Collecting My Thought on Ōkami—It's a Wolf, Not a Speedboat!

This game amazed me. Never have I played a video game that managed to be a tutorial-to-credits perpetual prance of comedy. Not to mention I spent a similar amount of time on this game as I did on more infamously lengthy games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dark Souls. That's a lot of hours to keep a grown man giggling! This is possible because Hideki Kamiya's Ōkami does not rush through its motions like a speedboat would. And it does not ask for more than you are willing to give at any one time like a speedboat salesman would. Instead, it slowly milks its story and characters for all they have to give. Every painterly scene is ridged with notes of wit and wryness and each NPC is worth their weight in charm. The sum of its parts? A cheeky yet compassionate fable about a wolf god saving the world from darkness, one sakura tree at a time.

Amaterasu, endearingly known as Ammy by her flea-like rake of a companion, Issun, is the Sun god in the form of a white wolf. She has been brought to life from her statue form to undo the awakening of a dreadful mythical eight-headed dragon, Orochi. Together with shameless Issun, Ammy travels all over Nippon to put a stop to the destruction caused by Orochi and bring apricity to the citizens' darkened lives. The main way Ammy does this is through her celestial paintbrush. With it, she pauses time and draws onto the canvas of the world. She can will through ink gusts of wind, cracks of lightning and even blots of, well... ink, that drench foes black and have them panic in their blindness. This set of mechanics in itself is worthy of all the praise in the world. It is innovative, fun, fair and easy to use (okay I admit, it is sometimes frustrating when the game thinks my infinity symbol is a loop-de-loop). However, that is just the tip of the iceberg.

You want to face some of the most unique and grotesque monsters out there? You got it. You want to watch minute-long cinematics of your hero feeding every single bird and mammal in the game? It's all yours. And you want to do it all to the beat of a rich and catchy soundtrack? Easy peasy. This game has it all and more. Only marred by its slightly lakclustre and hodgepodge ending, Ōkami masterfully integrates its mechanics, characters, storylines and art style to become a most beautiful, one-of-a-kind video game. It is a true tour de force in gaming history.

#ReminiscentOf Pokémon and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Then pop an Isle of Dogs (film) cherry on top.

#PlayTime 100 hours.

#CutestCritter Our very own Ammy! She howls, she growls, she jumps, she tangos, she yawns and she naps at all the worst times. She even pees like a boy dog. Aw.

#FashionablyLateBy Four years for the PS4 HD version and 15 years for the PS2 OG version.