Despite the poor cutscene animations, gameplay animations are stellar in Aragami 2. That’s not to say the game can’t look great, especially in motion. The charming but low-budget cel shaded art style of the original game has been swapped out for a more sterile appearance, featuring low detail textures making up the environments and an abundance of reused assets. The few characters that don’t wear masks have no lip synching to speak of and clipping issues are abundant. Cutscenes are janky, stilted, and poorly acted with little to no thought given to drama, camera work, or even action in most cases. Presentation is a large hurdle to overcome in Aragami 2. Its problem lies in the execution (pun intended). On paper, and even sometimes in practice, Aragami 2 has a pretty solid concept for what the best kind of ninja game should be. Each mission rewards you with a new skill or cosmetic item to craft a style of ninja that is entirely your own. You’ll sneak through over 50 missions consisting of eavesdropping, sabotage, assassination contracts, and every other kind of stealth objective you can imagine. Playing as an Aragami, one of many fragmented souls thriving to be whole again, you’re tasked with discovering the secret behind the Aragami spirits’ solemn curse of immortality and constant decay. ![]() By changing the gameplay loop, adding in loads of customization options, and increasing the scale of the previous game fivefold, developer Lince Works hopes to finally fulfill that childhood dream and put us all in the shoes of our own sneaky boys. ![]() The first Aragami tapped into this feeling with its surprisingly authentic stealth experience, but it only ever felt like scratching the surface of that dream - Aragami 2 strives to grant us the full ninja experience. The most disappointing thing about Aragami 2 isn't that it's particularly bad, but rather that it's nowhere close to as good as it could have been.We’ve all had the same dreams of being a ninja: a mask to hide our faces, a headband tied tightly across our foreheads, and the dark of the night concealing us in shadow as we slink across rooftops in demand of a righteous cause. Unfortunately, what usually happens is that poor communication throws off the timing, causing all the alarms to go off and quickly turning the mission into a hack and slash bloodbath. Co-op play has potential, with well-coordinated teams able to pull off some impressive assassinations. Sometimes you'll think you're well hidden and still somehow draw the attention of guards, while other times, it will seem like you're fully exposed, but enemies are oblivious to your presence. The stealth mechanics are decent, but not always consistent. The usual stealth concepts are here, with players able to hide in shadows, behind cover, on rooftops, or in tall grass, then ambushing unsuspecting enemies by either knocking them out or executing them in graphic fashion. In fact, from the art style to the gameplay and even to the overall story, the sequel is so far removed from the original that it feels like a completely different game got shoehorned into the role of a sequel at the last minute. Aragami 2 likewise uses the legacy of the first game to try and hide its complete lack of identity. ![]() In the game, the Aragami use masks as a form of expression over their otherwise featureless visages. Aragami 2, on the other hand, seems to ignore most of what made the 2016's Aragami feel unique, replacing it instead with a serviceable stealth game shrouded in mediocrity. In most circumstances, a sequel builds on the foundation of what came before and tries to add to the original in some new and exciting way.
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