Dokuro (video game)

Last updated
Dokuro
Dokuro video game.png
Japanese PlayStation Vita box art
Developer(s) Game Arts [1]
Publisher(s) GungHo Online Entertainment [1] [2]
Platform(s) PlayStation Vita, iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Release
July 5, 2012
  • PS Vita
    iOS
    • WW: June 30, 2013
    • JP: December 5, 2013
    Android
    December 5, 2013
    Windows
    December 8, 2014 [5]
    Switch
    September 27, 2018 [6]
Genre(s) Puzzle [7] [8]
Mode(s)

Dokuro is a video game developed by Game Arts and published by GungHo Online Entertainment originally for the PlayStation Vita [2] with later ports to iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch. The player controls Dokuro, who must save a princess after the Dark Lord wants to marry her. [7]

Contents

Gameplay

The player is Dokuro, a skeletal worker for the Dark Lord. [8] One day, the Dark Lord captures a princess and forces her to marry him. [8] Dokuro sees the princess crying which breaks his heart and he thus decides to help her escape the Dark Lord's castle. [8] Dokuro can flip switches to open up paths, [9] carry the princess after drinking a potion, [9] as well as others. The game's levels grow steadily more complex as the game progresses. [1]

Development

The game uses a graphical style that imitates artwork in a children's storybook. [8] The game's director, Noriaki Kazama, previously worked on gory video games such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma under Team Ninja. [10] Kazama said that after he had a baby, he browsed through children's books at the bookstore and was inspired by the art style. [10]

Reception

The PlayStation Vita and iOS versions received "generally favorable reviews", while the PC and Switch versions received "mixed" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [11] [12] [13] [14] In Japan, Famitsu gave the Vita version a score of 34 out of 40. [17]

IGN said of the PlayStation Vita version, "Stunningly beautiful and exceptionally fun to play, Dokuro belongs in the library of every PlayStation Vita owner." [7] Joystiq claimed that "Despite the bony exterior, Dokuro feels like it has a real soul, like it was made by people who truly loved and believed in it. It's inspired, well-made, and thoroughly enchanting." [8] Game Informer , however, gave the same Vita version a mixed review, stating, "Between its unforgiving nature, unbalanced difficulty, and humdrum puzzles, I wouldn't have pressed on through Dokuro if I wasn't reviewing it. Rarely did I feel that fun "a-ha" moment that makes puzzle games exciting; instead I found tedium and frustration. I surely wasn't as devoted to this game as Dokuro was to the princess." [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Dokuro". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Fernandes, David (December 19, 2012). "GungHo Announces Dokuro Now Available at $9.99 for the Holidays". Operation Rainfall. Archived from the original on September 13, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Upcoming PS Vita Game Dokuro (新作ゲームなのに破格の安さ！PS Vita『Dokuro』発売日決定)". Inside for All Gamers (in Japanese). April 29, 2012. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  4. ↑ Yang, Stephanie (October 19, 2012). "Dokuro Delayed for Canada and Mexico, European Release Date Still Pending". Operation Rainfall . Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Dokuro Officially Greenlit on Steam". GungHo Online Entertainment . November 12, 2014. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  6. ↑ Romano, Sal (September 26, 2018). "Dokuro coming to Switch on September 27". Gematsu. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Moriarty, Colin (October 19, 2012). "Dokuro Review (PS Vita)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kemps, Heidi (October 24, 2012). "Dokuro review: The Mr. Skullhead Show (Vita)". Engadget (Joystiq). Yahoo. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Yip, Spencer (October 8, 2012). "A Skeleton Saves A Princess On October 16". Siliconera. Gamurs. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Yip, Spencer (September 28, 2012). "Having A Child Inspired Dokuro's Director To Make Charming Games Instead Of Gory Ones". Siliconera. Gamurs. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Dokuro critic reviews (iOS)". Metacritic . Fandom. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Dokuro critic reviews (PS Vita)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Dokuro critic reviews (Switch)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Dokuro critic reviews (PC)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  15. ↑ Mackey, Bob (October 26, 2012). "Dokuro Review (Vita)". 1Up.com . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  16. ↑ Carter, Chris (October 19, 2012). "Review: Dokuro (PS Vita)". Destructoid . Gamurs. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  17. 1 2 "ドクロ [Vita]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Wallace, Kimberley (October 16, 2012). "Dokura Review (PS Vita)". Game Informer . GameStop. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  19. ↑ Haught, Jeb (December 19, 2014). "Dokuro (PC) Review". GameRevolution . CraveOnline. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  20. ↑ Rhoades, Alex (November 17, 2012). "Review: Dokuro is a puzzler's paradise (PS Vita) [date mislabeled as "November 5, 2012"]". GameZone. Archived from the original on November 22, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  21. ↑ Peeples, Jeremy (October 18, 2012). "Review: Dokuro (PS Vita)". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  22. ↑ Oxford, Nadia (January 8, 2014). "Dokuro (iOS)". Pocket Gamer . Steel Media Ltd. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  23. ↑ Willington, Peter (February 6, 2013). "Dokuro (PS Vita)". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Review: Dokuro". PlayStation: The Official Magazine . No. 65. Future plc. December 2012. p. 84.
  25. ↑ Giddens, Greg (February 6, 2013). "Dokuro Review". Push Square. Hookshot Media. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  26. ↑ Carter, Chris (December 9, 2013). "'Dokuro' Review – That's One Brave Bag of Bones". TouchArcade . TouchArcade.com, LLC. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Dokuro reviews". MobyGames . Atari SA. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  28. ↑ Brown, Lewis (February 15, 2013). "Dokuro (PS Vita)". The Digital Fix. Poisonous Monkey. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
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