Homura Hime is an action game from developers Crimson Dusk and publishing company PLAYISM. As this is their first game, Crimson Dusk jump into the gaming scene with quite an impressive offering. From the combat and parrying mechanics, to the beautiful and amazing character designs, this game checks every box on my list. But, with every good thing there are slight flaws. However, it is a bit early to talk about that. Fun fact: Homura Hime literally translates to ‘Flame Princess’.
Floating Swords and Bullet Hell Parry Adventures.
Gameplay
We play as titular character Hormura Hime, the Flame Princess who is the strongest exorcist of all time. Hormura works with the top shrine maiden, who assists with shooting from a distance. Oddly, she can transform into a device that she crafted to be able to shoot holy balls at enemies. I did play the game in its normal difficulty to enjoy both the story and gameplay. Even in that difficulty the parry mechanic is fair and balanced.
We teleport from location to location in a linear path for the battle ahead. Which is nice, but feels a bit forced since we can’t pull a Megaman and select our demoness target. You do get to slowly learn and improve yourself with the things you purchase or get from Kushinada the shop keep. Despite having done that, you’ll have to decide if it’s worth adding to your kit.
Now, the actual star of the mechanics is the parrying and how it’s not just you standing there. When parrying with Hormura, she does a little movement that looks so fluid and natural that it looks like a dance. I usually don’t parry much in most games, but do a lot of dodging. However, the parrying in this game is so captivating and fun to keep doing.
Lastly, I want to point out the end of each battle no matter how big or small you get scored. It gives me the whole Sonic/DMC/Bayonetta feeling because of the final score. Even the last part of the score is if you can survive the fight without a scratch. Which is easy until the bullet hell starts. But, honestly with the experience I got from a lot of hours with Touhou.
Graphics and Audio
Now the looks of this game from the character designs to the environments are immaculate. I especially love the creative design of the jellyfish that swim in the sky of the hub shrine before heading to the next fight. The team at Crimson Dusk really poured their vision and passion into the game and it’s felt with every thing you do. Even the moments when tougher mobs come into play and launch you towards the shadow realm. If you parry enough times, you perform a QTE that’s a connect the dots motion to cut them up.
The designs of the enemies changing from environments we visit does help from just getting too repetitive and predictable. Especially when using different flame attacks showing that beautiful flame effects when attacking. Watching those flames going as if it’s a stream of water or Demon Slayer with fire breathing. It just completely lights the fire in my brain to keep going and continue to slash and burn.
The fact that the audio is only in Japanese makes it feel more authentic to the world building and I agree. The music to the exploring and the fighting keeps me going further and further into the story. Everything in the game has a harmony that carries one another and compliments the other. It doesn’t do anything to pull you out of the game.
Longevity
With the amount of time it took me to beat this game, it can be done in one sitting. Yet, the reason it took me multiple sessions was because of 1 thing. Which I’ll discuss during the Final Thoughts section of the review. But, if you have between 8-10 hours, you can finish the game fairly quickly. Maybe even faster if you’re great at parrying and executing certain techniques.
Final Thoughts
Homura Hime is a great game to play, yet I have a few notes that I hope get fixed either before the review goes up or after. The game ran smoothly during the cutscenes and when going through the different levels. Yet, I feel like there should be a bit more work on the hub itself. Not because of the design, but because my frames hit the ground.
I honestly think it was because of the jellyfish swimming around so close to the hub itself. It didn’t matter if it was on my PC or Steam Deck, but it chugged hard only in the hub. Other than that issue, this game would have our platinum. However the hub was my only negative issue with the game due to the huge frame drop.
Even with all that, you should still get this game because of Crimson Dusk creativity, amazing attention to detail and forgiving gameplay.
I give Homura Hime the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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