Ōkami HD

An acclaimed PS2 classic now available on PC, this time with a bonus of improved visuals.

On the whole, though, Okami is a delight from start to finish. It gives you the freedom to savour and indulge in every last drop of its ink-washed world, and its combat and story are both superb - particularly if you have even the slightest bit of interest in Japanese mythology (the tales may not be quite as familiar to us in the west, but it's as chock full of myths and fairy tales as Telltale's The Wolf Among Us, for instance). The controls also feel reborn on PC, and the decade it's taken to get here has been more than worth the wait. This is Okami how it was always meant to be played, and ...

Amaterasu's grand adventure inspired and influenced by Japanese folklore is now available on modern consoles.

Okami is one of the finest games to come out of Japan in the last decade, and Okami HD is absolutely the best way to experience this epic adventure. Its re-release is rather timely too, given Japanese game publishers are currently preoccupied with creating games that will appeal in the West. Okami, in contrast, represents a pure, resolutely Japanese vision, and is all the more appealing for it.

https://youtu.be/31aK08f4IzY

When I first told my girlfriend I was reviewing Okami HD, she asked what it was about. When I replied that you play as a Sun God reincarnated as a white wolf that battles evil spirits with a celestial paintbrush, she was rightly confused. Okami is one of those stories that could only be told through video games. Distracted by the gorgeous graphics, fast action and enthralling exploration, you might not notice just how nonsensical the story is.

Okami HD is essential, especially if you've never been lucky enough to play Clover's 2006 classic before. And even if you have, you owe it to yourself to play it and love it all over again. It's utterly sublime.

In a time when sequels, prequels and HD remakes make up the majority of video game releases, we should start to ask ourselves: what really warrants a makeover? Okami is no stranger to the porting process, having been originally released for the PS2 in 2007, and then ported to the Wii in 2008 without even a major graphical overhaul. This latest rendering of Okami HD for the PlayStation Network, however, is a rare gem that earns its place on the current-gen console.

The fourth version of Okami is still the same original, beautiful and uniquely atmospheric production that will capture your hearts - but now available on almost all important hardware platforms.

Okami makes yet another return to modern platforms, now supporting up to 4K resolution, but does little else to justify another purchase for long-time fans.