Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles‌ Review

After the widespread popularity and unparalleled global success of the Japanese anime series Kimetsu no Yaiba, it was not surprising that it received a rework in the form of a battle arena game that highlights the splendour of the original story scenes and their outstanding impact on the animation industry.

In fact, the story of the series is not the main attraction, and this is because it was not something pioneering or unique, but the setting and visual techniques used in the battles remained engraved in our minds and the minds of many for long periods of time, and when we had the opportunity to try the game, we were very impressed with the developer’s ability As always, this artistic creation has been meticulously conveyed within the video game engine.

Demon Slayer – Kimetsu No Yaiba -The Hinokami Chronicles‌ is now available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. (Tested on Xbox Series X/S).

Kimetsu no Yaiba gameplay

Like all arena fighting games, Kimetsu no Yaiba is very easy to get into and get used to. The attack button gives you a series of automatic attacks that can be followed up later with a down or up the attack by moving the joystick, and each character has three special attacks with various characteristics and a devastating super attack. You can also take an assistant character for yourself during the game, which opens you up to a variety of aids, options, and shared opportunities in cooperation with this character.

You can move with great fluidity in the arena, and there are many innovative options for how to approach the opponent or deal defensively with his attacks, which opens the way for many innovative fighting methods that need to be studied and accustomed to, just like professional 2D fighting games. At first, we were concerned that there were only 12 characters, and 6 other characters that differed in the type of super strike no more, but each character has a completely different nature of each attack and offers the opportunity to launch unique combinations of attacks in the game level.

Attacks and defences

Each character also has a specific method of throwing the opponent’s Throw and a specific percentage of hidden defence points that make them stronger or weaker in the face of other characters or strikes so you will never find a complete or complete character in this game. Kimetsu no Yaiba is also not without opportunities to increase the length of the attack combos with quick steps, cancel attacks and aids, and there are different colours for each set of strokes depending on its length and the number of steps taken in it which are red, yellow and blue in order.

The High-speed Boost Mode system

In addition to the set of attacks and movements available, each character also has a high-speed Boost Mode system, which works automatically after a while and gives you more power, speed, and the opportunity to carry out special strikes without consuming any energy, and all attacks in this system can not be cut at all, but like any game Professionalism Even attacks in this system have defensive reactions that can be used, so it is not possible to activate such a system randomly and expect to win, but caution is always a duty, regardless of the attack options available to any character.

Blows animation makes it unfair

Some of the details that we found unfair are in the quality of the blows animation, which uses a lot of onscreen details (by that I specifically mean the breathing techniques) which of course is nicely ported from the anime but it presence covers the player’s field of view for some time after the hit is finished making it Oblivious to the direction or shape of the next hit, which we found a little unfair despite the eye-catching shape of the hits.

The direction of the supporting characters is also not fixed most of the time, although they can be summoned at any time literally and in the smallest gaps between strikes and friction with the opponent, sometimes it is not possible to predict their direction or where they appear, and their presence crowds the screen a little, which makes the process of seeing more difficult than when calling any of them.

Kimetsu No Yaiba The Hinokami Chronicles‌ Game story

As for the story, it quotes the same content that is currently shown in the anime series and the movie “ Infinity Train ”, and for the record, playing the story is the only solution to obtain points and unlock all the characters and systems available to play, so it is inevitable to finish it first. The narrative style not only makes the player re-experience iconic battles from the anime but also allows him to roam a bit in the world of Kimetsu no Yaiba, the forests, cities and homes featured in the events of the original series.

In these areas, players will find some access roads and side items and collect them to unlock more details such as pictures, famous words, and songs. The story itself is made in the same framework as in the Naruto Ninja Storm games, which is the manufacture of iconic battles and stuffing them with the most important details and leaving the rest of the elements related to the story to collect through the collectables of memories or relying on the fans of the work to fill in the details and the missing gaps from their memory.

Difficulty levels

Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust the difficulty level in the story system, although there are many individual battles and exclusive places that can only be accessed through the story mode. Solo play cannot be selected from outside the story in any game mode, and some story battles use official songs from the original anime and also cannot be played outside of these times as in Dragon Ball Fighter Z.

The game beyond the story

After completing the story, the developer opens the way to revisit some places and implement new selections by adding some strikes with unexpected characteristics to enemies that did not have such abilities in the events of the original story. Finishing everything in the story takes about 10 hours and there is not much incentive to replay, the player will spend the rest of the time in training or offline and online battles and there is no additional content to be enjoyed alone.

Training mode

Training mode is similar to the regular arcade mode but is slightly different in the idea that it asks you to face the same character ten times instead of different characters, and each time you have to perform different strike conditions to move to the next level. This mode is not related to any rewards and can be completely ignored, the same is for Versus which has very few options compared to other fighting games.

Online gameplay

As for the last and most important phase, the online phase in which players will spend most of the time, there are two types of matches: Casual and Ranked, and you can add some details to your player card before choosing random battles until you find the person you can compete with only three times and there is no option to re-match Infinitely with the player of your choice, the number of tournaments or the craft of a private or public arena. There isn’t even a way to make a league which will make the competitive playing field a little tricky for this particular game.

The online approach is also Delay Based, which is avoided by many fighting games these days because the speed of play depends on the distance between you and the other player, which makes the competitive online play a bit difficult, especially when you consider the amazing graphics and distinctive soundtracks Almost every action, sounds, screams, and all of this requires fast loading times, no doubt.

My personal opinion about Kimetsu No Yaiba The Hinokami Chronicles‌

Demon Slayer – Kimetsu No Yaiba -The Hinokami Chronicles‌ is a rather poor product in terms of the amount of content offered especially in the competitive combat aspect, but what it does offer is the best it can do in a game that focuses on entertainment and biased towards fans of the original action in the first place. The interest in transferring the experience to the players’ hands in a fun and exciting way, and the depth ratio in the fighting style will undoubtedly make serious players happy with the level of the game for a long period of time.

Game review summary

Kimetsu no Yaiba continues its path as a new age icon not only in the world of animation but also in the world of games, as the developer has succeeded in developing a game that is sufficiently polished visually and technically to a degree that will satisfy all fans and those looking for a different vision of the experience from a new, more exciting perspective.

Kimetsu No Yaiba Pros and Cons

Pros

• The drawing style is very beautiful and identical to the original inspiration.
• Official song selections plus five new songs exclusive to the game.
• The fights have enough depth to deserve the appreciation of professional fans.

Cons

• The need to add more options in online and individual content.
• Some graphic options affect the fighting style.