A Lesson in Mortality -Oninaki (REVIEW)

written by Justin Prince (@prince_justin)

Part of an elite force that skates between the line separating the living from the dead, in Oninaki you play as Kagachi, a young Watcher tasked with upholding the key tenants of reincarnation. In this world, people are forbidden to mourn the loss of loved ones, believing that grief leads to filling the dead with regrets… making it impossible for them to be reincarnated, instead becoming lost souls who not only can’t be reborn but also become monsters.

Since you literally skirt the line between the world of the living and the beyond, that plays into one of the core gameplay elements. Actively switching back and forth between the two realms as you traverse the map. Aiding Karachi on this adventure are Daemons, friendly souls who bind themselves to Kagachi, allowing him to stand toe to toe with some of the world’s most fearsome monsters.

Daemons sit at the center of the game’s combat system. Oninaki is an action RPG, requiring you to not only manage your stats but also requires a level of prowess with action games. Each Daemon fundamentally changes your combat style, some allow you to pull off fast/flashy maneuvers while other trade swiftness for heavy hitting attacks. Depending on the Daemon you have equipped, the weapon also changes; Aisha, a fast melee Daemon, uses a sword while Die, a gunner-type, dual-wields a gun and handheld crossbow. Kagachi can equip up to four Daemons at a time which can be swapped out on the fly. Picking the right Daemons to fit the level is less important than making sure it fits your play style. While not every Daemon is balanced, for the most part you can take down the big baddies with whatever Daemon you have in your arsenal. I found that I was focusing more on mechanical skill than I was relying on which Daemon I had equipped.

Speaking of mechanical skill, while for the most part I found the controls to be tight and snappy, more often than not I found combat to be incredibly repetitive. I’d swap back and forth between various Daemons mostly to keep combat feeling interesting, less required to survive whatever you face in combat.

It wouldn’t be an RPG without a progression system, and Oninaki is rife with them. Branching skills trees linked to each Daemon bolster your stats while unlocking increasingly more powerful special attacks. This part of the character progression rarely confused and I feel was pretty straightforward. With skills and stats, you also unlock memory blocks for your Daemon; helping you to learn more about their pasts before their untimely deaths.

If the visuals seem familiar to you, chances are you’ve played other titles from Tokyo RPG Factory like I Am Setsuna or Lost Sphere. Despite the clearly cartoon-like stylization of the characters, the content of the story sets this apart from similarly cartoony RPGs.

Oninaki manages to deal with some heavy source material. Death and what comes after is a debate that has spanned generations. Whether you believe in a concept of the afterlife or not, death and the worldly inevitable is intrinsically linked to the concept of life. While other RPGs have handled the concept of death, in Oninaki that concept is front and center in the story’s narrative. The death of (slight spoilers) a major character was handled in a way that sincerely honored the role the character had in Kagachi’s journey while giving the player a glimpse into how the denizens of this world handle the death of a loved one.

VERDICT

While not perfect, Oninaki is a breath of fresh air in the RPG genre. A deeply engaging story that creatively handles the concept of death and grief. My only wish was that the core combat wasn’t as repetitive as it was. While it does take a measure of mechanical skill, I could honestly button mash through most mobs of baddies with boss battles being the one time I need to sit up and pay attention. Beautiful visuals round out this package, making for an absolute treat for the senses.

3 out of 5

Imperfect but solid nonetheless