This is a highly stylized action Anime title with a few major flaws that unfortunately overshadow what could be an excellent title. I’ll start with the bad to end on a good note. Normally PC games allow you to quick save at any given point on any given level and of course have auto saves at the beginning of each level. The creators of Oni, however, seemed to think that an action-fighting title like this did not need many save points, much to the chagrin of the player. Because of the amount of enemies you face throughout the levels and the lack of health it is crucial that you are allowed to save often and this title does not do that. The incredibly lengthy levels add to your frustration. Playing a level for a few hours only to be killed right before the next save point and have to repeat the entire level once again is not fun. The saving system design was by far the biggest and most annoying flaw of this game. The second, most prevalent flaw, ties into the terrible saving system I mentioned above. The difficulty of this game combined with the lack of save points makes it incredibly frustrating to play. In short, this game is very hard. The difficulty level changes dramatically within a few frames it seems; starting off almost too easy and then jumping into almost impossible multiple enemy attacks without any lead-time. I’m not one to back away from a challenging game but Oni really is just too hard for an average gamer and it’s lack of an explosively entertaining plotline does not make you want to re-play the same level twenty times over. Now that I’ve covered the two most aggravating flaws in Oni, I’d like to share that this game does have its good points. Graphically, Oni is pleasing to the eye. For it’s time I’d say it is one of the most visually gratifying titles out there. Characters are well rendered and the environments, although stark at times, fit the storyline quite well. Controls are very basic including some interesting flips and combination kick-punches. The storyline is interesting if not riveting and reminds me of a combination of Beyond, Good and Evil and Tomb Raider. Overall it’s an ok title, but if you start to get frustrated while playing it, it’s one that can easily be dropped.
When you ask someone about "Oni" you typically will hear "what?" is that a Japanese game, comic or some other form. However, it is a game with an enduring and captivating storyline from and unusual origin of the main ch... Read Full Review
A lot of negative reviews are made because of the environments and their vast emptiness. If you're down rating this game for that you're missing the point entirely. This game is about combat. The first trailers showed... Read Full Review
