Akaneiro: Demon Hunters Preview for PC

System: PC
Dev: Spicy Horse
Pub: Spicy Horse
Release: 2013
Players: 1
Screen Resolution: 480p-1080p

Akaneiro offers three “classes:” Cunning, Prowess, and Fortitude. They differ in their starting abilities, whether favoring two-handed weapons, dual-wielding, or single-handed “dueling” style, as well as what armor class they initially benefit from, but these aren’t really hard and fast classifications. They have more to do with how one starts off, so while it may certainly be more time-effective to choose one over the others, there’s no reason you can’t even them out with time.

Akaneiro: Demon Hunters Screenshot

Level-ups, which one receives after accumulating a certain amount of experience, are applied between missions, during which one chooses one of the three core stats (the aforementioned Cunning, Prowess, and Fortitude) in which to specialize for that level, which dictates one’s statistical increases.

Abilities, like items, are also level-locked, but are purchased (or upgraded) for karma in town. This includes the passive armor and weapon abilities, in addition to a wide variety of skills attached to each of the three stats. Freedom in building one’s character seems to be the order of the day.

Akaneiro’s feudal Japanese aesthetic and warped fairy tale atmosphere come together beautifully and, with an impending Steam release, the free-to-play title seems set to succeed. That said, it’s still struggling with regard to funding, so popping on over to its Kickstarter (which ends on February 2) and donating to the cause is liable to keep this game going longer, and can result in some sweet loot for use in-game.

By
Shelby Reiches
Lead Contributor
Date: January 23, 2013

Game Features:

Akaneiro: Demon Hunters will transport you to a world realized in a striking visual style inspired by Japanese ink, watercolor, and woodblock illustration.

Combat is fast and unrelenting, but you can sway the tide with careful selection of abilities and equipment.

The game world is separated in to Regions, which represent a quadrant of Yomi Island. Each Region contains several Areas, each presenting a different environment style and introducing new enemy and boss types.