Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief review

The life of a Feudal-era thief isn’t that easy in Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief. Sure, there are the semi-vigilant guards posted about. But the real struggle is not growing aggravated in a title that attempts to combine clumsy sneaking action with the absurd.

As an inaugural effort, 1998’s Tenchu: Stealth Assassins was irrefutably auspicious. Sure, Acquire’s title feels antiquated by today’s standards. Between the lack of any kind of dedicated camera control and an extremely short draw distance, revisiting the game is a frustrating experience. But look past these imperfections, and you’ll find a three-dimensional, open-world title that was ahead of its time. Letting you loose with either Rikimaru or Ayame, the game provided a dazzling sense of freedom. From giving you a choice of tools (or even going in empty-handed) to letting you freely scamper across rooftops across the game’s eleven missions, Tenchu demonstrated ambition.

Over the years, Acquire would complement their ninja-simulator with the Way of the Samurai series. This franchise wasn’t afraid to subvert traditional, tossing a lot of lighthearted eccentricity into its sandbox. But like hanging out with your old college roommate, it is difficult to not wish that Way of the Samurai could be a bit more serious. Largely, that’s the same fundamental issue that plagues the recent remake of Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief. This is a habitually goofy game and a long way from the sincerity of Tenchu. While you have camera control, navigating the Edo-era environments still feels like a chore.

Let’s address some of the things from those last two sentences. Technically, Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief is an Unreal Engine-based remake of the 2006, Japan-only PlayStation 2 title. But save for some improved shadowing, there are few technical improvements. That means you can expect small maps, blocky characters, restrained AI, and visual output that’s locked at thirty frames per second. In execution, this looks and feels very much like a modest remaster.

Also, I love weirdness in games. I absolutely adore the eccentricity of the Yakuza series and the cathartic absurdity of Cho Chabudai Gaeshi (the table flipping arcade series). But quirkiness should feel deliberate and not like the programming team never quite got things working properly. Given that Way of the Thief’s stealth systems and ‘wanted levels’ don’t always matter or even function properly, Kamiwaza can feel half-baked.

Stealing, one of the game’s predominant mechanics operates enigmatically. Before being able to put certain valuable objects in your komebukuro (a traditional rice bag), you have to wear the object down with repeated melee strikes. I’m not sure what kind of real-world correspondent Acquire was trying to reproduce, but button-mashing for 30 seconds before grabbing a possession doesn’t make much sense. Does this represent some kind of ethical dilemma? You’re never quite sure.

Given Kamiwaza’s rather lackluster AI, there’s little suspense that accompanies the deed. Guards are often oblivious to you hammering away at a suit of samurai armor. Yes, you’ll eventually gain skills and shorten the possession-punching times, but it’s an annoying design decision.

As a feudal-era noble thief, it makes sense to be given a broad map that shows the approximate location of certain items. Likewise, having some kind of modern heads-up display would have been as anachronistic as Kamiwaza’s electric guitar-driven soundtrack. But players can expect to experience frustration as they scour environments for an ambiguously-named item. The upside is that stealing pays. You can either fence your goods for cash or even donate them to the poor, which boosts your reputation and provides additional tools for your larcenous leanings.

Undoubtedly, there’s potential in Kamiwaza’s notoriety mechanic. If you’re spotted stealing (and your disguise hasn’t been knocked off), the local yoriki will start placing posters around town, distributing a progressively more accurate likeness of your face. Amusingly, these flyers can also be stolen. But save for possibly influencing which ending you’ll see; the entire mechanic makes little difference. Having my thieving mug plastered everywhere didn’t seem to have much of a noticeable difference around town. Another odd design decision happens with pickpocketing, which can only be performed when standing in front of a person. Attempt to steal from behind and you’ll inadvertently brutalize your target. And here’s the biggest issue: you’re an honorable thief who can’t permanently put down guards. At times, they will give chase relentlessly. Evasion might be noble, but it isn’t as gratifying as a stealth kill.

But that’s not to say that Kamiwaza is a bad or even boring experience; there are a few entertaining systems. One mechanic permits the player to drop their bag of loot, before kicking it like a soccer ball, potentially pounding an unsuspecting guard. With an aiming cursor and power gauge, bag-booting feels like it was taken from a sports game. But unquestionably the game’s best mechanic is the “Just Stealth” component, which allows the lead character to escape being seen by immediately performing a cartwheel. Time this precisely and your character will glitter, adding a score bonus as you simultaneously somersault and steal from enemies.

In execution, seeing lead character Ebizo flip about so gracefully that the maneuver acts like the neuralyzer in Men in Black is quite amusing. That’s especially true when you pull off a cartwheel combo in front of a whole procession of NPCs, racking up a string of scoring bonuses. But I do wish Kamiwaza had a better sneaking system. While there’s a forward hunch to resemble a commoner, your posture won’t make that much difference to Kamiwaza’s NPCs.

While cutscenes are brief and utilize the game’s rather austere character models, at least Way of the Thief offers an interesting premise. At the beginning of the game, Ebizo encounters a young girl during a residential robbery, rescuing the child from the murderous intentions of the rest of his clan. The improvised adoption puts the protagonist on a more respectable path- at least until Suzuna grows up and is stricken by a mysterious illness. Unsurprisingly, Ebizo revisits a life of petty crime to come up with enough money to buy medicine for his daughter.

It’s a simple premise that offers justification for your thieving. And ultimately, stealing is Kamiwaza’s saving grace. The autonomy offered when going around and pocketing people’s beloved possessions is rousing. But if you could have been a disgraceful bandit, stealing and slaying malicious merchants, instead of sashaying past guards, Way of the Thief might have stolen hearts and minds.

Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief was played on Switch
and PC with review code provided by the publisher.