Don’t worry, participating in this particular riot is okay. Today is a samurai riot. Specifically, Houndpicked Games and Samurai Riot Definitive Edition of Wako Factory.
This game is mostly a 2D side-scrolling side-scrolling action game. “Almost 2D” means that there is a little room for lateral movement, but the width of the body is only a few, so it is enough to get in and out of the attack lane. This can be very convenient or very frustrating. That’s great if you want to avoid attacks. However, being in the right place to line up attacks is sometimes awkward. If you’ve played this type of game before, you shouldn’t be surprised in this regard. If you are new to this type of gameplay, it will take a few minutes to get used to it. It’s not a big deal.
Samurai Riot offers a variety of play options. You can advance the story in single-player mode or two-player mode. There is also a PvP option so you can mix a little. I did single player time with a switch in handheld mode and docked to get an overview. The switch screen works in this game, but we recommend using a TV if possible. The large screen is very useful as the lot of text you have to read is on the slightly smaller side.
There is some good news about the look and sound of the game. The visuals are pretty good. Art is a graphic novel quality with great color and detail (better than cheap comics, but not realistic). The character animation is good and the pace of action is easy to understand.
The soundtrack consists of short loops suitable for providing background sound.
The control of the game isn’t bad, but it’s not perfect. Move (left Joy-Con stick) and attack (various buttons) are excellent with low latency. When I turned around or mashed the attack button, it sometimes seemed a bit slow to convert to the screen, but it didn’t deviate from the standards of other games with similar combat mechanics. There are some special attacks that require the player to press two buttons at the same time. Timing is less of an issue, but buttons in the same area on one side of the control can lead to accidental use of special attacks. These are limited in number, but I would like to make sure that they are used intentionally. This isn’t a big setback, but it can be a bit annoying.
Speaking of attack types, keep in mind that the player can choose between two characters, Skane or Tsurumaru. The breakdown is that Skane is a female secret agent with a fox companion. She doesn’t use weapons, but her punch and kick attacks are more than a challenge. Tsurumaru is a samurai and a Great Master Art of War Advisor. His main attack is of course the sword, but he has a good kick to damage and push the opponent back, so he can make a good swing with the sword. Each character has access to several different schools in the field of martial arts. Each school has slightly different strengths and statistics that can be lent to the character.
As you progress through the game, you will find coins and other items that you can collect to improve your stats and acquire new skills. This will take some time, so please be patient. Whether you are a beginner or a master of the genre, the game has settings for you. Samurai Riot can be played in Easy, Normal, Hard, or Hardest, so you have plenty of time to challenge and replay. The action of selecting a path is also restricted. There are several choices you should make in the game, such as whether to join the rebels.
The game starts well with a lot of fun, but I ran into some problems. For example, in my first run-through with a boss at the end of the level, I was fine until the boss crossed a shelf that I couldn’t get through until I defeated him. As a result, I couldn’t finish the fight (frustrated, about 3-4 hits after defeating him) and the game got stuck. This required a full level restart / replay.
There were some other glitches along the way. When I lost to another boss and tried to use the restart option, the game got an error and I ended up playing the entire level again. This last glitch was the most annoying. The game will drop additional health and goods such as coins. There were some examples where I found the loot but couldn’t collect it. You had to stand on the right place, but there were too many places where you couldn’t collect loot no matter how much you moved.
With everything in mind, Samurai Riot Definitive Edition provides action gamers with excellent playtime with all available schools, skills, story options, and difficulty levels. However, loot drop glitches are frustrating, although they can be used further with the skill usage tutorial method. Unfortunately, we cannot give the highest rating because of the issues pointed out. However, if the developers have refined it a bit and provided updates, I’d be happy to give it a try.
