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Metroidvania-style action game The Spirit of the Samurai (from 3D animation studio Digital Mind) announced for PC



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Digital Mind, a 3D animation studio established in 2001, has announced and launched a Kickstarter campaign for The Spirit of the Samurai, a Metroidvania-style action game set in feudal Japan featuring a playable samurai, kodama, and cat. It is planned for release on PC via Steam and Atari VCS in December 2021, followed by “other platforms according to demand.” The Kickstarter campaign is seeking $35,555 in funding.

Here is an overview of the game, via Digital Mind:

About

The Spirit of the Samurai is a Metroidvania-style game with a unique style and environment, in which you will be a samurai, a cat, and a kodama. With a spectacular design and animations, taking care of every detail, we offer you the possibility of immersing yourself in a great adventure, with a great story told as if it were a movie in which you are the protagonist.

Explore a dark and beautiful world set in medieval Japan and its ancient mythology, fight against mythological creatures, demons, undeads… Join a samurai and his cat on an epic and dangerous adventure to recover his body and destroy the evil.

Gameplay

The Spirit of the Samurai is a Metroidvania with a deep exploration style gameplay with non-linear levels. While you travel around the giant map, every single spot counts, as you can discover new items, new secret areas, particular puzzles to solve and unique enemies.

One of the main features of the game is the possibility of playing with three characters in very different ways throughout the adventure, such as a Samurai, a Kodama and a cat.

Each character has different characteristics from the other. Only with the combination of all of them can we succeed.

Kitsune will guide us through the journey, show us how to continue and help us in many ways. He is a fundamental piece in this story.

With stunning visuals, different abilities, combos and special attacks, The Spirit of the Samurai provides highly agile control and deep, smooth action combat. You can switch between a variety of powers where each of them has different stats and you can evolve each power throughout the game. You can upgrade your character’s basic skills by leveling up strength, stamina, or agility. Every choice counts.
  • Combat System – We have worked hard to get a fast, smooth and intense action combat. More satisfying than usual in Metroidvania-style games. You have numerous combos that you can combine between them.
  • Kill Cams – During combat the fatal blows will be shown from another more visual and spectacular perspective through high end quality cinematics that will not affect the fluidity of the gameplay.
  • Special Powers – You can get special powers to deal extra damage to enemies and bosses. You must unlock and evolve these powers along the game. These powers at full strength can be terribly destructive.
  • Enemies and AI – Each enemy behaves differently. Most of them have an unpredictable behavior, they have been equipped with an AI that makes each game different and difficult, very difficult. It can be challenging to beat them successfully.
  • Character Evolution – The characters will evolve each time you level up, you can increase their abilities and in the case of the Kodama, their powers as well. To increase the level you must defeat enemies, get objects, unlock secondary objectives...

 
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Kazza

Member
Backed! The Kickstarter is only for 30k euros, so hopefully it'll reach that without too much trouble.

Muramasa The demon Blade is one of my favourite games ever, so another 2D metrovania-ish game pumped full of Japanese mythology is right up my alley.

I was surprised to see the Atari logo. Apparently it's coming to the Atari VCS as well as PC. It's funny, as of right now the Atari has more console exclusives that interest my than either the Series X or the PS5 :messenger_tears_of_joy: . Still, at $400 I'll probably just play it on PC.
 

jaysius

Banned
I'm pretty sure they are trying to mimic pre-Jurassic Park/CGI graphical techniques (just checked, and they have mentioned movie special effects legend Ray Harryhausen as an inspiration).

Well this choice they've made will require a HELLUVA lot of polish that maybe is too ambitious for a small group with no money.
 
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Reactions: Fuz

Fbh

Member
It's a bit weird how the cinematics they use for the trailer look normal, but then the gameplay seems to have some sort of stop motion style going for it
 
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Kazza

Member
This only got to £6k of its £27k goal. Things are definitely tough out there for kickstarted indie games these days. It looks like they will try to continue to develop the game anyway, so it still might come out eventually.
 

bender

What time is it?
It's a bit weird how the cinematics they use for the trailer look normal, but then the gameplay seems to have some sort of stop motion style going for it

When the Samurai was in human form, the animation reminded me a lot of Mortal Kombat.
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
This only got to £6k of its £27k goal. Things are definitely tough out there for kickstarted indie games these days. It looks like they will try to continue to develop the game anyway, so it still might come out eventually.
Prob genre fatigue meanwhile this got backed.
 

bender

What time is it?
It is meant to mimic those pre-CGI Ray Harryhausen style animations:

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I loved these as a kid, and still think they have a certain charm to them today.



Me too.

I get it. I'm just not feeling it. I wish something would have come of this:

 

Kazza

Member
I get it. I'm just not feeling it. I wish something would have come of this:



A moment of silence for the people still waiting for their Wii U copy of that game...

I think a lot of people have become jaded with kickstarters now and I can understand that. For me though, I like being part of these little projects. The game feels a little more special and personal when you are one of the backers. I have 5 games due out next year - fingers crossed!
 
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