Otogi - Myth Of Demons (Xbox)

Otogi-Myth Of Demons (Xbox) :

In this From Software developed / SEGA published exclusive for the original Xbox, you fill the shoes of assassin Raikoh, last member of a clan who's job it was to deliver a death blow to whoever the Imperial Court wished dead...a job that Raikoh was never very happy doing it has to be said, but one which as a member of the clan was his duty!

One fateful day however, the Court made an order that Raikoh was to kill his own father! Raikoh refused, stole his clan's ancestral sword Soul Shrine, and made a hasty exit from the court.....

Now.... this Court had ruled for over a thousand years, but at the same time Raikoh made his escape,  a mystical Seal that had been keeping the human world seperate from the demon world cracked open.....

Ominous clouds covered the world, and the lands were plunged into darkness. A huge tempest emerged from the blackness, and destroyed all in its wake....When it had passed, only ruins remained and it looked as if nothing had survived. However, all manner of unearthly creatures were now spread over the world, and they seemed intent to destroy anything and everything that did manage to evade the previous destruction....

Raikoh awoke in a place somewhere between life and death, having been rescued by the mysterious Princess, who informed Raikoh he may return to the world of the living in exchange for his servitude to her. If he performs several quests set by the Princess to cleanse the world of the demonic hordes who have ransacked it, he will also gain redemption from his dark past and be forgiven for his previous sins as an assassin....

As we take control of Raikoh, we find ourselves in a rather nice hack-n-slash adventure through a very stylised ancient Japan. Traditional music creates an eerie atmosphere, and the floaty gameplay has you hardly touching the ground in some levels, as you dart back and forth slashing away at the many different types of demons who now inhabit the place.

Missions are pretty straight forward affairs, and some can be quickly completed by rushing to your objective...but doing this means you'll miss out on the various extras and bonuses the levels hold, like freeing trapped spirits or demolishing as much scenery as possible...As with most hack-n-slash style games, the gameplay can have the tendency to get a bit repetitive after a while, but when it looks as good as this and has as much atmosphere, you shouldn't find it a problem if you play in small doses...

I recently discovered this game....and it's even better sequel.....hidden away in my local charity shop,  and having never heard of them before was intrigued as to what they'd be like. Being a fan of all things Japanese I was happy to discover a very enjoyable and atmospheric couple of games that seem to have slipped under most gamers radar...certainly if I had known they existed I would have picked them up before now!

I will say before I finish up talking about Otogi, that I am finding it exceptionally tricky....it's a really difficult game! Something that'll come as no surprise if you've played From Software's more famous 'Souls' series! But yeah, bear that in mind if you decide to pick it up...but if I was you I would definitely try to find the games soon before everybody realises just how awesome they are and they get really tricky to find!