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Demons, stylish action, Japanese mythology and stunning graphics all await you in Otogi: Myth of Demons, one of this years biggest surprises, brought to you by From Software, exclusively on Xbox. Otogi won’t cater to everyone’s taste because of the heavy Japanese inspirations and premises, but those who are willing enough to give the game a chance will be more than happy that they did.

You play through the game as Raikoh, a silent, half dead, half living warrior who has been brought back to the world of the living by a mysterious princess seemingly for the purpose of annihilating a large array of demons that have infested Japan. Along with granting Raikoh life once more, the princess also bestows upon our silent ‘hero’ immense power and strength. With any of the games various weapons, Raikoh has the ability to level buildings, destroy trees, and shatter large boulders with a single strike. Just about everything in the games two-dozen plus levels can be destroyed. There are various monsters and demons in the game for Raikoh to do battle with, and most of them are very unique, immediately setting Otogi apart from every other action game on the market right now. Even more impressive than the games run of the mill demons are the games boss enemies, which are more often than not gigantic, vicious incarnations of evil. From top to bottom, Otogi’s characters design oozes originality.

Raikoh has numerous attacks with the games wide array of weapons, but he also has the ability to cast magic attacks, all of which look superb. Some of the magic attacks have Raikoh casting out a large phoenix made of fire, or an electrical dragon. Magical attacks can be charged up to add more damage, but while Raikoh is charging his magic, he is completely vulnerable to attack, since he can not jump, attack, or even move. Raikoh can perform some impressive feats, such as double jumping, or a quick dash move reminiscent of the recent PS2 game Shinobi. While Raikoh may be one powerful mo-fo, he isn’t invincible, aside from having to worry about being blasted back to the land of the dead by the onslaught of demons he encounters, Raikoh has to worry about his magic draining, which will cause Raikoh to die. Raikoh’s magic meter is constantly draining, adding a level of urgency and suspense to the game. Otogi may use elements that have been seen before, but its all put together in a single package that comes out remarkably fresh and new.

As Raikoh goes about his demon slaying business, he will be given missions to complete for each of the games levels. Most of these missions consist of destroying either a certain demon (or demons), or destroying specific object(s) that may serve some evil purpose. While one might think that such a lack of mission variety would cause the game to get old and stale rather quickly, you would be more than surprised to know that the game actually stays fresh and fun from beginning to end. The games levels are very well made, vastly detailed, and all rarely ever look like one another. The levels are only about 5 minutes long each, but they will likely take you multiple tries to complete, and once you complete them, you can still go back to any previous levels freely as much as you’d like to try to find the games many secrets hidden within the levels.

Otogi looks fantastic, there’s really no two ways about it. The games production value levels are off the chart. Nearly every single special effect that the Xbox platform is capable of rendering is used in one respect or another during the course of the game. Raikoh himself is sleek, shiny and mysterious. The demons are given the utmost attention to detail. The games levels are beautiful and stunning to behold. Absolutely everything in the game is an impressive sight. There are a few instances in the game where the camera can be hard to get along with, but that’s a minor complaint, since it’s usually pretty well behaved.

The game sounds like a million dollars. The game features an authentic haunting Japanese soundtrack that works tremendously well for the games atmosphere and setting. Raikoh’s battle cries and the demons screeches or growls are all spot on and sound great. Surprisingly enough, despite the games Japanese origin, the English voice acting is superbly executed. The game also features the original Japanese audio track, so those looking for a more authentic experience can have one.

When it comes right down to it, Otogi was a huge surprise. I really don’t think anyone expected a game of such a high caliber to come from Otogi, but as it stands, Otogi is one of the most stylish, original, and well-executed games to hit the shelves this year. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up as soon as you get the chance, you won’t regret it.