Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief PC Review

Kamiwaza was a Japan-exclusive stealth action video game released way back in 2006 by Acquire. Acquire is still around and they’ve developed some great titles over the past few years. They are most famous for their Tenchu games which are considered to be classics of the PS1 era. More recently Acquire has worked on some stellar videos game such as Octopath Traveller and its upcoming sequel Octopath Traveller 2.

A wild departure from what they are currently working on, Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief is a remastered re-release of their 2006 title but now gamers worldwide can enjoy it. NIS America have teamed up with the to bring this to gamers worldwide via Steam, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.

Way of the Thief

If you’ve played the Tenchu games way back in the day, Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief may appeal to you. However, unlike Tenchu, Kamiwaza incorporates more dynamic gameplay that involves using objects in the environment to your advantage. Players will have to sneak, incapacitate and steal while avoiding detection throughout the game.

The game’s story kicks off with aspiring thief Ebizo being thrown right into the deep end when a simple mission of his goes awry. Ebizo is a thief but not a murderer and unfortunately for him, he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ebizo witnesses a brutal massacre where women and children end up getting murdered and he’s left with the sole survivor of this event – A small child.

Ebizo eventually adopts this child as his daughter and the game attempts to expand upon the fact that while Ebizo is a thief, he’s a morally ambiguous one who only steals when necessary and for the greater good. A couple of years down the line, Ebizo’s adopted daughter contracts an illness and she’s in dire need of medication. After swearing off thievery due to the massacre that happened in the past, Ebizo has to come to terms with the hard times he’s faced with and return to his thieving ways.

Ebizo’s daughter Suzuna requires medicine at least once a day and as such Ebizo has to grind his way through levels acquiring as much money as possible to be able to afford to buy her medication and treat her illness. There’s a day and night cycle in the game and exploring levels feels great but unfortunately Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief suffers from a number of quirks that will certainly annoy modern gamers.

Sack of Loot

First and foremost, the game’s controls are rather cumbersome. For example, picking up something and kicking it is an extremely hit and miss affair. Doing this is sometimes necessary to distract guards or get past them and this being difficult to pull off makes being stealthy a lot harder. Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief features a lot of other gameplay mechanics too which complicates matters such as Ebizo’s Sack of Loot.

Carrying around a Sack of Loot that also functions as a weapon of sorts is distracting and the fact that it has weight and bogs you down also hampers your stealthy gameplay. Stealing loot is also a pain because you’ll have to quite literally beat the heck out of an object before you’re able to “Loot” it. The same applies to people too and the fact that the game’s world is rather open and not as well thought out or structured as similar games in its genre means that you will be met with some resistance throughout from enemies. Exploring is alright but the grindy nature of the core gameplay loop and rather lacklustre theft quests means that the game often feels like a chore rather than something you would want to spend a significant amount of time in. Players will also have to master the art of perfectly timing their button presses to perform a stealth dodge to avoid detection and this becomes a bit tedious over time.

Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief thankfully doesn’t overstay its welcome and is only a few hours long. The game has 4 endings and relies heavily on players venturing out into the open-world, stealing items, selling them and providing medicine to Suzuna. It’s fine on paper but the overall execution is just disappointingly lacklustre by modern gaming standards. Especially when it comes to the camera control at some points in the game.

The soundtrack isn’t exactly all that great but the Japanese voice acting is fine. Graphically, the game looks dated and this makes sense since it’s a PS2-era video game that’s just been spruced up a tiny bit. Don’t expect to be mind-blown by the graphics here. The game’s art style and animations are quite over the top so you’ll notice a tonne of very quirky things going on such as exaggerated expressions and movements. Some gamers might find this great while others will find it annoying.

Final Verdict

Overall, Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief is most certainly a game from more than 15 years ago. The dated gameplay mechanics are rough around the edges and the video game design style featuring over the top actions, unrefined stealth adventuring and some haphazard level design and enemy placement is certainly indicative of the game’s age. If you’re in the mood for a classic stealth action adventure title similar to Tenchu this might scratch that itch but don’t expect too much from it. Given its high price, you may want to grab this when it’s on sale.

Grab your copy here https://store.steampowered.com/app/1924810/Kamiwaza_Way_of_the_Thief/

Developer: Acquire
Publisher: NIS America
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows

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