New Kemuri Gameplay Showcases the Power of Yokai

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First unveiled at The Game Awards last year, Kemuri is a promising PvE action game with supernatural elements, and we now have more information about it. As part of IGN’s Fan Fest event, developer Unseen released a new behind-the-scenes featurette that explains how the team is crafting the world of Kemuri.

The video showcases some early gameplay footage and ideas for Kemuri. In the game, players take on the role of Yokai hunters who acquire supernatural powers to fight evil. The game will feature a large world that sits somewhere between a fully open world and linear levels, with players using the “Fox window” to spot, battle and acquire Yokai.

“But it's not really a super vast, open-world game, but it's not a linear game either. But the difference here is that we do actually have quite a bit of verticality in our map so the actual density of the actual map is quite a bit for sure,” said Nakamura in an interview with IGN.

“This game merges the world of yokai with the real one, awakening the intellectual curiosity we lost in the process of growing up,” says Ikumi Nakamura, CEO & Creative Director of Unseen. “Yokai emerge from the essence of deceased animals, objects and humans, carrying profound backstories.”

“Engage in battles, negotiations, and acquire Yokai to possess and increase your power,” continued Nakamura. Several developers at Unseen suggest that the game will feature various types of Yokai who can be missed, adding to the replay value of the game. Acquiring and using a Yokai’s power alters the player’s physical appearance. Unseen is forgoing the use of motion capture, instead using keyframe animations to power its dynamic movement mechanics.

The video includes a first look at some prototype gameplay, although it is hard to make out the details without any context. At first glance, it appears that Kemuri will include some kinetic traversal elements with heavily stylised combat. Characters can be seen scaling up vertical structures with the use of grappling hooks, or by shapeshifting into other creatures.

Like other online PvE games, Kemuri is being designed to support both solo and multiplayer play. “I think players are going to be really excited about matching our extremely cool animation with this amazing traversal system and then pairing that with some really vertical spaces that get you to use those game mechanics in a fun way,” said Shane Canning, level designer at Unseen.

Here is the official description of the game:

Kemuri is currently in development for unspecified platforms.