Published by Clouded Leopard Entertainment and Shueisha Games, ONI: Road to be the Mightiest Oni has had its origins revealed more than a year ago as an upcoming 3D action game project, led by Kenei Design, the developer.
Now we have an opening movie to whet our appetite with, and it does look very fine indeed!
It has a soft and “low poly” quality to the aesthetics, but whether you’re a fan of that style or not, the art direction, in the way that it has leveraged colour and its ambient consistency throughout the environment, is very strong indeed, and will serve as an excellent supplement to the equally integral gameplay mechanics for this title, we’re sure!
But even the most breathtakingly beautiful game can be ruined by poor gameplay, so what’s that looking like? Combat is based on the duality of Kuuta, the protagonist, and his blobby sidekick Kazemaru. The latter has the arcane ability to suck the life essence and spirits out of its enemies, and the former has the equally rare ability to bonk his enemies’ skulls in with a club! This does look like a very fun combination.
Outside of combat, you’re left to explore and discover the far reaches of Kisejima, a small island filled with demon spirits, split into sort-of “mini-worlds”, easily identifiable by the difference in environmental aesthetics and features. In addition to the regular combat you’ll face on Kisejima, you’ll have the option to collect mushroom clusters to upgrade Kuuta’s club, and summon demon spirits to battle, all tied in within your natural exploration of the island.
Although a solid release date for ONI hasn’t yet been announced, we do know it’s sometime this year, which practically means any time now! When it does release, however, you can expect to play it on the PS4, PS5, or Steam for PC.
