Toukiden 2 (PlayStation 4) Review

Toukiden 2 starts with your character fighting a horde of demons, before being spirited away to become a slayer for a small mountain town. Slayers go out, and as expected, slay vicious beasts. They then come back with their spoils, and craft new weapons to further slay the beasts.

Toukiden 2 makes use of some of its own original features, like spirits, called Mitama, that act like passive buffs - and they don't always feel like they are helping. Fortunately, players can manipulate their character's stats however they like. Mixing Mitama is just one way to do this.

For those who find some crafting systems are often too arduous, you'll be happy to know Toukiden 2 manages to keep it to the basics. Collect certain materials, and once a certain amount is acquired, better weapons and armour can be created and forged. While it's very basic, it works remarkably well. Much of Toukiden 2 functions this way, with being quite a few simple building blocks that make the whole experience easier to jump into and enjoy.

Unfortunately, there's a story, and it doesn't do anything to help the game out. In fact, the first couple of hours are so bogged down with cut-scenes, it's easy to just mash the X button until they're all done. Fortunately, they can be skipped. A mini map is always willing to point in the right direction to the next task, so unless you get into the story, you won't miss anything.

Building weapons and going out into the field is absolutely fascinating… for a while. It won't take long for the standard demon enemies to become somewhat predictable, and, fortunately, the game keeps the enemies fairly fresh and introduces new ones frequently. Sadly, several of the enemies' AI is fairly dense, often becoming alerted to your presence then simply standing there. It's almost weird the first time an enemy lands a hit, as a lot of them don't seem to be too bothered attacking.

Still, Toukiden 2 is a grinding fan's dream. Players will be building this character up and making them a juggernaut, and watching the fruits of their labours unfold is a lot of fun. None of the characters are particularly interesting, but again, the story just gets in the way of the real fun. That is, it prevents players from mixing builds together and completing missions.

Even better is how gorgeous this world is. The level of details involved in the world is absolutely absurd. Let's be clear, this game isn't going to be pushing the graphical capabilities of the PS4. Still, the team managed to pay attention to finer details, like the grooves in rocks and the pattern of dirt in the road. It's an absolutely stunning game, visually, and should be commended for not being content just being pretty.