Let alone a more natural transitioning of progression that doesn’t require returning to the hub, sprinting to an obligatory marker to get a morsel of narrative exposition, to then turn back the way you came and load up another mission. Even if all that ends up doing is souring the experience for those, like myself, looking for a cohesive story. And I’m not referring to the sequel’s pushing the co-operative angle in preceding marketing - though the idea of mission structure being one to select amidst a list is so blatant an attempt to push the co-op angle. Orchestrated within a kind of progression that is not the right fit for this type of game. Missions often requiring you to visit and revisit the same handful of levels, albeit with specific regions walled off and restricted. It’s a shame then that these surroundings are - like so much of Aragami 2 as a 10-15 hour experience (and one that’s far too damaging a detriment to dismiss) - repeated one too many times. It’s a strange design choice for the sequel all things considered and while the move towards a more nimble and multi-level hopping manner of traversal doesn’t exactly better the original’s mechanics, the levels offered in Aragami 2 are at least aptly structured to be both testing yet curious in what tempting alternative routes they may house. In its place is a sort of teleportation move whereby players are granted more freedom in as much the verticality of their movement, alongside the regular sneaking around corners as well as in and out of buildings. Namely, perhaps the most obvious absentee of them all: the former premise of manipulating, even creating shadow out of nothing so as to sneak one’s way around environments. Even if some of the charms of the original game are nowhere to be found here. For those who liked the grounded yet weaving level design of the original release, it may comfort you to know that this is one aspect that throws up interesting, albeit brief, moments of dilemma during one’s time tackling an objective. If there is unquestionably one thing that’s true of the sequel as it was in the original, Lince Works aren’t masquerading this as a game that appears more complex than it actually is. That’s not to say that Aragami 2 has somehow gotten more complex or that it’s intentionally going against the grain of its predecessor. To finally get the better of those multiple patrolling guards and rotating “vision cones”. To focus so squarely and precisely on the art of moving from point A to B. It was good (least in the context of 2016) to have a game so intentionally pulled back from excess. Not because a sequel, in theory, couldn’t build on that same nostalgic, back-to-basics pedigree, but because it was that very formula of simplicity - stealth without all the added-on perks and potential distractions of its more recent years where the game had originally shone. Yet fast-forward five years to the here and now: to see the Spanish studio return to the world of old-fashioned stealth in the form of a sequel is still a surprising reality to have emerge. An art-style too that as much emboldened as it reflected the quaint, cel-shaded visuals of its feudal setting. And as its final release showed, while not a perfect or flawless showcase both in craft and technical performance, the original Aragami of 2016 proved Lince Works had a deft but more importantly sensible touch when it came to balancing mechanics with aesthetic.Ī game that was eloquent yet smart in how it utilized its stripped-back, minimalist approach - a design choice that reflected well in something as simple as its user interface, or lack thereof. Ready that it could all go pear-shaped in a matter of seconds. Namely the readable patrol routes, winding necessity to duck around corners and overall sense that even when presumably removed from the abrupt state of danger posed by one wrong move, players were always made to feel anxious. As reported back then, developer Lince Works’ intentions may have been to attract fans of the genre’s traditionalist past. Amidst the drowning noise and scuffle that is (or perhaps was is more befitting for the current time) the show-floor of E3, a charming throwback of a stealth game by the name of Aragami was first discovered over five years ago.
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