Kwaidan: Azuma Manor Story

Kwaidan: Azuma Manor Story may be okay for those who really like the historical Japanese theme, are eager to battle some old school monsters, and can tolerate dated and bizarre movement mechanics. Everyone else will be happier finding another title.

I was intrigued about the idea of mixing up survival-horror elements with point-and-click gameplay, but everything about Kwaidan: Azuma Manor Story is executed in a clunky and unenjoyable manner. It does have its good points, with the puzzling pretty clever and the combat decent, but everything else about the game is just awkward and incredibly dated in design. Kwaidan: Azuma Manor Story isn’t the worst game I’ve ever played, but it’s certainly one that I wouldn’t recommend – even to those who are looking for a 90s-inspired adventuring fix.

The overall game is around four hours the first time through. You may struggle through the first playthrough, maybe saving too much or using too many health items. But after memorizing the locations of items, puzzle solutions, and boss patterns you’ll fare a lot better on a second playthrough. Despite all the faults of this game, I still kinda dug it. While the point-and-click design seems pointless, it’s different and something often not braved in game design. Kwaidan is a hidden gem with some rough edges. But if you’re able to look past them, there’s an entertaining experience here. I certainly hope this is not the last we’ve seen from this series.

The premise had so much potential. Kwaidan: Azuma Manor Story is a survival horror game set in feudal Japan, full of yokai and oni to deal with. This could have been, nay, SHOULD have been great. However, it completely misses the mark due to its absolute mess of a gameplay loop. It tries to be old school Resident Evil, Onimusha, and a point-and-click adventure all at the same time.