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Aragami 2 Review


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1662934087_Aragami2boxart.jpg.6d4575c76db934957f4959aef4445a41.jpgThe first Aragami was a relatively simple stealth game that got by on its shadow ability mechanics and a stylish presentation that blended UI elements into your shadowy assassin's appearance. Aragami 2, however, seems to have dialed back on the more unique elements of its predecessor. The result is a stealth game that offers plenty of bad guys to knock out or kill, but lacks the stylish hook necessary to make it stand out from any other stealth-based adventure.
 
Like any good ninja/assassin story, the game begins with a violent battle and the death of your player character. However, thanks to your clan's shadowy powers you don't stay dead, and instead can now use the shadows to reap your revenge. There's actually a decent narrative somewhere here in Aragami 2, but it's buried under poor pacing and presentation. The gameplay is mission-based, so you accept a quest, depart to complete it, then return to your home base to talk to NPCs again and move the plot forward a notch. It's really not conducive to a good story and you'll likely find yourself fast-forwarding through these short, dull conversations anyway.
 
Aragami 2 goes for a quantity over quality approach to the gameplay. There are about 50 missions in the game, which is a lot of shadowy ninja mayhem. The downside, though, is that the maps are incredibly repetitive and there's very little variety in terms of enemies for much of the game. You literally return to the same maps for different missions over and over. Granted, there might be some slight changes, like you start on a different part of the map, but part of the appeal of stealth-based games is learning the most efficient paths through any level, and even with some changes in enemy placement, the repetitive maps drain the life out of Aragami 2.
 
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The stealth gameplay itself is okay, though rarely exceptional. Early on your options are quite limited, but once you're able to unlock abilities in your skill tree the gameplay opens up a good bit more. Now you can customize your approach somewhat, leaning on pure stealth, combat abilities, or a mix of the two. There are some cool abilities here no matter what your approach is, as well as basic helpful upgrades like reducing the stamina cost of running, jumping, etc. The game doesn't always give you good reasons to use these advanced abilities though. Again, most enemies are pretty basic, and sometimes just sprinting through a level, shadow leaping to ledges/roofs is more than enough to complete the mission. You kind of have to make your own fun by using the abilities that you want, which is a nice display of freedom but also highlights how repetitive and simple the gameplay gets, especially after a few dozen missions on the same handful of maps.
 
If stealth fails you, you can draw your sword for a one-on-one duel, though this is clearly meant to be an emergency or last resort move. Combat feels terrible in Aragami 2—your only real recourse is to wait for enemies to attack, parry them, then hit them a few times until their stamina is low enough for you to do an assassination strike. It's bland, repetitive, and not terribly rewarding to do. Granted, you obviously should avoid getting into duels in the first place since this is a stealth game, but it would've been nice to polish the combat a little more or make it easier to disengage and hide again.
 
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The controls are surprisingly slippery in Aragami 2, though sometimes it suits the fast, stealthy ninja action. Leaping from one building to the next and shadow teleporting to a ledge feels great when it's working, but then there are times when the button prompt to attack an enemy just doesn't seem to pop up correctly, or the frustration of trying to leap to a ledge that looks like it should be in-range but apparently just barely isn't. It definitely takes some getting used to.
 
Aragami 2 also runs pretty poorly on the Switch. Multiplatform games always look a little less polished on Nintendo's recent hardware, but the low-res, blurry environments feel particularly cheap here. There's a lot of pop-in as you approach structures/enemies, and for some reason every enemy walks at like 10 FPS if they're more than a few feet from you. It's shockingly clunky, though even at its best the game's presentation leaves much to be desired. Generic-looking and repetitive enemies and environments—without the stylish cel-shading of the original game—makes for a pretty bland visual identity. The music is at least okay, but as a whole the production value of the game comes off poor.
 
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As mentioned, Aragami 2 goes for quantity over quality. With so many missions—and if you're going for a particularly stealthy approach—the game can last over 15 hours or more. The monotonous mission structure makes it a real drag though, and you'll feel every minute of that play time. There are also collectibles and an online co-op mode if you do want more out of the game, but I doubt the average player will feel that invested.
 
Aragami 2 is missing a great deal of polish to make its stealth gameplay shine. Even putting aside technical issues, the game's reliance on repetitive objectives, maps, and enemies makes this ninja adventure feel like a slog. Even die-hard stealth fans will find this game hard to sit through.
 
Rating: 4 out of 10 Assassins
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