Okami HD

Okami HD is one of the most fulfilling games I've ever played, and its quirky mechanics fit amazingly on the Switch despite some issues.

Although graphics may age and date a game, style remains timeless. Sprinting at full speed through Shinshu Field with a wake of flowers blooming behind you is as joyful and beautiful an experience now as it was 12 years ago. It seems strange then that probably one of the most stylish games ever created should be subject to so many HD remakes. But anything that makes this game more widely available to those who may have missed it the first (second, or third) time around can only be welcome.

First released in 2006 on PS2, ported to the Wii in 2008, and brought into the HD era on PS3 back in 2012, it’s hardly surprising to see Clover Studio’s classic Okami galloping headlong into the 4K era on PS4, Xbox One and PC. And while this number of re-releases might become a mite tiresome, or somewhat diminish the original game’s standing, this certainly isn’t the case here. While it’s lacking much in the way of actual additions for a third release, Okami for the 2017 generation remains – hands-down – one of the best games ever made.

Okami is one of the finest games to come out of Japan in the last decade, and Okami HD is absolutely the best way to experience this epic adventure. Its re-release is rather timely too, given Japanese game publishers are currently preoccupied with creating games that will appeal in the West. Okami, in contrast, represents a pure, resolutely Japanese vision, and is all the more appealing for it.