ONINAKI
- August 22, 2019
- Tokyo RPG Factory
- 23h median play time
Oninaki proves that Tokyo RPG Factory is not simply built on nostalgia and definitely has the chops to make a captivating modern RPG.
Get on SteamONINAKI is a single-player Anime Action-RPG with an exceptional story and ingenious visuals. As a Watcher, guide wandering souls to the next life while battling enemies in fast-paced, real-time combat, and customize your character with a variety of weapons. The game offers a wholesome story about the importance of life, dealing with grief, and the role of Watchers as they navigate the emotions of the living and the dead.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Cloud
NVIDIA GeForce NOW
PlayStation
Reviews
- The game features a compelling and dark storyline that explores themes of death and reincarnation, which many players found engaging.
- Combat is enjoyable and offers a variety of playstyles through the Daemon system, allowing players to customize their experience.
- The visuals and art style are praised for their beauty, contributing to an immersive atmosphere.
- The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and enemy design, leading to a lack of variety and excitement as players progress.
- Controller support is problematic, with many players experiencing issues that hinder gameplay, making it frustrating to control.
- The pacing of the story is inconsistent, with some characters and plot points feeling underdeveloped or rushed, which detracts from emotional engagement.
- story446 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story of "Oninaki" has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its dark themes and emotional depth, particularly regarding death and reincarnation, while others criticize its pacing and execution, describing it as slow and at times disjointed. Many reviewers noted that the narrative struggles with character development and plot coherence, leading to a lack of investment in the story. Overall, while the game offers intriguing concepts and moments, it often falls short of delivering a fully engaging and satisfying narrative experience.
“The mature storytelling (whether it is the main story or the side-quest stories of the lost souls), captivating art and excellent music soundtracks had me entranced and self-reflecting most of the times during the gameplay.”
“I particularly appreciate that the story is willing to go places that other stories won't, and there are some pretty powerful scenes as a result.”
“The story is compelling, original, and quite emotional.”
“The story really does not get going until the second half... it's a really slow build-up.”
“The plot points that supposedly impact the story are laid out, but the journey to get to each plot point feels rushed, and a lot of the events and characters' actions do not make sense.”
“The overall story feels poorly written to a point where it seems like it was written by several writers and mashed together.”
- gameplay119 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and lacking depth, often comparing it unfavorably to older titles. While some appreciate the fun mechanics and customization options, others criticize the clunky combat, simplistic mechanics, and reliance on a world-swapping feature that feels underutilized. Overall, the gameplay is seen as a significant drawback, overshadowing the otherwise engaging story and atmosphere.
“Really fun gameplay! I love the spirit RPG mechanic, leveling them up and changing the gameplay so dynamically.”
“Great atmosphere, smooth gameplay, and great music.”
“Oninaki, a game that's between good and great (in numeric points, I'd give it either a 7.5 or 8), due to its rather great gameplay.”
“The gameplay is the main problem with the game.”
“The gameplay loop is always the same and combat is fairly simple.”
“The story is ok, starts good then goes to shit and goes back to ok at the ending; now the gameplay is total crap, you just fight the same enemies over and over and over ad infinitum. At the ending of the game, I was just running past all those critters because I was bored to death of combat.”
- graphics83 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their artistic style and vibrant visuals, with many reviewers highlighting the unique Japanese aesthetic and beautiful artwork. However, some players noted that the photogenic visuals can detract from the studio's original charm, and there are mixed opinions on the overall graphical quality, with some describing it as decent but not exceptional. Overall, while the visuals are appreciated, they are accompanied by criticisms regarding their impact on gameplay and the need for more graphical options.
“The game has nice visuals and very interesting VFX; the combat is more or less entertaining, but it gets repetitive very easily. I liked the story, but I agree it's not for everyone (it has some nice twists).”
“This game has some stunning visuals, gorgeous music, and a creative story that will most probably have you in tears at some points.”
“A rather slow-paced but still enjoyable action RPG with wonderful character design, art, and graphics.”
“The photogenic visuals they've adopted completely wash out this studio's graphical style and charm.”
“- visuals can seriously hurt your eyes.”
“The graphics, at first, might look bad; I mean, we are having portable console graphics?”
- music83 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its quality and emotional impact, while others criticize its lack of presence and repetitiveness. Many players noted that the soundtrack does not live up to the high standards set by previous titles from the same developer, leading to a feeling that the overall experience is diminished. Overall, while some tracks are appreciated, the inconsistency and occasional absence of music during gameplay detract from the game's atmosphere.
“The OST for I Am Setsuna was literally peak and I still listen to it to this day, and that game was released like a decade ago.”
“The mature storytelling (whether it is the main story or the side-quest stories of the lost souls), captivating art, and excellent music soundtracks had me entranced and self-reflecting most of the time during the gameplay.”
“This game has some stunning visuals, gorgeous music, and a creative story that will most probably have you in tears at some points.”
“And the music... it's literally almost non-existent.”
“In comparison to that, this game's music is probably less than mediocre most of the time.”
“The lacking part of Oninaki... is its soundtrack, where it has some okay tracks, to some soundtracks where it feels like it's about to pick up... it just simply fades there.”
- grinding37 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, requiring players to engage in extensive grinding to level up daemons and obtain necessary resources. Many reviewers noted the lack of enemy variety, which exacerbates the monotony of grinding, making the gameplay feel bland and slow. While some players enjoy the mechanics of leveling up their daemons, the overall consensus is that the grind detracts significantly from the experience.
“The best way to effectively defeat enemies quickly is to stagger them, but to stagger them you have to hit a certain threshold of damage which can only be obtained by grinding until you are over-leveled.”
“Sure, you can level them up, but the lack of variety in enemies means you're just going to be grinding the same enemies forever, and it gets boring, fast.”
“We unlock 10 daemons as we progress through the game, but realistically we will only really be able to play with 3 of them as it is super grindy on how they level up.”
- emotional19 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players find the story compelling and deeply emotional, many criticize its lack of character investment and insufficient buildup to key moments, making it hard to connect emotionally. The pacing issues and technical glitches further detract from the intended emotional impact, leading to mixed feelings about the overall experience.
“Very emotional game with a unique art style and combat system.”
“Awesome game, deep emotional story.”
“The story is compelling, original, and quite emotional.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players report no glitches or bugs, others experience issues with unresponsive input commands, particularly for critical mechanics like crossing between planes, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.
“On top of that, it fails to register inputs for certain commands during the game, such as a command that lets you 'cross' between two planes, which should be pretty responsive, but it isn't; it is a buggy, unreliable mechanic.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its immersive quality, complemented by smooth gameplay and an excellent soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
“Great atmosphere, smooth gameplay, great music.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is noted to be slow-paced, yet it remains enjoyable, complemented by impressive character design, art, and graphics.
“A rather slow-paced but still enjoyable action RPG with wonderful character design, art, and graphics.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game's replayability is a significant feature, with players finding multiple pathways and outcomes that encourage them to revisit the game. Many appreciate the variety of choices and challenges that enhance the overall experience, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging.
Critic Reviews
Oninaki Review
Oninaki is a welcomed trip down memory lane to the glory days of Chrono Trigger, fully capturing the nostalgia of the time. However, like Tokyo RPG Factory's previous creations, while there's a lot to enjoy here, the flaws cannot be ignored. There is a fascinating premise, and a robust story, but it takes far too long to really get going, and the side-quests are wasted. Also, the scope feels too small. When it comes to the combat, the wide range of Daemons keeps things fresh, changing up the experience enough to keep interest higher but, at its core, the combat is just... fine. There's nothing special - same with the RPG elements that add little extra depth to the whole thing.
70%Oninaki Review
Oninaki proves that Tokyo RPG Factory is not simply built on nostalgia and definitely has the chops to make a captivating modern RPG.
80%Oninaki Review
There’s a clear maturation in the work of Tokyo RPG Factory from game to game, as it sticks closely to its traditional ideals while slowly widening the scope of its ambitions. Bearing this in mind, Oninaki is certainly the biggest and most innovative release from the studio yet, but we wouldn’t exactly call it the best. Though the premise is certainly interesting, we felt let down by the story in this one, and the combat is less generally enjoyable than the turn-based affairs that came before. That being said, we also loved the depth offered by the Daemon system, both in terms of what it offers in character progression and combat variety, and the art style of the dark world is truly something to behold. We’d give Oninaki a recommendation to anybody who loves RPGs; although it isn’t the best, this is another solid showing from Tokyo RPG Factory.
70%
