Okami HD Review - Divine beauty

lyra.roberge (56)in #gaming • 7 years ago (edited)

Okami appeared on the PlayStation 2 in 2006, and, thanks to good reviews, he also made the leap to the Nintendo Wii. Later it got an HD-refresh on the PlayStation 3. Now the picturesque wolf game gets an update, on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Unfortunately - or for some happy - with few innovations.

The story is gradually becoming known. The demon Orochi was banished a hundred years ago by the brave warrior Nagi and the wolf Shiranui, the incarnation of the sun goddess Amaterasu. Shiranui did not survive the battle and was immortalized for defending the village of Kamiki with a special altar. The story of Okami begins when the demon awakens Orochi and Nippon transforms with a curse into a barren, desert-like landscape. It is now up to Okami, the new incarnation of Amaterasu, to defeat Orochi for good.

Timeless game

As a player you step into the shoes of this divine wolf and you will be guided by the endearing but sometimes quite annoying sidekick Issun. Together with him you learn to use a large number of powers by drawing with a special brush. You learn the strength of the other twelve (you are also one) Celestial Brush Gods, all of which take the form of an animal from the East Asian zodiac. With this you can, among other things, cut stones in half, call up a wall of trees or provide the pitch-black sky with stars.

You collect these forces as you explore the country of Nippon and enter different closed areas. As in Zelda dungeons, you are asked to solve puzzles in these areas, fight with strong enemies and unlock new powers. A big difference with the dungeons, however, is that the puzzles are simple and solutions are often obvious. Also the areas are not very extensive and you are outside before you know it.

Okami HD 1_0.jpeg

Much more than this is actually not noticeable in the game, since the rest of Okami - even against present standards - is formidable. Although nothing is adapted to the gameplay, the action-packed playing style goes well with its time and the different brush forces provide the necessary variety. The charming, character-like style of Okami, the airy and sometimes comical dialogues and the large dose of Japanese mythology together form a timeless game experience.

More beautiful than ever

Also the visual style of Okami is timeless, making the technical update very welcome. On the new platforms, Okami can be played in 4K resolution. On a screen that supports this quality, the vibrant colors and tight contours are better than ever. With a consistent locked framerate of 30fps the platforms deliver good performance, although an update to 60fps was not a luxury.

Apart from the visual update, nothing has changed in the game. No new features or extensions have been added and no changes have been made to the controls. For those who have never touched the game, Okami HD offers the ultimate experience of the game for 20 euros. For fans, apart from the improved graphics, there is little reason to put another dozen hours in this masterpiece.

Conclusion

Okami HD is now released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. This means that fans get the chance to play the game again, in an even higher resolution. The character-like graphic style is thus even better, while Okami's solid Zelda-like formula stands the test of time without any problems. That nothing has changed the game in this reissue is no problem for newcomers, but unfortunately offers little reason for fans to play the game again.

➕ Timeless visual style, solid game formula, 4K resolution ensures vivid colors, great price

➖ No extra features, Puzzles are still often too easy