Tamashika

Tamashika is unusual and divisive. Tamashika will appeal to a niche audience. The strange action and weird graphics will not be for everyone. However, if you love unusual games that push your buttons and patience, this will be right up your street. Accordingly, even though it is divisive, I like it, and I recommend grabbing a copy from the Xbox store!

TAMASHIKA is undoubtedly a surreal, bizarre game that uses psychedelic visuals and whiplash action to funnel players into a flow state. Yet it is a game that also feels intimately familiar and natural to the roots of the FPS genre.

Tamashika is not for everyone, and it is bizarre. I don't expect it to blow up, since it's excessively lean at times and lacks direction or guidance. Yet, I think it's aggressively trying to make a name for itself, but it struggles to really say anything. Loud and chaotic, Tamashika plays nice enough, but it's hard to discern what it's trying to prove or to whom. Ultimately, I'm looking forward to returning to see if I can pick up anything that I might've missed, but as it is, it's something you need to invest time into each week.

Tamashika’s intensity stems from its roots as a voidlike shooter, a hyperniche subgenre inspired by Post Void and its corridor structure that strips out all the fat. No involved level design. No side quests. Just kill, kill, kill.

TAMASHIKA isn't an experience for everyone. The visuals are often too abrasive, and the lack of any story or unlockables means that you're paying for a game without any progression to speak of. However, the gameplay is so delightfully fun, the little hints of secrets are intriguing, and the soundtrack helped me reach the flow state that it expected of me. Overall, this may not be an experience you are drawn to, but if you're a fan of movement shooters, then TAMASHIKA may click with you more than you think.