Rating
Ikai
Fear and anxiety prevail after the darkest tales from Japanese folklore come to life in this first-person psychological horror game. Set in a feudal era, Ikai revolves around the priestess of a shrine struggling to defeat the spirits of her past and her present.
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Ikai Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
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 to my sense of unease. I just wish there had been more of it.
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 left unspoken for and strange plot holes that left me somewhat upset and disappointed. I wanted to love Ikai, and there were some parts of it that I was really fond of, but by the end, I felt cheated. It’s not necessarily a bad game, but I wouldn’t put it up ther...
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 them remains interesting right throughout. I’m glad I played Ikai, but I doubt I’ll play it again.
Great sound design and solid atmosphere hampered by subpar English localization and some obtuse puzzles.
The subgenre of Japanese horror has been seeing a bit of a resurgence as of late, and that’s not a bad thing at all. We’ve seen it all: Fatal Frame made a small return, with Maiden of Black Water being ported over to modern systems. Ghostwire: Tokyo delved heavily into Japanese folklore, meshing it with a modern urban setting. One could even argue that Nioh made the cut as well, with some awesome enemy designs and really tense moments. Ikai, from Endflame and PM Studios, is the latest hor...
This leaves me with what I feel is a very different impression of Ikai than I’d have playing it on other platforms. Poor resolution and performance make moving through the world an annoyance. And unfortunately that’s the entire gameplay loop. 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 forgive some of the more repetitive encounters and lackluster voice acting, everything compounds into a very unimpressive showing. Thi…
Some games are challenging by design. They offer no help. They are demanding. Some games, however, are challenging because they are simply confounding. Ikai, unfortunately, is one of those games.Read More
A solid Japanese horror game that plays with your paranoia to drive the fear!