Inukari – Chase of Deception from Red Deer Games and Einzelartig Games is a fast-paced retro-inspired 2D action platformer. Learn more in our Inukari – Chase of Deception review!
Inukari – Chase of Deception from Red Deer Games and Einzelartig Games is a fast-paced retro-inspired 2D action platformer. You play as the titular Guardian of the Forest, who is called into action because rage and anger are taking over the land. She must follow the call of Master Kameuto, who informs her that faith in nature and in guardian spirits is weakening. Humans are destroying forests and killing animals all over the place. But someone still believes. Someone has lit a candle at Inukari’s memorial, and she must do whatever it takes to revert things before it’s too late.
You’ll control your character with the left analog stick or the D-Pad, jumping with the B button and attacking with the Y button. There’s also the always handy option of wall jumping so that you can reach higher platforms. As you progress through the game, you’ll gain access to a double jump, as well as a backdash – mapped to the L button – to avoid attacks. You will also gain a shuriken you can use with the X button so that you can attack from a safer distance, but these will not be as powerful as Inukari’s blade.
As you explore each level, you’ll be using Inukari’s weapons to purify the animals that have been conquered by the evil goo that is wreaking havoc across the land. And then, at the end of each section, you’ll be going up against a boss. Bosses are larger characters that have been engulfed by the darkness, and you’ll have to be ready for a battle that will test your skills! You’ll need to pay attention to each boss’ movement and attack patterns so that you can chip away at their health bar before they defeat Inukari.
With 24 levels to explore, a pixel retro presentation, there’s definitely something to like here, but the game does go a bit too old-school for its own good. It has a lives system, which means that if you run into a boss with a cheesy attack pattern that demands pixel-perfect precision, you’ll have to redo a chunk of the level when you run out of lives. The gameplay loop also feels repetitive, lacking some variety in level design. You can play the game’s Story Mode in its entirety, or you can activate the Speedrun Mode, which removes the story segments so that you can try to beat the game as fast as possible. Inukari – Chase of Deception is out on Nintendo Switch with a $7.99 price.
Disclaimer
This Inukari – Chase of Deception is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Red Deer Games.
