Review: Aragami shines in spite of the “Unity curse”

Platforms: PS4 PC (Reviewed on PS4)

Publisher: Lince Works

The Case:

Aragami is a stealth action game where players take control of the eponymous spirit of vengeance and use his ninjutsu and shadow-based abilities to wreak havoc on those that have conquered the land of shadow users. Pitched as a cel-shaded take on Tenchu's style, it's certainly a unique experience that stands out from most of today's games.

There are performance issues.

Unity has a poor reputation among many gamers because it often has a lot of performance issues on the PS4, and Aragami isn't going to help improve anyone's opinion. The performance issues are glaring. The PS4 version is constantly dropping frames, and when loading areas like the Mausoleum the frame rate can dip into the single digits.

For the most part, the performance issues are a benign inconvenience, but they can interfere with the gameplay: Some objects can have difficulty loading in. This once resulted in me using the shadow warp and having objects spawn around me, which could only be escaped by returning to the last checkpoint. It wasn't a big deal, but the reset could have been a pain if I hadn't been so close to a checkpoint when it happened.

An equally rare bug I found was when an object like a door is flickering, enemies can see through it. This can cause some shenanigans in a game that relies so heavily on stealth. This was only an issue once, but it's still unfair and unfortunate.

The controls can act up.

Perching on this torii gate is good for visibility, usually.

The absolute most frustrating part about the game is the constant picky nature of targeting Aragami's warps between shadows. Warping to a ledge and warping on a ledge are two different things entirely. One makes you feel like a badass shadow ninja, the other often results in Aragami dissolving in water. The targeting could use a little more assistance, a bit of snappiness, in these situations.

Perching on torii gates can not only look awesome but give players an incredibly advantageous view of their surroundings. Unless it's by a tree, in which case mother nature constantly waves her big green middle finger in the camera. Objects do not become transparent when they come between Aragami and the camera, and it sometimes refuses to zoom in closer to make up for this, resulting in utter blindness.

Finally, context sensitive button prompts can fail to appear. This most often manifests itself in players sneaking up to an enemy, only for there to be no kill prompt. This can leave players high and dry when the enemy is soon to turn around and quickly cut them down.

It's still awesome as hell.

Aragami's cape serves as the HUD, showing his current ability, remaining charges, and energy.

In spite of these glaring issues, the core concept and style of Aragami shines through and carries it to success. Stealth elements are plentiful in today's gaming scene, but few if any games have put such an importance on stealth. In most stealth games, being discovered just means you no longer have the option of not killing everyone like Rambo. However, Aragami is fragile, wholly unable to protect himself in combat on equal footing, making stealth the player's only possible choice. If discovered, fleeing is the only option, and that's refreshing.

The tools at Aragami's disposal, ninja equipment combined with shadow powers, are extremely satisfying to use. While the gameplay is simple and could become repetitive, the wealth of choices offered to players keeps the whole experience fresh until the end. and if that's not enough, there's online co-op multiplayer.

While the game's cel-shaded visual presentation is hampered by the “Unity on PS4” jank, the aural presentation is amazing. The music makes great use of traditional Japanese instruments, creating a very ninja feel with its selection, and ramping up appropriately for tense situations and key encounters. When facing a Kaiho general near the end of the game, the music reaches perfect synergy with the on-screen action. Two Feathers, the composer duo that scored the game, have a new fan in me.

The Verdict:

Speaking of jank in Unity, this passes for stealth in modern games.

Aragami is a janky, but satisfying game that brings us a refreshing take on stealth gameplay. The strong concept, great level design, and stellar music come together well enough to offset the performance issues. Combined with the $20 price tag, it's hard not to recommend Aragami to fans of stealth games. However, maybe consider the PC version if your rig can handle the game better than the PS4.