REVIEW: Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2
Here’s my review for SEGA’s Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 produced by Aniplex Inc., developed by CyberConnect2 and published by SEGA. The game is now out and available on PlayStation®5／PlayStation®4／Nintendo Switch™／Xbox Series X|S／Xbox One／Steam®
This action-RPG brawler picks up right where the first Hinokami Chronicles game left off which was after the events of Mugen Train. The campaign mode starts around the same time that the “Entertainment Arc” starts in the anime series.
Chapters and Goals
Much like the first game, Hinokami Chronicles, the sequel tells a linear story told in chapters and each chapter containing smaller parts. At the end of the chapter, your performance is ranked with S being the highest rank for meeting all the objectives or obtaining all the items. If you’re new to the game, this’ll make the experience a lot better since it’ll give you an idea which part you need to replay.
Found it great with the way they paced the chapters here as it’s very newbie-friendly while at the same time not sounding so dumbed down for fans of the game returning to the fighting title. It found the right balance so to speak.
Controls/ Combat
The controls are OK when you’re running around the different areas of the game. The initial tutorial which is set at the end of the Entertainment District arc was a step up in terms of hooking the player in while making them understand the basics of the controls. It also hooks you with that stunning moment from the manga and the anime where Tanjiro defeats the demon Daki while unlocking the hidden Sun Breathing technique.
Honestly though, I find it a little confusing why we had two sets of tutorials for this game one was the aforementioned intro part and a second one in the prologue, where Tanjiro is sent on a mission to hunt down a demon that’s taken over a temple.
The second part lets you understand more of chaining attacks with Water Breathing as well as executing tags and assists and special attacks like the classic Kamado headbutt.
Don’t be surprised when a QTE or Quick Time Event pops up too because there are a number of those in the different modes of the game.
One thing that’s a bummer for me for Hinokami Chronicles is the lack of versatility in combat. One button is for the special and the other is for the normal attack. There’s no finesse or slightly technical way to unlock other moves from the standard roster. Blocking is also non-existent especially in situations where you’re dealing with a button-masher or a spammer. So it’s either pressing the block was done sloppily or the system doesn’t allow you to input a block when you’re caught in the middle of a devastating combo.
I also like that “Tag” function and how its very smooth to use. I actually used this more than the block button especially in later playthroughs when the enemies and battles were tougher.
Versus Mode
Versus mode in Hinokami Chronicles 2 also feels familiar as you start off with only a handful of characters. New ones including the updated Hashiras with their new moves can be unlocked later in the game and as you move through the chapters.There are some new skins also that’ll be available later in the story plus DLCs that you have to buy.
From the selection, you will be able to choose whether to fight Player 2 or go head-to-head against the CPU. You can also go and practice to improve your timing and better understand the control for your chosen characters. Lastly, there’s also an endurance mode where you keep going until your health bars all dead and gone.
One thing I enjoyed here is being able to use the series’ main baddie Muzan Kibutsuji. The Demon King is powerful as hell and you’ll have a good time trying to best him.
I tip the hat too for the game for being able to let fans enjoy some custom fights that did not happen at all in the manga and the anime. Helps keep things fresh like this one matchup I did where I used Akaza versus the Kamado Siblings – Tanjiro and Nezuko…
The Path of a Demon Slayer
Is also a fun mode where you get to relive (in a faster pace) the story of Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado from the start of their adventures all the way to the most recent chapter that the game has which is the Hashira Training arc and just before the start of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle movie 1. It’s also an important part of the game if you want to complete everything and unlock everything.
Training Paths
In line with the Hashira Training arc, there’s also a Training Paths mode which allows you to grind your favorite characters, unlock more goodies all the while upping your skills and beating up your favorite Hashira.
In this mode, you follow multiple paths with different characters that have their own benefits and handicaps. It might initially look dragging and boring but once you start improving your chosen character, unlocking new costumes and getting some additional gears to improve your performance, then this starts to really kick the fun into overdrive.
Plus, the level of difficulty can also be very brutal which is something that you’ll start craving for around 3 to 5 hours of playing the game.
Final Verdict
Given that this is “Infinity Castle” season and everybody is in a Demon Slayer high, the game has excellent timing. Aside from that you’ll enjoy this if you’re a fan of the series. Casual gamers who have a slight idea can also enjoy this to an extent only. Overall though, the game works well with only a few hiccups here and there. Overall, Hinokami Chronicles 2 was a nice “buddy” to your path of enjoying Demon Slayer especially with the release of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle.
Here are the things that I really liked about the game:
- Improved fighting mechanics
- smoother transition on tags
- improved animation quality especially for Ultimate attacks
- Improved number of playable characters from both the Demon Slayer Corp and the Upper Moons
- Superb voicework and musical score
- Interesting and fun minigames to choose from
Here are the CONS for the game
- You know full well that this isn’t the super complete roster of characters, that could happen in Hinokami Chronicles 3 if they ever decide to put one out.
- There’s not a lot of move sets available while others are locked on to specific skins or costumes i.e. one Inosuke Hashibira costume has the 1st and 3rd form while the other has the 4th etc etc.
- The controls and targeting could also be worked on a little more.
SCORE: 9/10
