Aragami: Shadow Edition – Recensione (PS4)

In 2016, a stealth adventure was published on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC that was born as a university project of some Spanish students. That project was called Path of Shadow, then under the leadership of the small development studio Lince Works became Aragami. Almost two years later, Aragami returns with an edition that expands the game universe. There Shadow Edition, in fact, it presents the base game and the expansion among its contents Nightfall, with which we will be able to take on the role of two new characters.

Let's find out more about Aragami: Shadow Edition.

Aragami: the vengeful spirit of the shadows

In the Lince Works title, we will have control of an Aragami, one vengeful spirit evoked through an ancient ritual. After a few seconds into the game, we will be told who we are and why we are there. Our hooded friend was summoned by Yamiko, a girl with albino hair who performed the above ritual to obtain the services of the Aragami in question.

Her village has been destroyed, her people massacred and she herself is now not really there in front of us, but is locked up somewhere as she communicates with us using the powers that the ritual bestows on those who perform it. The girl informs us that the massacre of his people was carried out by the Army of Light, a group of men belonging to the Kaiho clan. The reason we are there now is clear: we must avenge the wrongdoing and free the girl.

To do this, we will have to go around the scenarios to collect six talismans, items related to Yamiko's memories, which were stolen by the Army of Light. The story is not all here, but here we stop so as not to spoil the surprise effect. It must be said right away, however, that we are not faced with a plot to peel your hands, but it turns out to be more of a pretext for the actions we are going to carry out.

Stealth naked and raw

Aragami is a stealth video game with classic and intuitive mechanics. There is no key to launch a light attack and one for a heavy attack, because attacking is not really about. The only way forward is to stay hidden, stealth kill unsuspecting enemies by pressing the square button (we tried the PS4 version) or bypass them by moving towards the main objective.

In Aragami, therefore, there is no fight. The enemies are armed with swords of light that kill the protagonist with a single blow. Being discovered leads to three viable paths:

1. Escape to lose track
2. Complete the sneak attack before the alerted enemy makes the first move
3. To die

In case number two, in fact, we will have a few seconds available in which time will slow down, during which we will be able to kill the enemy before it is he who puts an end to the hostilities. So what does this vengeful spirit do that is so deadly if he can't even fight? Manipulate the shadows to your liking. The Aragami is able to leap from shadow to shadow instantly, to reach manned areas or to outflank enemies. What if there are no gray areas? They can be created. With the pressure of L2 we are given the opportunity to form a limited shadow area on which to jump to avoid being seen.

The powers available to Aragami are not infinite. The runes present as a decoration on her cloak act as a "bar of magic". This can be recharged while standing in the shade, but it wears out if you remain at the mercy of the light for too long. At the beginning our powers will be very few, but by collecting scrolls these will increase the possibilities of approach. Scrolls, in practice, act as skill points that can be spent in the appropriate menu.

Aragami can also summon a raven who will indicate the location of the current target and, unlocking the corresponding ability, will chase a target to keep us updated on its movements. It is also possible distract the guards by ringing a bell. The stealth approach is the only viable one, therefore, every move must be well thought out. It counteracts an enemy intelligence that is not always up to par. On a normal level, enemies don't always seem responsive and, once you understand their movement patterns, they can be pigeon-holed quite easily.

The last note on the gameplay concerns its basic repetitiveness. The levels that make up the adventure are almost the same. Particular deviations from our primary goal are almost never contemplated. In general, Aragami is a pleasant title to play that never touches exceptional peaks.

A great sight

Graphically, Aragami is a little gem. Despite the dark tones of the adventure, the cel-shaded graphics are very pleasing to the eye. It all seems hand-drawn with pastels, a technique that we liked right from the start and never tired us, because it makes our wandering pleasant even after a few hours of play. Among other things, among dozens and dozens of indie games with pixelated graphics and graphics in search of photorealism, a little fresh air was needed.

Il sonoro, on the other hand, it is not striking. The music underlines the situation well, but they are not very varied and no trace remains imprinted in the mind; the dubbing is stripped down as Aragami doesn't talk a lot and Yamiko has an ethereal voice that, if it weren't for the subtitles, wouldn't let us understand much of what she's saying.

La longevity of the title stands at around 7 hours. To these must be added the ones you will use to finish the Nightfall expansion.

Nightfall: in company one kills better

The Aragami Shadow Edition consists of the base game and the expansion. Nightfall is a prequel, because it informs us about what happened before the summoning of the Aragami of the main adventure.

The protagonists of the story are two: Hyo e Shinobu, two assassins who will clash with the enigmatic figure of the Alchemist, while they are on the trail of the Army of Light. Nightfall consists of four new levels and allows players to take advantage of three new shadow techniques. One of them is Twin soul, which allows, when playing solo, to kill two enemies at the same time with the help of the other AI-driven character.

The most interesting peculiarity of Nightfall is its sector multiplayer online cross-platform. The expansion can be played in both single and co-op.

Final judgement

Aragami is a great game for those who love stealth action not contaminated by other genres. Manipulating shadows to unleash surprise attacks is fun, but enemy AI not always up to par and the underlying repetitiveness undermines the experience a bit. However, Aragami remains a pleasant title to play, thanks above all to a high-level artistic direction. The Shadow Edition also features the Nightfall expansion among its contents. A good overall offer at the price at which the whole package is sold.