Ikai

"Ikai fails to utilize its Feudal Japan setting properly and despite the potential, in the end it&s;s just forgettable."

"Ikai is a first-person horror adventure that provides an interesting starting point to understand a little more about the figures we continually encounter in ancient Japanese culture."

"Ikai is a first-person psychological horror game that isn&s;t so much scary as it is confounding. It wastes its effectively chilling setting by simply getting you lost in it. You&s;ll be annoyed more often than frightened, confused more often than …"

"Ikai is a wonderful entry into the psychological horror genre. The story is intriguing and beautiful in its own way. The spooky music kept me feeling on edge, giving away no hint of any looming dangers, adding that much more …"

"Ikai does a great job of incorporating Japanese folklore into a claustrophobic psychological horror, with some smart puzzles throughout."

"Ikai pays tribute to Japanese folklore and delivers a faithful representation of feudal era. Nevertheless, is seems like a game that comes out from a couple of generations ago."

"I couldn&s;t help but keep finding elements and ideas I wished could have been built upon in a better game, which kept my attention enough and gave me a reason to see the story to the finish. Still, there&s;s nothing …"

"Even about 3.5 hours in (admittedly, a pretty short length), the ending felt rushed, confusing, and underwhelming. Maybe others will be able to puzzle out some of the finer details in the plot, but there were far too many details …"

"Ikai is a horror game with a solid atmosphere and that&s;s its main strength. Unfortunately, its tendency to jumpscare and poorly implemented puzzles cause the game to lose its momentum. Because of this, much of the gameplay feels more like …"

"An independent horror from feudal Japan offers a view of exotic folklore full of bizarre ghosts. But it doesn&s;t contain anything we haven&s;t encountered many times before in other games."

"Even just catching a glimpse of an enemy can be hard from far away given the resolution, and effectively navigating the halls of the shrine to escape is much more difficult at twenty frames per second. So while I could …"

"Joining a number of other titles that have put themselves into the psychological horror category on Switch, Ikai is at least consistent with many of them in terms of overall quality..."

"Ikai was a horror title I was actually really looking forward to. A game steeped in Japanese folklore in a self contained location could (and to be fair, should) have made for an absolutely terrifying and unique experience. However, it …"

"While Ikai’s a missed opportunity, it’s not one that necessarily should be missed. It’s not overlong, has some vivid imagery, and while the puzzles are almost laughable at times for how out of place they are, the actual design of …"

"Ikai had a great first half with great pacing and providing enough mystery and heart-racing moments but fizzled out by the end."

"Ikai smells a bit like the atmosphere of Fatal Frame, but the interesting ideas and emphasis on Japanese folklore pale a little with a visible to the naked eye, limited budget. For fans of the topic, however, it can be …"

"It’s not very often I get sent physical copies of stuff, so you can imagine my joy when I was offered a physical copy of Ikai to review. Having not known anything about it, knowing nothing of its form or …"

"Ikai&s;s interesting setting and unsettling atmosphere are let down by its clunky gameplay, mundane and repetitive structure, and several technical issues."

"We take a look at Ikai, a new indie horror title from Spain&s;s Endflame studio, featuring themes of Japanese mythology into some first-person horror"

"Ikai is a game that, despite its hiccups in the opening acts, nails the landing. The focus on Naoko over random jump scares pays off, resulting in an enjoyable experience that will resonate with you for some time."

"Great sound design and solid atmosphere hampered by subpar English localization and some obtuse puzzles."