eShop veterans CIRCLE Entertainment have kicked off the Switch era with a bang, starting with the excellent rhythm game VOEZ and continuing with the colourful overhead action of Kamiko. Developed by Japanese indie team Skipmore — responsible for Fairune and its sequel on the 3DS eShop — Kamiko sports a gorgeous pixel-art aesthetic, Shinto-inspired style and three distinct, irresistibly smooth styles of play. It's short but very, very sweet, and well worth a go for anyone looking for a bit of action on the Switch.
Though it looks a bit like a Link to the Past-alike at first glance, Kamiko is, at its heart, more of an action game. You'll pick one of three special shrine maidens — sword-wielding Yamato, archer Uzume, or the hybrid Hinome, who fights with a boomerang mirror and dagger — and fight your way through levels filled with respawning demons and simple environmental puzzles; each is capped off with a boss. Defeating enemies earns you SP, which is used for special moves, triggering switches, keys and doors, as well as purifying shrine gates — which double as frequent save points.
Though there are only four areas each one is appreciably distinct, and Kamiko nails the feeling of gentle progression as you make your way through the game. The first stage starts out with spikes to avoid, and introduces you to its language of keys and switches; after you get the hang of each of these systems, the second level throws in teleport panels that play into its puzzles. Each level adds its own twists, which are put to thoughtful use without distracting from the main action, and they're even used in the boss battles — these are excitingly old-school, three-hit affairs with fun attack patterns.
Kamiko doesn't offer much beyond defeating enemies and heading towards the goal, but when the core gameplay feels as good as it does here that's more than enough. There's a wonderful speed and smoothness to the movements and attacks, and cutting your way across the landscape is effortless and fun. The left stick or D-Pad buttons are used to move, 'Y' or 'A' attack, and 'B' or any of the shoulder buttons can be held down to dash. Each character has her own special move, as well, activated by holding down the attack button and spending a bit of SP: Yamato whirls into a Link-style sword spin, Uzume fires off a burst of homing arrows, and Hinome sends her mirror swirling around her in a screen-clearing circle.
Part of what makes Kamiko so unique is that each of these three characters lends an entirely different flow to the game. With Yamato you'll dash your way from enemy to enemy in clean racing lines, with sword slashes punctuating each apex as you set your sights on the next group of foes. It feels a bit like manually aiming a series of homing attacks at high speed, and it's frenetic and fun. With Uzume you'll dash around enemies rather than towards them, keeping your distance in wide arcs and swerving between foes as you set up the distance to take them down with arrows without running into them; more like an avoid-'em-up than a hack-and-slash. Hinome, meanwhile, lends herself to a mix of the two styles: you'll throw out your mirror to cut a safe swath ahead, and then dash in to take care of remaining enemies at close range with your dagger; alternatively, you can toss the mirror out in one direction and head off with the dagger in another, letting it cut down intervening foes on its way back to you. Though the levels stay the same, the way you'll tackle and traverse them becomes distinct with each character.
Those differences also help extend the replay value of what is otherwise a very brief experience. A straight run through Kamiko's four worlds will take around an hour, but it's well worth returning with each character. We appreciate the short-but-sweet nature, honestly; there's not a moment of filler here, and the fact that you can replay the whole game in a single session makes it a much more appealing prospect. That's especially true if you have any sort of speedrunning tendencies — Kamiko records completion times for each individual stage and your overall run, and with the dash-heavy gameplay and character-specific strategies, we can see setting new records being a very enjoyable pursuit.
Whether you play for a few minutes or all the way through, one thing that really sticks out in Kamiko is its art direction. It takes its motifs from shinto imagery, with torii gates and kanji-covered stones enveloped by natural overgrowth, and it's all presented in a stunning pixel-art style, calling to mind a softer, pastel-tinted Hyper Light Drifter. Happily, it doesn't stop at pretty pixels — beautiful effects like solar flares, raindrops, and floating leaves pop out of the screen and bring each area to life. Even better, the gameplay's sense of momentum is mirrored in the graphics, with subtle screen-shake adding a satisfying weight to each slash or arrow hit, and blue petals of SP bursting out of enemies and converging back in on your character in a beautiful bloom; it really is incredible in motion.
Further adding to Kamiko's considerable sense of style is its chiptune soundtrack, which sets the mood with different themes in each level. It's retro-inspired, but more than a nostalgia play; the shimmering, synth-fronted arrangements are multilayered and lilting, and fit together perfectly with the noise-channel sound effects to create a lovely, cohesive soundscape.
Conclusion
Stunningly stylish and with an irresistibly kinetic sense of motion, Kamiko is a true gem. It's a quick ride, to be sure, but gorgeous pixel-art visuals, a lush soundtrack and three very different characters with plenty of speedrunning potential make it well worth coming back to. A uniquely appealing, action-packed package for less than the price of a prayer plaque, this is an easy recommendation for any Switch owner.
Comments (57)
Glad to see it got such a good score. It's a quick game, but for $5 or less (it's $4.60 if you buy it through the Japanese eshop) it's perfect. I had a great time playing trough it with all 3 characters and can see myself doing it all over again in a month or 2.
Really nice for five bucks. Its fun colorful and a good addition to my switch. Sad its really short though but its to be expected for the cheaper price.
Wow...
Wow worth $5
In part to the pixel graphics; I'm reminded of Hyper Light Drifter.
What a scorcher!
Well there's a pleasant surprise. Cheap and great. Hopefully the game sells well.
I'm sold sold.
I don't like buying digital but it looks like I don't have much of a choice here.
Love that Mario Sunshine reference.
very fun game. well worth $5.
For five bucks...why not?
I hear this is pretty short, but it definitely looks like its worth $5.
From what I've played, feels like a fun little game which is good for the price. Wasn't expecting a 9 though.
Hard to pass up at $5.
Played through the game with one character last night and had a lot of fun. $5 is the right price, as it's a little short but the production values are very high. The kind of game you knock out in a weekend, then come back to every few months.
Noice. I just got some paypal money. Sounds like I oughta buy this game and transfer a bit of it to my bank account. :3
Man! That's a no-brainer for $5.
@Yorumi
How would you compare it to, say, games like Hyper Light Drifter or Shovel Knight? Idk if you've played those games or not, but just curious about the quality of the game compared to other retro styled gems
Looks like I'll be dusting off my Switch for this.
instant buy for $5
@Moon dusting it off? it hasnt even been out long enough to collect dust.
Waiting for my Joycon to be repaired, but once they're back in my mits, I'm gonna buy this right away.
Is this a Switch exclusive?
No immediate plans to get this but it's great that we're getting an indie gem every week at the moment
I really like the alien font/text style above Kamiko. I might buy it just because of that.
Reminds me of dicing knight on the wonderswan a little without the hefty price tag 😳 Think I'll pick this one up
Welp, this review convinced me to buy it. Sounds like a fun game and I like shorter experiences.
This has been on my radar, but the short playtime is definitely a worry. I have zero interest in speedrunning, so I doubt I'll get any fun from replaying levels to get better completion times.
That said, it looks lovely, seems like it plays great, and it's dirt cheap.
I'm buying this ASAP.
@JHDK Does beating game with all 3 characters open up ????? on title screen?
Honestly, knowing that the game is short makes me want to buy it more. Too many longer indie titles sit unfinished on my Wii U hard drive, and I'm going to try to do my best to not let them pile up on the Switch, so an inexpensive, fun little game is exactly what I'm looking for. I will certainly pick this one up.
Okay then. Any reservations I had have been dissolved at the recommendation of @zipmon.
Great game for $5, very worth it.


But it's a bit uncanny how this resembles Hyper Light Drifter in it's level design. I feel like they could have done something a little more unique.
I mean just look
@Yorumi same here my wife loves mario kart more than any other nintendo game.
While I would agree that it's a fun little title, I miss the hidden lore nuggets and puzzle elements Skipmore's previous titles had (i.e. Fairune 1 & 2). Guess I'm a sucker for more point-and-click adventure tropes (I know they aren't your traditional examples of the genre, but you can see huge influences in both). However can't fault the battle mechanics this game has though; making for solid and fun, albeit short gameplay. There is however a third option in the menu that I'm at the moment unable to access, but at the moment I am unable to fathom as to how to unlock (seeing as I beat the game with all three characters already...).
A game I may actually complete? Sign me up!
9. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
(lol?)
This or Zelda? Scoring wish not a lot in it. And since Mario Kart got an undeserving 10 which should have been a 9 it's neck and neck with this game.🤔
@zool It's a lottery! ^^
But King of Fighters '94 got a 7 because it was so vastly inferior to this 'gorgeous' game 'full of content', with equal price.
Meh. Just 'meh'
@whitemaskedhero Well I own both, and I was an original backer for HLD, I hope I could play HLD on the Switch though.
@Tetsuro I don't know how can you be so triggered? I've been playing KOF 94 since... well 94, and it was quite good back then, but far from my preferred in the series (that weirdly enough would be the small KOF99 that holds a special place in my heart). Nonetheless, KOF94 feels clunky by todays standards, nothing wrong with a 7.
@nsmon25 I'm ok with a 7 if this gets a 6!
Clunky isn't the right word, it's technical. It's not flashy but it's good, and difficulty can be toned down.
This Kamiko could have been a good game in the eighties, now it's smartphone class.
9 seems a bit high for me, honestly. It felt more like a 6. The $5 price is nice, but the gameplay is pretty uninteresting. You only have one standard attack and one charge attack per character, and the first two levels are really boring and easy.
Looks and sounds nice, but terribly short. I first thought this would be something like Fairune, where you just walk into enemies. But this does sound better.
@whitemaskedhero you're right it's very HLD. It's dangerously similar style but it's still a great little cheap game. I'm enjoying it
@JaxonH it's no where near as long as those but it has simple and beautiful gameplay. hyper light drifter is a unique experience- there isn't much else like it and shovel knight is very different. However this is a seriously quality title. I wish there would be more of them on the switch. It's an absolute steal at the price. Get it- you won't regret it. I'm loving it. 🤓
@darthstuey
Alright, done. I don't mind it being short
@whitemaskedhero I have the same reflexion. Hyper Light drifter is a bomb. Hope it will be on Switch.
Bought after this review sold it to me. Great game, loved my first playthrough. Now to try the other characters!
Fantastic $5 game. Makes me feel like an idiot for buying Othello. I should've just waited for this to come out in the US to begin with.
Friggin nice! I was curious about this game after looking at screenshots on the eShop and now I know my initial thoughts were justified! The only thing I would like to know is how long the game actually. Is it an hour? Two hours?
Saw it on the eShop the other day but had some doubts, nice to see this score. I just beat Snake Pass and need more games for my Switch so I will be sure to pick this up.
Run through in an hour? Yikes in slow then lol
Nice game but i would award a 7 myself. Clunky controls and some basic gameplqy cannot deserve a 9. Hard to walk a straight line with the analog stick for instance.
@whitemaskedhero I would agree except that Skipmore's own Fairune was on 3DS in 2014 (2 years before Hyper Light Drifter) and Kamiko is a clear evolution of that series. To be clear though, all of the games are great in their own right and I would love to see both Hyper Light Drifter and a Kamiko 2 on Switch.
A fun little gem of a game.
Just completed this and returning to the review that convinced me to buy for like £2. It's decent - but imo think it's way off a 9 on its own merits as it's just way too insubstantial. I'd have paid more for 8 - 12 levels with one character over just 4 levels with 3 as the speedrunning aspect really doesn't interest me.
Think now time has passed, and with the amount of quality on the eShop, NL might hesitate to give this a 9 these days...still though, not a bad game, just temper your expectations slightly...
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