The trailer for AOKAKI begins with a question: “What becomes of someone who loses that which defines them?” Apparently, you turn into a Ronin with sick moves and an even cooler bike. AOKAKI was revealed to the world two years ago as an NES-inspired, difficult action platformer where you play as an isopod facing off against enemies and environments alike. Today, during the Akupara Direct, it was announced that it found its publishing home with Akupara Games.
In a once-thriving Eastern bug land of Sanagi, the new Shogun and his five great generals ravage the villages and murder the inhabitants in pursuit of power. One among the five chose to stand against this travesty. Aokaki, recognizing his lord as a tyrant, departs on a shameful pilgrimage (on his awesome bug motorcycle, of course) as an outcast. Upon his return years later, he decides to take up the blade once more to help those he once left behind. Get ready to do some multi-directional slicing, some spike-avoiding jumping, and some parry counter-attacking.
A sword-wielding bug with pogo and dash skills certainly invites some obvious comparisons, but AOKAKI is a classic, level-based action game through-and-through. The stylish combat looks beautiful thanks to silky-smooth animations that go beyond your usual pixel-art fare. Still, I would be remiss not to at least mention Kamen Rider when seeing a bug riding a motorcycle. You gotta shout out Kamen Rider for that one.
You can try out the demo for AOKAKI on its Steam page, and wishlist it to get notified of its release date. The game is currently set to release on Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store. For our full coverage of the Akupara Direct, click here and stay tuned to GameObserver for all your indie game news and reviews.
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