Man, as much as it saddens me to give this game a thumbs-down (the first one in my history of reviews - and I very rarely give reviews), I can't help but to not recommend it. The art style is absolutely GORGEOUS and the atmosphere fantastic. Unfortunately, this is marred by awkward and floaty controls, some kind of probable memory leak wihch makes the game run like absolutely crap after a couple hours and, more importantly, game-breaking bugs that seem to have been known for a while and are not being patched. I've actually owned this game since its launch and only started playing it today (August 15th 2025) and stumbled on a game-breaking bug (can't use fireballs in the Underground environment) that leaves me soft-locked and unable to continue playing the game. After checking the Discussions, it turns out this very bug has been known since at least May 2025 and still hasn't been fixed. How is that possible ?? This is so disappointing as it really feels like the game wasn't playteste...

Don't buy, don't waste your time and nerves. At first, I really liked this game and wondered why it has so few and so poor reviews. The story is good, the style is great. The level design and platforming reminded me very much of Prince of Persia (the original one, not SoT). I really liked it, as well as the attack combination element from God Hand. However, my first suspicion arose when I entered the second dungeon after leaving the village vicinity. A scarce amount of checkpoints was annoying, but okay, it may be a "hardcore" element. Then the game continued good. But then, after resurrection, I surprisingly discovered all enemies are 10 levels above me, despite there being no grinding in the game. The next rage urge arose when I suddenly discovered that the shrine in the middle of this level requires 10 blessings, yet I had only 1 (It appeared that picklocks that I thought would be crucial in some places were useless all the time, and I wasted a lot of money on them), and no way to g...

[h1]This Would Be Better As Horror Than Action[/h1] Funny thing is, playing poorly designed games actually helps me learn more about myself. I used to have a rule for myself that no matter how bad the game is, I will at least play it through before declaring my opinion. Yet, that is no longer the case here. I simply do not have the patience to endure through the counter-intuitive combat, confusing designs, and the general lack of direction. The Spirit of The Samurai is such game, and sadly, I am not masochistic enough to play through the whole game. Even though the art style and the cutscenes are honestly gorgeous, they are all null and void if the core gameplay loop can't even stand on its own. [h2]Things I Like About The Spirit of The Samurai:[/h2] [b]Some Compliments[/b] [list] [*]I quite like the dark atmosphere and the developers' rendition of Japanese Folklore. [*]Cutscenes are really smooth and well-animated. [*]I love all the monster designs. [*]Short as it may be, the part ...

Very frustrating at times and the stamina mechanic is insanely dumb. That said this game is worth getting for the stop motion alone.

For its aesthetics and atmosphere it could be an indie-horror must-have, but it is not. Unfortunately it has so many design errors and lack of polish, that most of the deaths are unfair. I recommend it, because it makes me sad that such an original game won't have a sequel, but if you play it you'll have to be very patient.

pros: aesthetically beautiful, story is pretty cool, some neat abilities, several transitions of playable characters. cons: controls are pretty jenky at best, some questionable game play design, bosses range from cheese-able to leave you wondering what the thought behind them was. Overall so far i'd recommend if you are patient and forgiving of the aforementioned stuff but know that the flaws can really detract from the game. ***SPOILER AFTER THIS POINT*** Game switched from pretty fun to tedious at around 3 hrs, the underground egg hunt and spider boss just leave me asking why. will keep playing and update review after i beat it.

Not very far in yet but I absolutely love the look and feel of the game. I haven't had any problems with the controls. I recommend it highly.