Curses and kanji. Ikai.

I had no idea how to begin this review for Ikai. I wrote multiple first sentences, and almost immediately erased them because I wasn’t feeling it. Maybe that’s because trying to describe Ikai is difficult. On the surface, it’s a first-person survival horror game that takes place in feudal Japan. Deeper than the surface? It felt like I was playing a demo for a variety of games lacking cohesion. It was…odd. Fun, yes. But, odd. The game’s cover didn’t do the game any favors, either. Still, it was a fitting game to play during the month of October and I’m glad I played it. I’m even gladder I didn’t pay for it. Shoutout to fellow gamer Masamune for the gift.

In Ikai, you play as a Shinto Priestess named Naoko. We don’t know much about her, but we do know that her father is about to set off on a journey and is leaving the care of the temple grounds to her. Before setting out, Naoko’s father asks her to draw sacred talisman for protection. Afterwards, Naoko goes about her duties: sweeping, cleaning, laundry. And suddenly, she loses consciousness and wakes up in a twisted version of the temple grounds. Instead of being afraid, Naoko realizes that her fate is about to be tested. Not only must she purify the temple, but she also must remember a forgotten past.

Naoko’s determination and lack of being freaked the you-know-what-out were admirable, but unrealistic. She doesn’t complain one bit about having to exorcise the demons that infiltrated her home. Like, come on Naoko. It’s okay to be a little scared when thrust into such an environment. To add, the story feels very disconnected. While not as piecemeal as something like a Souls game, the story (told in chapters) isn’t fully cohesive. But, figuring stuff out was surprisingly fun. So, I go back and forth with how I feel about it.

Naoko’s journey through the temple doesn’t take long. You can finish Ikai in one afternoon. But, it will feel longer due to the challenges. A classic, first-person survival horror game filled with jump scares, puzzles, and demons out to get you, Ikai plays familiarly. Each chapter tasks you with gathering clues to learn more about why certain demons are trying to take over the shrine. Once Naoko gathers the right clues and/or solves the right puzzles, she will have to draw talisman and place them in the right place to fully exorcise the demon. Exploration and gameplay as a whole is standard stuff. Naoko moves at a brisk pace and can hide as needed. The aspect that makes Ikai unique is drawing talisman. It’s a slow but intense process because nine out of ten times, you’ll be drawing a talisman while a demon lurks in the background. You must either nail the drawing the first time or pack up your supplies, bolt, and try again on another table. It sounds tedious. But, it’s pretty fun. There’s also a plethora of collectible journal entries and objects to find throughout the temple.

The downside to all this is the frustration. Along with the demons, it’s easy to step somewhere incorrectly and restart at a checkpoint. For trophy hunters like me, this was a real low blow. I ended up signing up for the shortest length membership of PlayStation Plus to take advantage of cloud data. Those that don’t care about achievements will still find some of the puzzle solutions obtuse and the hiding unreliable. The temple grounds are huge. It’s easy to get lost or turned around without a clear idea of where to go next. All that to say that gameplay is up and down. Look and sound, however, are different stories. Ikai looks wonderful, sounds wonderful, and has all the spooky ambiance that we’ve come to love from horror games set in this era. I really liked how they captured each demon so uniquely. We never see Naoko due to the game’s first-person perspective, but we get to see what she sees. It’s eerie.

Like I said, you can finish Ikai relatively quickly. Other than retrying from scratch for missing collectibles or trophies, there’s no reason to play this more than once. For what it offered, as disconnected as it felt, Ikai served its purpose as being another fun game for me to play during October. I won’t ever play it again, nor will I recommend it as a top pick for a scary game. But, I’ll look back on the experience fondly.

Overall, 6.5/10: Ikai is an odd game, but that doesn’t mean it’s not scary. Go into it with an understanding of it being abnormal to fully enjoy it.