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Will it stand next to other fighting games? Probably not. The review feedback so far points to the game being a love letter for the fans of the anime but not being the best fighting game around. That’s okay as Demon Slayer fans are eager to get some more demon-slaying action in their veins no matter the cost. Let’s see how this collaboration between Sega and CyberConnect2 turned out and how Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles could have been better.
10 Best: Story Faithfulness
The story begins right when Tanjiro is fighting Sabito and trying to split the rock in half during training. It skips much of the beginning although fans can go back in the timeline for every event the main battles don’t feature.
It’s a pretty faithful one-to-one recreation of the show with the same dialogue and voice cast reused. The game even reuses poses. It’s the perfect way to get ready for season two.
9 Worst: Unlocking Characters
It doesn’t take long to unlock all of the fighters in the game. If players don’t do any of the extra quests, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles can be completed in about three to four hours.
This is good news, but for some gamers that just want to get straight to the versus mode, it’s a shame. There’s barely a handful of characters to choose from at the start so the forced unlocking can be a pain.
8 Best: The Visuals
The anime is one of the best looking out there right now. The game perfectly matches that style, and at times, even looks better. The mix of 2D and 3D is a marvel to behold from watching cutscenes to actually playing Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles.
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CyberConnect2 has always been good at translating anime shows like Naruto into game form and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles is just further proof of their mastery.
7 Worst: Filler Content
The story-based content is great and, again, faithful to the anime and manga. The downside to the story campaign is all of the filler content. There are quests but that should be put in quotation marks.
Everything is extremely linear and completing quests amounts to looking at blue exclamation points. These side activities don’t add much to the game in terms of gameplay and lore. They are padding like filler arcs in anime.
6 Best: The Music
There isn’t much new in this game in terms of music but that’s okay. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles borrows tracks from the first season of the anime as well as the movie.
Both are regarded as some of the best modern anime scores around so it should come as no surprise to hear that it works well in the game too. Hearing the various battle themes while actually playing makes these tracks that much more engaging as if players are demon slayers themselves.
5 Worst: Character Selection Variety
Once the campaign is completed there are eleven different characters to choose from with a few caveats to that number. There are definitely some top choices fans will be eager to play such as the main leads of Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu as well as Hashira like Rengoku.
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Murata as a choice is odd as are the places in the roster chosen for alternate costumes. These academy versions play the same but have different and more comedic specials. It feels like a wasted opportunity especially since there are no demons are villains in general to play.
4 Best: Boss Battles
Getting to square off against the big demons from the anime is a true highlight. Even though most fights are with humanoid villains, they are still a lot of fun to battle through. There are some standout battles with towering demons though like Enmu’s.
These fights can create some heart-pounding moments. Again, it’s too bad these villains can’t be played but they are at least fun to battle.
3 Worst: Random Battles
The downside to all of the fighting comes back to the filler content again. Every once and a while a lower demon will pop out for a random battle in the field. These fights will be easy and probably won’t test players too much skill-wise.
These fights tend to weigh the experience down when most players might just be itching to square off against the main villains. Thankfully there aren’t that many in the campaign but their inclusion can still be a drag.
2 Best: Extras Gallery
There are a few extras to unlock in the game besides the fighters. There is a quotation gallery that allows players to hear famous lines from the anime and the game. Gamers can also take a look at characters in various costumes and spin them around to get some greater detail.
While the production of the memory episodes is like light novels in terms of presentation, it’s nice to see these key scenes from the anime not get cut out completely.
1 Worst: The Watermarks And Blocked Content
As is the case with a lot of Sega games, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles features watermarks on screenshots taken. The watermarks are at least small but then that comes to question why they are there in the first place.
Most of the last chapter is blocked from picture and video capture as are the memory episodes. Gamers will find a way around recording content so it’s another odd thing to block in an effort to stop content from ending up on YouTube.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles was released on October 13, 2021, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X.
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