Chambara (video game)

Last updated
Chambara
Chambara.jpg
Developer(s) Team OK
Publisher(s) USC Games Publishing
Director(s) Kevin Wong
Designer(s) Esteban Fajardo, Alec Faulkner
Artist(s) Catherine Fox
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation 4
July 26, 2016
macOS, Windows
December 12, 2017
Genre(s) Stealth
Mode(s) Multiplayer (local only)

Chambara is a stealth game developed by Team OK and published by USC Games Publishing. [1] It was released on July 26, 2016, for PlayStation 4, and on December 12, 2017, for PC and MacOS. [2]

Contents

It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the art style and gameplay, but criticized its lack of features. The game was nominated for an IGF Award and won a BAFTA Ones to Watch Award in 2015. [3] It was also an official selection at Indiecade. [3]

Gameplay

The game is entirely local multiplayer and each player controls their own anthropomorphic bird samurai character. [4] The world is purely made of black-and-white parts, allowing characters to hide in plain sight due to their solid black and white colors. [4] Players can also throw a single throwing star (which colors the enemy and makes them visible), and also air dash. [4] [1] One hit by the player's kendo stick results in the enemy character's death, similar to Bushido Blade . [4] By pressing L2, the character's eyes can be squinted or closed to prevent screen-watching. [4]

Development

The game was developed by students at USC Interactive Media & Games Division. [1] It was created to be played in a college dorm, leading to its couch-based multiplayer focus. [1] The game's art style was inspired by Samurai Jack , Akira Kurosawa films, [3] 20th-century Japanese art, and Mono-Ha and Metabolism architecture. [1]

The game's characters were changed from humans to birds and blood to feathers because of fears that it would be too violent to be shown in festivals with young children. [3] Having the player easily navigate the world and see the UI was a challenge due to the black-and-white nature of the art style. [3]

Awards and reception

Chambara received the 2015 BAFTA Ones to Watch Award, which celebrates new talent and innovation in the video games industry, [5] and was chosen by IndieCade as a festival selected in fall of 2015. [6] In 2016, it received the IGF nomination for Best Student Game at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. [7]

The game received mixed reviews from critics, with an aggregate score of 71/100 on Metacritic . [2]

Chris Carter of Destructoid rated the game 75/100, saying that "it does one thing, and it does it pretty well". [4] He said that "there's enough here to keep most people interested, so long as they have a steady stream of friends (or a roommate/significant other) to play with". [4]

Chad Sapieha of the Financial Post rated the game 70/100, saying that while the idea of the game was "fantastic", the idea was "underdeveloped" and would only deliver a "few hours" of fun before "growing stale". [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "'Chambara,' the split-screen samurai game born in a dorm". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  2. 1 2 "Chambara". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Baker, Chris. "Road to the Student IGF: Chambara by Team OK Games". Archived from the original on 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Review: Chambara". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  5. ↑ "BAFTA Ones to Watch Award Winner in 2015: Chambara". 2015-03-12. Archived from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  6. ↑ "Chambara". Archived from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  7. ↑ "Chambara: Student Entrant 2016". 22 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  8. ↑ "Chambara review: Stealthy arena fighter delivers innovative action, but too few ways to play". Financial Post. 2016-08-15. Archived from the original on 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
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