For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of Amedama, from the developers IzanagiGames and Acquire Corp.
The first thing that struck me when playing Amedama is it's visual style. throughout the video i try to say what it reminds me off, but i never succeed in doing so. in some respects, Amedama looks so familiar, but it also looks unique. the real question is does it actually look good, does it work visually. that i'm less sure off. i'll be honest and say that i didn't mind the character artwork and i thought that the backgrounds looked good. but i didn't like the character art, tho i do appreciate that for the most part people were visually distinct.
The trouble is, there's not enough variety. early on i started to notice that character art was being reused over and over again but it kinda got in the way of story telling. for gang members one type of artwork would be used, and then it would be used again for someone working with the samurai. it started to take me out of the world and the story telling and by the end of this video, it was starting to feel cheap or not finished because it just kept on happening.
By the end of this video, i don't think i understood the game. in the hour i played, i was following the story, but the game itself never presented itself as anything more than a brawler with a unique character control mechanic. the day system did hint that something was up with the game but i never got to the end in this video. there was one kinda bug near the end during the final fight i had where the boss character was able to hit me up and seemingly into the rafters. i would be stuck up off screen and unable to attack until i moved and fell to the floor.
Ultimately, i would recommend people try out this demo but they'd have to play more than me to get a better sense of what it is. the idea of controlling over people's body's isn't new, but i did enjoy how they used it in this game. But Amedama isn't for me. it feels cheap/unfinished to such an extent that it started to get in the way of the story telling and the world they were trying to build.
