IKAI Preview

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Bazifar30

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Published on January 25, 2022 6:30:07 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m1lU05sYBQ

Game:

Ikai (2021)

Duration: 6:39

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Ikai Preview
Helplessness is probably the scariest thing to ever exist. I don’t care how many creepy monsters and terrifying scenarios you throw at me to try to convince me otherwise—those things are only scary because we’re helpless to stop them. Most of the time, if you find yourself helpless in a dangerous situation, the best option is to simply remove yourself from it (or at least try to). I mean, it makes sense, right? Safety-seeking is definitely the thing to do when things turn sour. It’s also the basis of a lot of horror games. You’re (presumably) helpless in the face of any creepy crawlies that you encounter in whatever scary game you’re playing—or, at the very least, are at a disadvantage—so it’s best to just skedaddle. Sure, you’re scared while you’re running away, but that sweet, sweet feeling of relief when you find a nice cozy corner to hide in always feels extra-nice. What happens, though, when a game doesn’t let you do that? What if a game renders you entirely helpless, but still makes you face your foes head-on, anyway? Well, that’s an easy question to answer—you get a game along the lines of Ikai.
This is a first-person psychological, horror-adventure game. You play as Naoko, the head priestess of a secluded shrine she is in charge of while her uncle is away. However, it becomes immediately apparent that she’s not alone. Traditional Yokai and Oni start to overtake the shrine, drawing inspiration from Japanese mythology. Alone, your job as a head priestess is to draw magical kanji to suppress the evil Yokai that are terrorizing the shrine.
Numerous mechanics come together in Ikai’s desire to remain faithful to the genre. The choice to not include any weapons or attack abilities enhance the tense action. Movement is slow and methodical, forcing you to confront all situations head-on. Audio is delicate while remaining powerful, adding to the atmospheric intensity. The wood of the shine creaks underfoot as otherworldly noises scratch against the walls in dimly lit rooms. Stealth also becomes a factor, as you must sneak around not to be detected by some stalking Yokai.

Once I located the laundry, Naoko informed me that I needed to wash it in the river. I wandered some more until I found the gate leading outside the shrine. Unfortunately, the gate was locked by a surprisingly complicated puzzle that required me to move tiles in order to unbar the door. It made absolutely zero sense for someone to lock the gate with such a thing. Once open, the path to the river greeted me immediately. Ikai has a fairly high level of detail for a fully 3D indie game and it offers up a substantial amount of space.
As I walked through the area, I did feel some dread stir. There are illustrated pieces of paper to find that teach you about various kinds of Yokai, which is neat. Naoko pipes up with clues as to the way forward, but these are hinted at using language that was often unclear. They caused me to ignore her and just wander until I found something that looked right. Eventually, I came to a bleeding tree with some sort of ritual prepared around it. But Naoko said nothing and I couldn’t see anything to interact with, so I figured I was in the wrong place and kept wandering, looking for anything to interact with, as Naoko repeated the same useless hint phrases as before.
Once I realized I was getting nowhere, I returned to the ritual spot, only to realize that there was a tiny knife I could interact with. I thought I was supposed to be washing clothes by the river? After interaction with the knife, a little scene plays. Now it’s nighttime, and masked creature starts dropping in front of me randomly. Ikai is undoubtedly creepy and I think the production values go a long way towards making it more compelling.

More on the gameplay, I was able to experience the different challenges Naoko faced as I tried to avoid the various yokai trying to kill me. There was the drawing of protective seals as mentioned before; there were moments where stealth and learning the yokais’ movement patterns were crucial; and there were puzzles to solve for Naoko to enter locked spaces. Running away is not really an option as the yokai are ruthless to sounds. It is like a Resident Evil game without guns—just ink, a brush and some paper!
One of the biggest stand-out elements I enjoyed (and hated) was how good the sounds of the game came through. Every distinct noise or audio cue was loud and multi-directional but made sense when my adrenaline was pumping a million beats per second. There was the loudness of Naoko walking around in her traditional wooden geta footwear. Also, the creeks of every plank of wood I walked on made me wince with every step.

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