izigame.me

"On dark windy nights such as this can you not feel fear's chilling kiss?
Caught somewhere between apprehension of the unknown and adrenaline pumping bliss!"
Chinese devs have been killing it lately! Seems like I have to go to them whenever I want that old-skool unapologetic approach to game design. Eastern Exorcist is a fun hack n slasher thriller that benefits from an over-coat-layer of concentrated "scary-legends" folk-lore. Many creatures are intimidating or grotesque and the environments while often scenic are also desolate and unwelcoming.
For all intents are purposes you are a ghost buster. But instead of using a proton-pack or a camera obscura you are such a bad-lad-chad you slice down evil spirits with your enchanted sword then absorb their energy orbs to become stronger! Sadly a mission goes very wrong after an act of mercy seemingly leads to the deaths of all but one of your closest colleagues. After being excommunicated for sparing the life of a frightened kitsune girl whom is blamed for this particular misfortune you vow that you will return the ashes of your fallen brothers to their home-towns. Thus begins your grim journey forward.
I'll only say one bad thing about Eastern Exorcist which is the tutorial drags on way too long. What you did in the prologue is REPEATED AGAIN in the first chapter. It's obnoxious though perhaps the devs just wanted to be "really sure" you understood all the movement,attack,parry,evasion,purification finisher,and "charge up" options at your disposal.
I see Sekiro come up again as a comparison but because I'm old as dirt the game makes me reminisce back to Onimusha. The way the game rewards you with flashy counters for doing perfectly timed parries and perfectly timed dodges plays into that perception a lot as do the "big spectacle" boss fights with either terrifying corrupted spirits or mythological monsters yanked straight out of the Asian cryptid bestiary!
The difficulty is what you want it to be. Typically the game is very much a thumb-blister-twisted-sister but you can play it on casual until you get the hang of things! Eastern Exorcist lets you adjust the challenge as you go which is a really nice feature!
The presentation has that "beautiful painting come to life" charm to it which will immediately ensnare gamers whom were big fans of Odin Sphere or Muramasa! Granted all of that is presented through a darker-lens because of those aforementioned "somber ghost stories about things that go bump in the night" shivers I mentioned earlier. Some of the lore and revelations revealed to you over the course of the game are not for the faint of heart....
You level up at shrines which is rather atypical of this particular genre. There is an expansive skill and buff tree that trickles down whilst you can even earn helpful artifacts by completing certain challenges. In turn those artifacts can be upgraded too. As can be observed,some of Nioh's DNA made it into Eastern Exorcist. Not that I'm complaining. To me Nioh evolved from games such as Ninja Gaiden and Onimusha so here we are coming full circle again. Nothing truly "dies" forever. A blessing considering I can never get enough of these interactive heroic-dark-fantasies with an eastern twist. Right now my swordsman is a "flying dagger build" tied to my dash which has been extremely helpful thus far!
To go back to those Onimusha mentions in particular,there is a secondary female character. It's ironic I went with the male lead first as I tend to prefer the attractive female protags in these types of romps. However, I wanted to keep the mysterious kitsune beauty with the white-hair reserved for a secondary play-thru. The "best" for last as it were! (Of note both main characters have unique weapons and play styles with the kitsune wielding a naginata instead of a sword.)
With a reasonable asking price (Under $20.00) Eastern Exorcist is worth a pick up,especially if you miss what Capcom,Vanillaware,and Tecmo used to put out during the PS2/PS3/X-Box/Xbox-360 glory days!

Pros
+Flashy frantic combat with many options at your disposal. (Counters,parries,evades,mystic techniques,etc)
+Intricate upgrade and skill-tree system,especially for a more straight forward action spectacle hack n slasher of this ilk.
+Game can be as unforgiving or forgiving as you want it to be.
+If you enjoy macabre and chilling "lore" you'll be right at home here!
+enemies and bosses come to you in many shapes and forms! They will keep you on your toes!
+Two characters with their own distinct stories.
+Shrines also have side challenges that yield beneficial rewards.

Cons
-Tutorial over-stays its' welcome.
-Translation is just a bit "scuffed" but fortunately not beyond comprehension or immersion.
-Some may consider Eastern Exorcist "Too short" but you can adjust the difficulty to make it more challenging and do consecutive "game +" play-thrus to "max-out" each character.

Additional notes
1- Game is broken into chapters with each one being self contained. While certain chapters have side-quests and back-tracking I would hesitate to call Eastern Exorcist a Metroidvania. Overall it is shorter and more linear like the action spectacle hack n slashers of old.
2- Eastern Exorcist is NOT a straight up "Souls-Like" even though it has a couple similarities pertaining to that genre.
3- I recommend Eastern Exorcist to gamers into dark-fantasy,horror,and action adventures. Those whom appreciate a nice brisk "pick up and play" experience that will not demand too much of their time.