A recent hands-on event for Arashi: Castles of Sin – Final Cut hosted by Skydance Interactive and Endeavour One revealed several changes coming to the remastered title. While our time with the upgraded title was hands-off and brief, the developers provided a thorough preview of what to expect at launch.
Thanks to the current technology powering virtual reality headsets, Arashi: Castle of Sins uses it to become an immersive shinobi experience. You can leap from rooftop to rooftop, hide in shadows, perform lethal sneak attacks, survive impossible odds in sword combat, and vanish from the scene. The developers have improved the graphics by a fair margin and improved mobility and combat to match more advanced technology powering the experience, including the updated UI, controls, and updated options that make enjoying the experience a smidge better than its previous incarnation.
To stop the forces of evil, you must be stealthy
Arashi: Castles of Sin launched on the PS VR, but given the aging hardware and limited capabilities of the system, the developers decided to return to the project and remaster for newer hardware, including the PS VR2 and the Quest 2/3, with a new trailer to highlight the new experience, which once again puts you in the role of an assassin hellbent on stopping evil from taking over Japan.
As the assassin Kenshiro, you travel across feudal Japan to defeat the Six Oni of Iga, a bandit group spreading fear and chaos across the land. You’re tasked with infiltrating castles and stopping the Oni with your weapons, tools, and techniques. Kenshiro is well equipped to stand against the Oni with his grappling hook, allowing him to maneuver the landscape to succeed in his mission. Additionally, he has access to bombs, smoke grenades, and more to turn the tide.
Of course, every game needs a dog, so you’ll be happy to know about Haru, the good boy who will serve as your companion. Haru is also critical to your success and can be used to distract or attack enemies. Without his help, things can be spotty, and it’s always better with two than with one.
Arashi: Castles of Sin – Final Cut is a welcome improvement
Speaking of combat, the entire experience is in first-person, and the emphasis on combat is crucial to the experience. Much of it is hand-to-hand and features some beautiful swordplay, a step up from its previous iteration from the looks of it. As I previously mentioned, there is an overall improvement compared to the shortcomings of the PS VR iteration, where controls were far too rigid and firmly left to feel gimmicky. Now, there seems to be enough advancement in technology to make swinging a virtual sword feel more natural, and that’s important when you have to be a ninja.
Arashi: Castle of Sins – Final Cut looks like a natural progression from its predecessor with the developers. With Skydance Interactive assisting, the level of improvement is pretty noticeable, and with the push to better tech, the overall experience feels promising. And for now, it’s a short wait to November when the update lands.
