Meditate and clear your mind young samurais. Hanako: Honor & Blade is the latest 3rd person team hack and slash title, similar to Chivalry or Mount and Blade multiplayer. If you are interested in types of games where you can hone your skills and shred through your enemies, then this title may fit inside your collection.
Hanako: Honor & Blade has a very straight-forward tutorial that wastes no time and has you ready for the rest of the game within minutes. There are four generic classes that you can choose to play at any point during the match. Kenshi is the samurai character who is a melee, up close, damage dealer. Nagi is the spearman, capable to soaking up more damage than the Kenshi. Ite is the ranged damage dealer, capable of focused attacks and volleys. Ninja is a heavy damage dealer with high maneuverability.
So far, I don’t see any limits on what you can play as, as in there is no limit to how many kenshis there are at a time. My playthroughs so far make me feel like this is not a bad thing. When there were too many Ites, it became necessary for other players to take on melee roles to compensate. You can see the tide of battle at the top of the screen, represented by each team’s tickets. Once tickets reach zero, then there are no respawns left. The tide of battle can change very quickly based on the team’s composition, as well as which rituals and curses are in effect. If a character meditates at a shrine they can generate these effects for both their team and for their enemies. A curse includes, removing the ability to sprint for 30 seconds, for example.
Meditation also heals your character. I’ve found myself escaping scraps, or barely surviving encounters only to hide behind cover and meditate. You can jump back into the action almost immediately. Sometimes parrying by timing your blocks just right can mean a world of difference in your intense showdowns. Depending on how you are positioning yourself, straying left or right, you will swing your weapon differently. This reminds me of the Mount and Blade mechanic. Standing still, you will thrust your weapon forward in a sharp attack. Pressing Q also changes your stance, alternating between light and heavy offensives.
At the beginning of each match, you can select at least three different skills that will help with your play style. As the Kenshi, I preferred the passive abilities for health and damage reduction as well as the utility to roll out of the way of attacks. Rolling and parrying is fairly successful combination when done correctly. You can also get active abilities to deal out heavy amounts of damage, as well as a sort of ultimate ability once you have maxed everything out.
Hanako: Honor & Blade is super easy to pick up and play. I found myself learning even more after three rounds. The battles get bloody very quickly, especially when groups just gang up on each other. Don’t underestimate how quickly a situation can turn dramatically. Situational awareness is key, because you will be surrounded before you know it. Alternatively, you might find your team steam-rolling over everyone else. I would you find yourself in a match with more players than bots, but I personally had a good time either way. The only problem I had was joining a match as it ended and being stuck on the team selection page; I just exited to the main menu and found another quick match. I think a fair title for this title should be an 8.5 out of 10.
Hanako: Honor & Blade is available for $14.99 for PC via Steam.
I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I'd like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.
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