Akatori

The young ones have placed Akatori before me.

I have given it roughly four hours.

That is not enough time for an old Sensei to claim he knows the whole journey and a fool judges the mountain from the first hill. I have seen enough to know whether I wish to keep climbing.

Akatori makes a decent first impression. The mixture of pixel-art characters and painted 3D environments is beautiful, and the Asian-inspired setting gives the world a character of its own. The music and atmosphere do much of the heavy lifting. There is a charm here that pulled me forward even when the game itself was not particularly demanding.

The magical staff is the more interesting part of the journey. Throwing it, recalling it, and using it to move through the world gives the platforming a satisfying rhythm. It is one of those mechanics that feels good almost immediately. Unfortunately, the combat has not made the same impression. Enemies are easy to understand, and after a few hours I was already seeing the same basic encounters repeated without much reason to change my approach.

Exploration has also left me wanting. I expect a Metroidvania to tempt me away from the path. Akatori mostly tells me where the path is and asks me to follow it. There are places that look as though they might hide a secret, but wandering off the road rarely feels particularly rewarding. A warrior should sometimes be rewarded for curiosity. Here, curiosity often earns me a longer walk.

Perhaps the game grows considerably from here. I have not played far enough to say otherwise. But I will not award honor for what a game might become. Four hours have shown me a beautiful world, an enjoyable movement mechanic, and a game that has yet to give its combat or exploration the same care.

The art has earned my attention.

The journey has not yet earned my devotion.