Developer: Capcom Co Ltd
Publisher: Capcom Co Ltd
Steam Deck Compatibility?: Verified
Rrp: £15.99 (Humble and Steam)
Released: 12th December 2017
Available on: Humble and Steam
Played Using: Xbox One Control Pad and Steam Deck
Approximate game length: 40 hours
This is a game I’ve had on my radar for a very long time. I first became aware of it when it was ported to the Nintendo Wii (which was in 2008), I now finally had the chance to play it in its HD Remastered form.
In Okami you play as a white wolf named Amaterasu (though technically the name is Shiranui Amaterasu due to events that an intro cutscene relays), who is on a quest to save Nippon (read Japan here) from the eight headed daemon Orochi. While on this journey you’ll be accompanied by Issun, a very small and rather annoying sidekick who acts as the game’s tutorial and occasionally the ‘voice’ of Amaterasu for other characters in the game.
This is an open world game allowing you to travel around freely… well you can once you clear each area you enter of its curse.
The main mechanic that separates this game from most other open world games is the Celestial Brush. With the celestial brush you can make alterations to the world, though admittedly these alterations are fairly specific and often are used to solve puzzles. For example, you might find a plant that needs sunlight to grow, you can look to the sky and use the celestial brush to draw the sun (done by drawing a circle in the sky). It also helps with traversal, or at least it does once you find the brush technique for it.
This brush is also used to defeat enemies, and no I don’t just mean boss encounters. Some enemies will try to block which requires you to use the brush to destroy it.
It can be quite awkward to use the celestial brush with the control pad, especially when you are asked to draw more than a straight line.
As you play you can increase your attributes such as maximum health or the amount of ink you can carry with Praise. Praise Is earned by performing praiseworthy deeds. These deeds can vary from feeding different animals to stealing vegetables (yes, someone does praise you for that).
An interesting fact I found out while researching this game is that it was originally released on the Playstation 2 first. To me this sounds strange because of the celestial brush mechanic, it just seems like a natural fit for the Nintendo Wii and its motion controls. But as I mentioned earlier this game was ported from the Playstation 2 to the Nintendo Wii just over two years later.
I love the watercolour cell shaded art style the game has (which I later found is called Sumi-e or Ink Wash) as it not only looks fantastic but also thematically fits with the celestial brush mechanic.
When it comes to playing on the Steam Deck this game runs flawlessly. Sadly the touch screen function of the Steam Deck doesn’t work when using the celestial brush which feels like a missed opportunity.
This is not a game to miss. Sure, compared to the open worlds that are available to us since its original release like Horizon Zero Dawn this games world seems comparatively barren, lacking all the tell tale quest markers. However, I personally see that as a strength, it keeps the game more focused on the core gameplay. Go grab this game!
