to infiltrate, reach the center, and kill the head. Quite a linear approach, A to B style, with the flexibility to choose your own path, to some extent.
For starters, you are given a katana and a hook to help with rooftop excursions with tools that will soon be stacked with the addition of a box, shuriken, gas pumps, mines and more. While supplies are not plentiful, there are usually enough scatter for each level that can be mixed and matched in general, it all depends on how you want to deal with each area, as many of these items are next to the guards. .
Endeavor One has tried to give you as many options as possible when facing each of the castle grounds. Viously, obviously, stealth is the best tactic, as you can jump across rooftops or hide in the long grass to shoot a deadly arrow or a well-placed shuriken. These small, pointed stars of death are deadly and have an automatic target, as long as you throw them in the general direction they should hit for the first time.
Despite this, Arashi: Castles of Sin it doesn’t feel so versatile, for starters, you need to give it time to develop. The first levels do not have almost the same scope as the later ones, they only offer a basic selection of choices. When you are in the middle of the game, the game really opens up, where you can select your load before each mission and then get stuck exploring the verticality of the levels.
You are not alone either. While you might think a shadow assassin would have worked alone, you have a wolf-shaped companion named Haru. Of course, Endeavor One puts a lot of work into your furry friend, adding charm and warmth to what is mostly a cold, expert killing experience. In the center temple, Haru will come out to the spotlight and play ball with you, while on the field Haru can cause distractions or attack the guards. Unfortunately, Haru has a downside. The wolf bounces around the fortified camps as if it were natural for this animal to just walk around, without any of the guards blinking. So this last feeling of stealth is erased because you run in the shade or on a rooftop and there is your pet wolf laughing at these heavily defended fortresses.
This leads to another area where Arashi: Castles of Sin hesitations. Enemies are not as sharp as the katanas they hold. You can put two right next to each other, you will kill one and the other will not hesitate while his partner lets out a dying cry. However, 200 meters away, on a rock, you will be detected very quickly. They have a specific vision cone, so out of everything you’re good. Walking quickly behind them won’t warn them, just activating the run will do it and, for the most part, you don’t really need to run.
What pleasantly surprised me was the good implementation of PlayStation Move. It is a driver that does not always predict the titles of smooth locomotion, the turn and the general march can be complicated. However, the “virtual controller” system generally feels quite fluid, whether you are sneaking through a yard or going up a set of vineyards. Therefore, it must be said Arashi: Castles of Sin it should be considered an intense experience, even with all the comfort controls provided.
It is also positive that he is inside Arashi: Castles of Sin. There is a lot of attention to detail inside the house temple and enemy castles, being able to submerge an area in the dark with a flick of a sword in a nearby fire. And the storyline has a beautiful look, with hand-painted scenes between levels that enrich the video game as a whole. It would have been nice if there was dubbing in English, as the subtitles are always distracting, but that’s a minor annoyance.
Much more infuriating is the sword game. There are RV titles that expertly show the fight against swords in RV, Arashi: Castles of Sin it is not one. The system is very basic, so you never feel like a proper duel, you just need to slow down to block, stop to turn off your opponent and then hit. You can’t get success any other way. The worst thing is that each encounter of heads is played, although with a slight variance of attack, making them very repetitive.
Arashi: Castles of Sin it has some solid ideas and mechanisms, from the wealth of tools available to the ability to pick and attack each castle. Still, the problems make the experience difficult and prevent it from being the great VR ninja game it could have been. It will take you more than five hours Arashi: Castles of Sin, and while you can play the levels however you want, there is no incentive to go completely on the offensive. However, flying over rooftops throwing shuriken is still fun.