Asura’s Wrath

A textbook example of an audiovisual tour de force, Asura’s Wrath, is a stunning action-packed interactive anime, full of spectacular visuals, incredible spectacle and the kind of imaginative jaw-dropping madness that makes you glad to be a gamer. But for everything it gets oh so right, my goodness, Asura’s Wrath is surely destined to be the quintessential textbook example of a Marmite game too.

But let’s step back for a second. Coming from developers CyberConnect2, responsible for a recent string of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja games and last-gen’s .hack series, we have a developer incredibly suited to taking the best bits of what makes action-packed anime great and building a solid game around it. But while they’ve previously had the safety net of a globally-known licence to ensure sales, here CyberConnect2 are stepping out of their comfort zone, unleashing a new singleplayer-only IP upon a world that demands originality in its games, yet frequently sits on its hands and quietly ignores such releases. A risky move in this day and age, undoubtedly – but has it paid off?

You assume the role of the eponymous Asura (for the most part), a powerful and respected demigod who, shortly after claiming a significant victory in the eternal battle against the demonic Gohma forces, is swiftly betrayed by his fellow gods. Framed for murder, his wife killed and his daughter kidnapped, Asura gets pretty pissed. Fuelled by an intense all-consuming desire for vengeance he sets out to wreak his revenge on those who wronged him and attempt to stop the gods’ sinister plan, dubbed “The Great Rebirth”.

Structured as a series of 18 episodes (with another ‘true’ final episode to unlock) each lasting around 20 minutes, Asura’s Wrath is very deliberately structured to resemble the popular anime TV shows it draws from, with each episode beginning with opening credits, ending on a cliff-hanger and followed up by a perfect ‘Next time on Asura’s Wrath’ sequence. The structure inspires an addictive ‘just one more episode’ mentality, since the next significant chunk of story and spectacle is always only ever 20 minutes away. By the time you’ve lowered your guard and are fully swept up into the frankly bonkers plot, it is very, very difficult to put that pad back down.

Visually the game is a treat, with characters and locations that fuse together a rich vein of Eastern mythology and futuristic science fiction, the game delivers amazing spectacle after amazing spectacle. Gods swell into planet-sized creatures, Asura blasts through intergalactic space armadas, epic duels take place on the moon, beneath the earth’s crust and everywhere in between. The variety on offer is staggering, with each episode throwing something new into the mix – the only exception being one visit too many to a little village in the middle act.

Gameplay in Asura’s Wrath is formed of three main components, only two of which that might be considered ‘true’ gameplay. First up we have the combat, open brawling with crowds of enemies or epic one-on-one duels with bosses. Attacks are divided between light and heavy strikes, though, with a cool-down period between heavy attacks, you’ll likely find yourself hammering on the one attack button for the majority of your battles, keeping an eye out for button prompts that initiate counters and spectacular special attacks on downed enemies. Next there’s the on-rails shooter sequences, which has you occasionally dodging enemy blasts while holding down an autofire button and locking on for Rez-style multiple hits. Perform well in either of these game modes and you’ll fill your ‘burst’ meter which, once full, triggers the third main gameplay mode: the interactive anime.

Forming the vast majority of your nine hours or so with Asura’s Wrath, the interactive anime sequences are this game’s unique selling point – sublime in their composition, awesome in their execution, these sequences really are the game’s main attraction, CyberConnect2 routinely demonstrate brilliance and mastery in their field as Asura gets progressively angrier and gets ever closer to exacting his revenge. During these, every now and then you are tasked with either pushing analogue sticks around, expertly timing a press of the Y button or hammering the B button. To be fair, the game isn’t especially bothered if you fail to join in, with the only negative effect of not participating being your score at the end of the episode.

And here’s where we get to the Marmite bit – for me, Asura’s Wrath is a breath of fresh air, one that knowingly defies all expectations of what a modern videogame should be, and is all the better for it. A true tour de force from start to finish; yes it’s simple, yes it’s streamlined, and yes, it’s madder than a bag of monkeys. But my (demi)God, I can’t remember the last game I enjoyed this much.

Be warned though: Asura’s Wrath really isn’t for everyone. With the ‘traditional’ gameplay sections often forming as little as five minutes of a 20 minute episode, fun as they may be, those seeking a deep, nuanced action game along the lines of Bayonetta or Vanquish would be sorely disappointed. With the story only ever playing out in one way, replayability in Asura’s Wrath exists only in pursuing top scores and accomplishing achievements, with most players finding the game as replayable as an anime boxset – admittedly hard to recommend as a full-price release, Asura’s Wrath is likely a perfect weekend rental for most.