The third title from role-playing game maestros Tokyo RPG Factory, Oninaki represents an emphatic departure from the studio’s previous efforts, I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear. Whereas those games channelled the nostalgia and classic gameplay of 16-bit RPGs, Oninaki embraces a more action-oriented direction, marrying fast-paced hack-‘n-slash combat with a surprisingly dark and emotionally-charged narrative.
Oniaki’s vibrantly-detailed world is bifurcated, featuring the realm of the living and the dead. When someone passes, they transition into the realm of the dead, before the moving on to find peace. This is governed by a dedicated group called the Watchers, which your character, Kagachi, is part of. In fact, this forms the backbone for one of Oniaki’s core mechanics: you can transition seamlessly between the world of the living and dead, which proves instrumental in progression through the game.
Oninaki Thrills With Varied Combat And Emotional Storytelling
Hitting L2 allows you to move between worlds, but it isn’t quite as easy as that. In the ‘dead’ world, your view is obfuscated by fog, which can only be removed if you defeat creatures known as Sight Stealers. Occasionally, you can only progress in one world, so you’ll need to juggle between both settings as you progress, exploring methodically until you locate the exit. It’s definitely more interesting than merely just hacking your way through legions of goons in a linear fashion.
Speaking of goons, Oninaki gives you plenty of opportunity to get into a ruck. Battles play out freely in real-time, with Square acting as your bread-and-butter attack; hammering away can get you through most basic scraps, but there’s more to Oninaki than button-mashing.
This is where the Daemons come in. These are one of the Lost; deceased folk who have lost their memory, and instead of passing on, act as loyal followers to the Watchers. They manifest in combat as your special attacks, which can be applied to some of the face and shoulder buttons for your convenience. These dish out serious damage, but have a cool-down period ensuring you can’t just spam them nonchalantly.
Daemons add an extra dimension to combat, as you’re able to mix up your attacks allowing you to combine your bog-standard scrapping with more advanced techniques. There’s an element of strategy, too, as you have to decide what Daemon is best suited to a particular encounter, and discover which of their attacks work best against certain enemies. Plus, they look great, and feel suitably meaty when they connect, too.
Expectedly, you can also buff your Daemon by unlocking new skills, which is done by acquiring Soulstones and other similar items. Obtaining these skills will then allow your Damone to rank up, increasing their combat prowess.
Speaking of which, each Daemon has a special Manifest ability, which can be unleashed after the corresponding gauge has reached 100% or more. Hitting one of the shoulder buttons allows you to Manifest, which is basically a fancy term for giving you an attack boost and letting you duff up more enemies than the Mitchell Brothers could handle in a Queen Vic pub brawl (it’s an Eastenders thing).
As mentioned, the story packs an emotional punch in places. We won’t go into any spoilers here, but suffice to say there was at least one point during the narrative that I was genuinely shocked at how events played out. If the full game manages to pull at my heartstrings as much as this, then Oninaki is definitely set to deliver on all fronts.
Oninaki is due out for release on August 22 for PlayStation 4, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
This Oniaki preview was written from attending an event at Square Enix’s London office.