Re-releases, complete editions, remasters, and games reaching new platforms later in their life has become a norm in the industry. For busy gamers, ones with ever-increasing backlogs, this is a good thing. On more than one occasion, by the time I was ready to play a game from last gen, it had been patched up, supped up, and repackaged for current-gen. That’s almost the situation with Aragami: Shadow Edition. Originally released in 2016, this third person stealth title just came out for the Switch a couple of weeks ago. Shadow Edition has the original game, the Nightfall prequel DLC, as well as other DLC (costumes, mainly).
Anyone that grew up in the 80s or 90s knows that ninjas, stealth, and videogames go really well together, when done right. Aragami is pretty much a ninja, an undead one in fact, conjured up by a Yamiko, a character who is held captive by the Kaiho. Interestingly, the Kaiho are an army of light, not darkness, as is more commonly the case. Yamiko needs you to turn the tide of this invasion, this war. So you’re summoned, as a shadowy assassin, to rescue Yamiko. The shadows aren’t just good and necessary for hiding in — you’re given special powers (and will unlock more during play) that helps give you the upper hand. While in Shadow, the Kaiho cannot see you and your shadow energy replenishes. This is can be seen by the cool artwork on the back of Aragami’s cape. As it depletes, the artwork fades. Shadow energy is used to call upon your Shadow abilities, including, most importantly, the ability to teleport, or Leap, between shadowy areas. Being able to call upon a shadow dragon to destroy an enemy is pretty handy, too.
The premise of Aragami is familiar and enjoyable enough, and I found the story likeable as well. Gameplay is also familiar and generally fun, though at times there can be some head-butting with the responsiveness of the controls. As you play, you unlock more about Yamiko’s past and collect items. Alternate routes for you to find throughout the levels, some of which are surprisingly large, are also on the menu. Deciding how aggressive you want to play is also a strong point of the experience. On the other hand, the enemy AI represents perhaps the weakest element of the gameplay, particularly with the AI routines and behavior. These feel kind of old school in terms of their lack of complexity. The attention of the enemies and their generally poor AI makes them feel too robotic and ripe for the killing. This doesn’t make the game too easy, it just makes it less engaging and immersive than it could have been. Aragami can be killed very quickly though, and to die means to start the mission over again, which seems arbitrarily harsh on some of the bigger, longer missions.
In addition to the base game which will likely last you anywhere from eight to twelve hours, with some replay value for completionists, there is also the Nightfall DLC. I haven’t played through the Nightfall DLC, but it’s much shorter from what I have watched, and adds more to the Aragami universe. Lots of unlockable customers as well as two player online co-op play, that’s actually cross-platform with the Xbox and PC, is also available, although I have not tried it.
In terms of presentation, Aragami looks cool, and presents a nice cel-shaded look that lower budget titles often use to their advantage. The artwork is good and often inspired, even if it’s not particularly memorable. Similarly, the audio is well done.
Aragami: Stealth Edition sneaks its way on the the Switch, and if you’re like me and you missed it three years ago, it’s worth a look if you’re into the stealth action genre. It was never a ground-breaking game per se, but it is well put together and worth checking out.
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