![]() ![]() It’s not until the game’s last two levels that things get trickier, with enemies either doubling up or going out on patrol with more armor. Haru, meanwhile, provides an unending source of distractions and attacks to lean on. The former two allow you to silently kill most enemies at range with a single hit anywhere on the body and, while ammo isn’t overflowing, it’s hardly scarce either. Within the game’s first 10 minutes you gain its deadliest tools arrows, shurikens, and Haru. Where Arashi stumbles, at least early on, is in getting players to embrace that versatility.įor starters there’s no kind of rating or reward system for tackling levels in a certain way, meaning there’s no reason to set yourself the extra challenge of reducing your body count and leaving guards unharmed. While not as open-ended as, say, Budget Cuts, it’s hard to find a VR game as versatile as this. If a rare difficulty spike was getting the best of me I could almost always find a hidden path that allowed me to avoid the encounter altogether or a vantage point to pick off troublesome foes. Paired with the varied level design, the game comes together to offer plenty of rewarding moments, like when trading arrows with watchtowers across misty canyon scenery, or dangling above unsuspecting guards and slicing them as you drop towards the ground. It also helps that motion controls are implemented well, and that Endeavor One clearly knows its way around the pesky Move controllers. Whether picking enemies off whilst sneaking through grass or darting across rooftops with a hookshot to avoid them entirely, Arashi often nails its stealthy thrills, and it’s definitely possible to replay the five lengthy levels - which total out to about 4 – 5 hours of playtime - and adopt different paths and playstyles almost right the way through. The amount of choice on offer is impressive, even if many of the extra weapons simply boil down to throwing or shooting a different kind of item with similar results. Or, of course, Haru’s vicious bite is almost always just a call away. You’re mostly free to choose whether to stick to the long grass or, ammo permitting, unleash a barrage of arrows, mines, grenades and even poisoned onigiri (the latter of which guards will hastily and hilariously scoff upon discovery). The game is linear but each area has multiple routes through to the next, catering to a mix of non-lethal or more combative gameplay. Endeavor One aims for wide-open level design that lets players pick and choose how they approach any given situation. What is it?: A VR free-running game that sees you leaping over rooftops and wall-running along courses. Arashi: Castles Of Sin Review – The Facts Though most levels mainly boil down to a series of walls and grassy patches, each has distinct standout moments to take in. Nioh, Sekiro and Tsushima set the bar high for stylish takes on Japanese history and, although unmistakably a lower budget effort, Arashi does its best to carry that trend forward with stunning hand-drawn cutscenes that are a treat to behold, Japanese voice-overs and fantastic art direction that really captures an accurate if slightly blurry and haggard feudal Japan. Right from the start, you can tell this PSVR-exclusive stealth game - in which you infiltrate castles to overthrow notorious warlords - is a labor of love. Arashi: Castles Of Sin is much the same story. Quirks aside, Endeavor One really outdid itself with this virtual companion – she’s an enamoring blend of authentic, entertaining and clumsy all at the same time. Sometimes that’s intentional like when playing fetch between missions and sometimes less so, like when walking vertically up a wall. She’s also dependably loyal to your command, leaping on enemies without a moment’s hesitation and, yes, she’s inescapably goofy too. She’s lovable in her doe-eyed affection and convincing in the way her fur and ears realistically ruffle to the touch. She is, without a doubt, VR’s goodest dog or, to be more accurate, wolf. More in our Arashi: Castles of Sin review. Arashi’s open-ended sneaking eventually beats out its clumsier elements. ![]()
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