Welcome to our review of the Horror hardcore-platformer Tamashii. Disclaimer before reading this review, this game contains some imagery, which is not suitable for all ages. So, let’s get reviewing.
What do you get when you combine the difficulty level of Super Meat Boy with the critical elements of games like Shovel Knight and the Messenger? Well, something like Tamashii probably. According to its publisher, Tamashii was inspired by the obscure Japanse games of the late 80s and early 90s. Set in a world of striking horror and unsetting imagery, the player, will be engulfed in some hardcore platforming puzzles. I don’t have much experience with set genre, so I’ll take their word for it.
Enter the temple
An eldritch entity lurks inside the temple, a disturbing domain of death and danger. A mysterious stranger is summoned to this twisted hell to discover the source of evil that emanates from within. Can you survive the devilish traps, tricky puzzles, and monstrous beings looming in Tamashii’s dark corridors? Each step in the wrong direction means imminent death, so prepare for a lot of well-timed jumps and brain-breaking puzzles.
Once you enter the temple, each room leads you to a puzzle; you will have to solve using body doubles. These body doubles can be placed in specific locations and will degenerate over time. So, you will have to time your placements right if you want to activate a series of switches. Oh, and this is all done while looking at some weird grotesquerie. These images range from the cold metal blades and pulsating meat coating the chamber walls to the charred corpses and goat-headed statues of the temple. And the further you get, the more twisted the visuals become until you’re battling demon fetuses and watching infernal creatures do some very adult stuff. I did not enjoy this take on the genre. The puzzles work fine, so why do we need these… details.
Tamashii Chambers
The game spans over a total of five chambers and are arranged as a series of puzzle rooms leading up to a boss encounter. Like said before, you have to tackle these challenges with is your double-jump and the ability to conjure body doubles that activate switches and sigils. You can summon three of these totems at a time, and they disintegrate after a short time (which you can also speed up yourself). Most puzzles, then, are a matter of using totems to hold switches to allow you to pass different barriers or obstacles. It’s a simple setup, but between the five chambers, there’s plenty of variety, enough to carry the game’s 90-minute runtime. The bosses are more of a mixed bag but are even more varied than the puzzles, and seeing what greater unspeakable horror lies ahead is one of the game’s little pleasures in progression.
The 90 minutes of fame
Being only 90 minutes might give some folks pause, but honestly, Tamashii is precisely as long as it needs to be. The super edgy presentation and visual nightmares would threaten to grate after a few hours, so ending before they wear out their welcome is a smart move. It’s a weird game for a single sitting. If you want to delve into the strange secrets, be my guest, I have seen enough demon… well, you know. Is it scary? There isn’t anything that’s going to make you jump, but the overwhelming grotesqueness of the world is sure to make you uneasy.
Conclusion
Tamashii is a mixed bag. Puzzle-technical it’s a good game, it does give the Super Meat Boy genre the credit it deserves. However, the artwork and setting turned me off. I don’t need that much graphic content to enjoy a horror game. I’m okay with setting games like Outlast present, but I think Tamashii is a little bit over the top. So if you are into hardcore platforming, Tamashii might be a good fit, be sure to check if you want to look at a lot of … very graphic demon-details.
