Toukiden: The Age of Demons first impressions

Tecmo Koei released a rather extensive demo for Toukiden: The Age of Demons yesterday in North America that allows players to get a glimpse at the upcoming demonic hell which is Toukiden. The demo has players fight their way through ten different missions and one epic battle with 20-foot-tall spider. There is a lot to discuss, so let’s dive right in.

Story: Defending Utakata

You find yourself in a small feudal era Japanese village named Utakata. It is here you meet up with a small host of demon slayers that show you the ropes of your new profession. When meeting up with the town demon scholar (yes, that is a profession) you learn that it has been 8 years since a large number of demons suddenly appeared and started attacking. This event is referred to as the “Great Awakening” and is seen as a turning point in history. Since the “Great Awakening” slayers have been risking their lives to protect the people, and you are now one of them.

The demo introduces you to a few of the game’s key slayers including; Yamato the chief slayer, Oka the strong female senpai who shows you what’s up, Ibuki the veteran, and Hatsuho another newcomer who is trying prove her worth. You will also meet Yu, Yamato’s daughter, who divvies out the missions. As a silent protagonist, your interactions with these characters are limited, but the demo does a decent enough of a job flushing out a bit of back story on each.

As you explore the town and progress through the demo, you receive quests from the townspeople, build up your weapons, take on demon hunting jobs, and a whole lot more. I’m not sure where the game is going to go, but one thing for sure is that it will be an adventure.

Customization: Almost endless possibilities

Toukiden offers an absurd amount of customization for your character. When you start the demo you are taken to a screen that displays a man and a list of options. Here you can choose from 20 different face types, 20 different hair styles, 20 different voice options, your skin and hair color, and of course your gender. Once that is all set, you get to choose between a sword, knives, chain and sickle, gauntlets, a spear, or even a bow that you can use in battle.

Although your look may not change the gameplay any, your weapon choice certainly does. Don’t worry though; you can change your weapon at any point in the demo.

Gameplay: It’s easy until it’s not

Toukiden is a classic third-person demon-slaying game. The game will have you running around the hunting fields, wielding whichever weapon you please, and attacking anything that looks to be not of this world. Toukiden is quick to put you into action, but the action certainly lacks difficulty.

Toukiden starts off incredibly easy. Easy to point of being boring. The demo’s first few stages are set in incredibly beautiful and spacious battlefields, but contain only a few demons each. The fighting becomes underwhelming pretty fast.