Game: Samurai Kento
Genre: Action, Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (also available on Steam (Windows), PS4 & PS5 and Xbox)
Developer | Publisher: LightUP | Ratalaika Games
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Everyone 10+
Price: US $4.99 | UK 4.99 | EU € 4,99
Release Date: September 13th, 2024
A review code was provided, and many thanks to Ratalaika Games.
Samurai Kento: A Simple Yet Engaging Action-Adventure
Samurai Kento is an action-adventure game where you step into the shoes of an aged samurai tasked with purging demons from the land. The game offers a refreshing premise, as it’s not common to see an elderly protagonist take the lead role in such games. While it doesn’t necessarily break new ground in terms of gameplay, Samurai Kento provides a decent amount of entertainment for its modest price, making it a suitable choice for a relaxed weekend of gaming.
The Way of the Sword
The core objective of Samurai Kento revolves around hunting down various demon bosses and cleansing the land of their evil. As is typical of most adventure games, players explore a large map, revealing new areas as they venture further. The map is initially covered in fog, and certain areas are inaccessible until you acquire a specific power or ability to bypass the obstacles in your way.
The controls are simple and easy to pick up, making the game accessible to players of all skill levels. You have a button for jumping and another for slashing with your samurai sword. Soon enough, you’ll unlock magic spells and a few new moves. Combat is straightforward; enemies come in a limited variety of demon forms, ranging from black blobs to flying eyeballs. Most enemies can be defeated with a few strikes from your sword. After each victory, enemies often drop bags of money. Collecting enough coins allows you to purchase potions or permanent upgrades, such as a bow and arrow, from vendors scattered throughout the game world.
One interesting aspect of Samurai Kento is its character progression system. As you defeat more enemies, your character levels up, gradually increasing your health and mana. This feature adds a satisfying sense of improvement and growth to your samurai as you progress through the game. The levelling system is simple but effective, ensuring that players feel rewarded for their efforts.
A Quick Adventure
Samurai Kento is not a particularly long game. Most players will be able to finish the main story in about two hours. Despite the brevity, the game does enough to keep your attention throughout. The bosses follow predictable patterns, and the level designs are fairly easy to navigate. However, these simplistic elements might not appeal to players looking for a deeper challenge.
One of the game’s notable features is the ability to adjust the difficulty at any point during the experience. Changing the difficulty mainly affects how hard enemies are to kill, which can feel more tedious than genuinely challenging. Unfortunately, the difficulty adjustment doesn’t alter the level design or introduce new mechanics, so it primarily serves to increase the number of hits required to defeat foes. While this can be seen as a missed opportunity, the game’s accessibility and flexibility are commendable, especially for those who prefer a more relaxed gameplay experience.
Familiar Pixel Aesthetic
In terms of presentation, Samurai Kento adopts a familiar pixel art style that many low-budget games use. The graphics are simple but charming, evoking a sense of nostalgia for the 8-bit and 16-bit eras of gaming. The pixel art is soft and family-friendly, making the game approachable for players of all ages. That being said, the art style doesn’t stand out in any significant way. It’s a serviceable design choice, but it lacks the uniqueness or flair seen in other pixel-art games that push the boundaries of the style.
The soundtrack follows a similar pattern. The music is pleasant but largely forgettable. It complements the gameplay without overwhelming the experience, but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression. In this sense, the audiovisual elements of Samurai Kento do their job but don’t elevate the game beyond its basic premise.
A Bit Buggy
Despite the game’s simplicity, I encountered a few bugs during my playthrough, which was surprising, given how basic the overall design is. One of the more frustrating issues involved the wall-jumping mechanic. After unlocking the ability to wall jump, my character would often get stuck in the animation of clinging to walls, allowing me to jump vertically but preventing me from detaching from the surface. This led to moments where I had to restart sections of the game to resolve the issue.
Another bug occurred when entering vendor shops. The game would occasionally glitch, causing the screen to flicker between the entrance and exit of the building. This issue was visually jarring. The most bothersome glitch, however, involved using spells to break specific walls. Sometimes, the spells wouldn’t work as intended, forcing me to exit the area, refill my mana, and try again.
While these bugs were annoying, they didn’t completely detract from the overall experience. Fortunately, the game auto-saves whenever you enter a new room, so exiting and restarting often resolved the issues. Nonetheless, it’s disappointing to see these kinds of problems in a game that otherwise seems straightforward.
Conclusion: A Swift Samurai Adventure
Samurai Kento is an average but enjoyable action-adventure game. While its premise of an elder samurai protagonist is unique, the gameplay doesn’t introduce anything particularly new or groundbreaking. That being said, the game has a certain charm, and I found myself developing a soft spot for it despite its flaws. Perhaps this stems from an appreciation for the developer’s effort and passion, which is evident in the final product. It’s clear that Samurai Kento was crafted with care, even if it doesn’t always hit the mark.
For its modest price, Samurai Kento is more than worth the cost of admission, especially if you’re looking for a simple, quick game to play over a weekend. Just be sure to temper your expectations and enjoy the ride for what it is: a short, straightforward adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Final Verdict: I Like It.
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