Aragami

Get into the flow and there are moments of pleasure to be found. Nipping from shadow to shadow, flinging a shadow blade at a distant foe, evading attention, and reaching a goal, occasionally feels neat. But these moments tend to come as a run of luck, that doesn’t involve bumping into any of the game’s issues.

Although the occasional technical issue and odd mechanic put a damper on things, Aragami has its heart in the right place. It's strict adherence to stealth with no ifs, ands, or buts will turn some people off, but it'll speak to a lot of old-school fans who are sick of experiences that allow you to blast your way out of everything.

The patient, cunning mindset Aragami puts you in with its strictly stealth gameplay is something we long for with more titles. With simple yet smart level design and mechanics, it proves to be a focused title with heart and soul that has learned much from its old masters. But the game does lack polish in its performance and appearance, and the AI can be irritating at times. Fortunately, the release's story, visuals, and sound design ultimately help lift it out of the darkness.

Aragami takes stealth games back into the shadows where they belong. That said, even diehard fans who wear pacifist-only runs like a badge of honor will find it brutally challenging. Those who prefer their get-out-of-jail-free cards come with an extra ammo clip might want to steer clear.

Lince Works managed to create an impressive stealth game with Aragami, offering a quality level that can make it compete with better known releases and established franchises. With an engaging story, charming setting and some unique stealth gameplay mechanics, as well as varied scenarios and huge replay value, Aragami is a game that fans of stealth games definitely don't want to miss, especially at such a low price.

Despite the occasional dips in performance — be it visually or aurally — and the rather unavoidable slip-ups with its 3D animation not quite flowing as majestically, Aragami‘s methodical and gracious pacing offers an interesting tale on stealth based on more than just the merits of its unique shadow-manipulation mechanics.

A beautiful stealth game, which combines great design and music elements. Switch version is identical to PS4, Xbox One and PC, which means it also has some A.I. problems, some levels feel too similar,

An interesting puzzle game with powerful abilities, and good level design. Though those abilities are quite overpowered for the tasks required for the game and trivialize the experience.

„Nightfall” did great in terms of giving us more of the same great Aragami, but that also includes its technical issues.

Aragami upholds the expectations of the now-retro franchise from which it was inspired, but struggles to exceed them.