Editorialized Review - Ikai

Developer: Endflame

Publisher: PM Studios

Available On: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, & PC

Played On: Xbox Series X

I’m a psychological thriller buff! Whether that be with movies, books, TV shows, or games, I simply cannot get enough. Remember Saw? I can recite that entire movie’s script off by heart because I have seen it an unhealthy number of times. When the opportunity came up to play Ikai, a psychological thriller, a single word came to mind - Sold!

Ikai is a game about twists and turns. It battles the psyche of not only the present but also the past. Granted, there were points that had me scratching my head. Be that as it may, it was a really enjoyable experience. Along with the mind games, who doesn’t want to play something that has fire in it?

With it being on the shorter side, it’s easy to sit down and play without a massive time commitment.

It’s a nice break from titles like the Fatal Frame series. Those are also some of my favourites, along with other classics like Silent Hill. Speaking of, I recently got my hands on a few copies and it looks beautiful on the PS3 backwards compatibility model - did I mention I’m a huge fan of psychological thrillers?

It’s worth mentioning that with Ikai, it has quite a few startling points that don’t usually fall under the psychological category, being more horror. However, the way the moments intertwine actually kind of work and definitely captured my attention, but only the first time. By the fifth or sixth jump scare, it was getting old and that’s where Ikai lacked the variety. I wanted a more creepy vibe like with Silent Hill and Fatal Frame. I didn’t like that it relies too much on cheap scares.

However, I want to point out an interesting puzzle in Ikai. It was a blast to play and left me hoping for more. At certain parts, you could certainly feel the psychological aspect, most when in dark places with very little information on what’s happening.

This game reminded me of a traditional Horror plot where person A gets separated from their group and ends up alone in a mysterious deserted town, but with a twist. Ikai isn’t only that as it adds in a layer of internal battles. If you remember, there was a movie called Hush where a writer was living in the woods, alone. What they didn’t know initially was that they were being stalked. Eventually, they would come to face a life-and-death struggle. While Ikai doesn’t have an ax murderer, the intrusive thoughts and memories being faced by the main character play the role of the killer. I thought it was a unique angle for a video game. The way the past manifests before consuming the present was an enthralling storyline.

With all that being said, points in the game were odd. I’m not sure if it was to drive curiosity, keep you interested, or something else, but the peculiarity of some moments were simply strange. For example, I’m pretty sure a piece of paper can’t stop a ruthless monster. That said, it reminds me of a design choice in Fatal Frame. I always laugh when a chair has this force field to keep me from going down a hallway. I can see so much space to cross over but nope, it holds me back!

What’s really nice about Ikai from an accessibility front is that with only a few buttons actually being used, the concern surrounding one-handed gaming is virtually non-existent. Yes, I did remap one of the triggers to the “X” button on Xbox as it was used for sprinting, but that was just for convenience. I could do it the default way but I didn’t feel like straining myself. Remapping was achieved using an external tool that makes complex gaming possible with one hand.

What I tend to dislike about these thriller titles is that sometimes, it isn’t clear on where to go. I see it with Fatal Frame, for example. I wander around and hope for the best. I did find that there was that lack of direction in Ikai, too. At points, there are no hints, no boundaries, and no clues. You could literally wander for hours without finding anything meaningful. Without a map or waypoints, I would have killed for maybe throwing in interactive hints to help progress through the journey. Again, Fatal Frame has special scenes or makes a ghost appear to tell you that hey, you’re on the right track. That’s probably a problem I have with this genre. Oh well, that never takes from my love for it!

Oh, what’s cool is Ikai has a stealth aspect which reminded me of the game Thief. The theme of it is to sneak around without being seen. Similarly, Ikai has collectibles and objectives, much like the majority of these titles. It makes for an interesting experience.

I enjoyed Ikai in the end. It isn’t at the same level as Fatal Frame and Silent Hill, but it can hang with them because it gave me an identical feeling. I’m in the mood for another, actually, and I’ve heard great things about Tormented Souls, so maybe I’ll try that!

Are you a fan of this genre?

IKAI IS RECOMMENDED!

A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.