There is something wonderfully old-school about Akatori. Not in the sense that it feels dated, because this is a game with enough visual ambition and mechanical flexibility to feel thoroughly modern, but in the way it approaches adventure. It wants you to get lost, poke around in places you probably should not be, find something you could not previously reach, and then spend the next few minutes wondering how you ever missed it. Beneath its gorgeous pixel art and colourful worlds lies a familiar metroidvania structure, but Akatori gives that formula enough personality of its own to make the journey feel worth taking.
You play as Mako, a young monk raised at the Firebird Temple, whose life is turned upside down when the mysterious Amber Storms begin corrupting the worlds around her. Nature is twisted, living things are transformed, and the very civilisation that has benefited from amber crystals now finds itself threatened by the same mysterious force. Accompanying Mako is a strange red bird sealed inside her staff, a companion whose true identity and motives gradually become part of the mystery. The relationship between the two provides much of the game’s charm, particularly when the story gives them room to bounce off one another.
What follows is an adventure across five distinct worlds, each filled with dangerous creatures, environmental puzzles, hidden paths, and plenty of reasons to turn around and revisit somewhere you thought you had already explored. Akatori understands that good metroidvania design is about making the player curious rather than simply telling them where to go. There is always another ledge, another blocked passage, or another suspiciously placed object suggesting that there is more to the world than initially meets the eye.
A Monk and Her Mysterious Staff
The staff is the heart of Akatori, and thankfully it is much more than a weapon that happens to look interesting. Mako can use it to smash enemies, but its real value lies in the many ways it interacts with the environment. As new abilities are unlocked, the staff becomes increasingly useful for movement, exploration and puzzle-solving, making it a natural extension of Mako rather than simply another item in her inventory.
That versatility makes exploration particularly satisfying. One moment you might be using the staff to deal with a particularly unpleasant creature, while the next you are gliding across a gap or using it to interact with an ancient mechanism. The best abilities have that lovely Metroidvania quality, where you immediately start thinking about all the places you have already visited that might now be accessible. It is the kind of progression that encourages you to remember your surroundings.
Movement is generally fluid, too. Mako feels responsive when jumping, attacking and navigating hazards, which is particularly important as the game starts asking more of your platforming skills. The staff’s mobility options also add a little personality to traversal, helping Akatori avoid feeling like another standard character with a double jump and a dash bolted onto the usual formula.
Five Worlds, Plenty to Discover
The five worlds form the backbone of the adventure, and variety is one of their biggest strengths. Rather than simply changing the colour palette and calling it a new area, Akatori gives each environment its own identity, atmosphere and mechanical challenges. There are vivid landscapes, strange floating structures, underground catacombs and areas where nature itself appears to have been warped by the Amber Storms.
That corruption is an especially effective visual idea. The world is beautiful, but there is always something slightly off about it. Twisted vegetation and distorted environments suggest that the storms are not merely a conventional weather phenomenon but something much more fundamental. This gives the environments an interesting duality, because you can admire the scenery while simultaneously wondering what happened to make it this way.
Exploration is also helped by the game’s relatively clean approach to mapping. Metroidvanias can sometimes bury the player under icons and markers, turning exploration into a checklist. Akatori generally allows the world itself to do more of the talking, so finding something hidden can feel like your discovery rather than the game’s instruction.
Combat With a Little Bite
The staff is just as important in combat as it is during exploration. Mako is a battle monk, and the game gives her enough offensive options to make fighting feel like an active part of movement rather than something that interrupts it. Attacks can be chained together, aerial encounters can become opportunities for aggressive combinations, and the staff’s versatility gives combat a satisfying rhythm.
There are more than 20 types of regular enemies to contend with, alongside a selection of larger bosses that provide the major tests of Mako’s abilities. Enemy variety matters here because the game expects you to pay attention rather than simply hammer the attack button until everything stops moving. Different threats encourage different approaches, particularly as the environments themselves become more dangerous.
The bosses are where Akatori can become considerably more demanding. Their encounters are designed around recognising patterns, understanding attacks, and making good use of the abilities you have collected along the way. They can occasionally feel tougher than the surrounding platforming suggests they should be, but overcoming a difficult boss provides that satisfying sense that you have genuinely learned something rather than simply acquired enough health to survive.
The Amber Storm Mystery
The story is one of Akatori’s more intriguing aspects, largely because the Amber Storms are woven into both the game’s world and its history. Amber is not simply a mysterious substance that appeared out of nowhere. It has become fundamental to civilisation, providing valuable crystals that have helped societies develop while also representing a potentially devastating curse.
That idea gives the story more weight than a straightforward “save the world” adventure. The very thing that has helped civilisation prosper may also be responsible for its destruction, raising an interesting question about progress, exploitation and consequence. The game does not always explore those ideas with the depth they might deserve, but the underlying concept is strong enough to keep the mystery moving.
Mako herself is an appealing protagonist because she feels like someone discovering the world alongside the player. She is young, inexperienced and facing circumstances considerably larger than herself. Her relationship with the mysterious bird adds another layer of personality, and their exchanges help prevent the story from becoming too solemn.
The Bird in the Staff
The red bird is arguably Akatori’s most memorable character concept. There is clearly more to this creature than meets the eye, and the game wisely keeps its history somewhat mysterious rather than immediately explaining everything. The result is a companion that raises questions every time it speaks or reveals another small piece of information.
The chemistry between Mako and the bird also provides welcome humour. Their relationship has a slightly playful quality that contrasts nicely with the world’s darker elements. The game can be dealing with corrupted nature, ancient mysteries and monstrous enemies one moment, then allow the two characters to have a lighter exchange that reminds you there are still personalities beneath all the mythology.
It is not revolutionary character writing, but it works. More importantly, it gives the adventure an emotional centre beyond simply reaching the next area.
A World That Looks Handmade
Visually, Akatori is one of those games that is difficult to ignore. The combination of crisp pixel-art characters and detailed 3D environments creates a distinctive 2.5D presentation that gives the game a sense of depth. Rather than trying to imitate the exact appearance of a 16-bit classic, it borrows the visual language of that era and then builds something considerably more elaborate around it.
The result is particularly effective when Mako moves through large environments. The pixel art remains sharp and expressive, while the backgrounds provide impressive scale. Floating structures, cavernous spaces and distorted landscapes can feel surprisingly expansive, especially when the camera gives you a moment to appreciate what is around you.
The lighting also contributes considerably to the atmosphere. Bright colours dominate some areas, while darker environments make the corruption caused by the Amber Storms feel more oppressive. There is a genuine sense that considerable care has gone into making each location memorable.
Music That Knows When to Speak
The soundtrack deserves more attention than it might initially receive because it is designed to respond to what is happening on screen. Music can intensify during combat before settling back into something calmer once the danger has passed. It sounds like a simple idea, but when handled properly, it can make the world feel considerably more responsive.
That adaptive approach works especially well during exploration. Quiet sections allow the environmental sounds and music to create a sense of place, while intense encounters bring a sharper energy to the experience. The Eastern-inspired musical influences also suit the game’s monk protagonist and mystical setting without overwhelming the rest of the presentation.
It is another example of Akatori understanding that atmosphere is not created by visuals alone. The combination of art, music and environmental design gives the game a personality that goes beyond its mechanical influences.
Where the Adventure Falters
For all its strengths, Akatori is not without imperfections. Some of its ideas are clearly inspired by familiar metroidvania conventions, and at times the structure feels more traditional than inventive. Players who have spent years exploring the genre may occasionally find themselves predicting what ability or obstacle is coming next.
There are also moments when the difficulty feels uneven. Certain enemies and bosses demand considerably more precision than the surrounding sections, creating occasional spikes that can interrupt the otherwise enjoyable flow. These moments are rarely enough to derail the experience, but they can make some encounters feel more frustrating than challenging.
The story, too, could have pushed some of its themes further. The relationship between Amber, civilisation and the Amber Storms has genuine potential, and there are times when you wish the game would dig deeper into those ideas. Still, the mystery remains engaging enough to encourage you to keep moving forward.
A Charming Adventure With Its Own Identity
What makes Akatori work is not any single feature. It is how its pieces fit together. The staff provides combat and traversal, the worlds provide exploration, the Amber Storms provide mystery, and the relationship between Mako and her strange companion gives the journey a little heart. None of these ideas are entirely unfamiliar, but the combination feels cohesive.
There is also a refreshing sense that the game wants you to enjoy the journey rather than simply rush towards the next objective. Take your time, and there are secrets to uncover, landscapes to admire, and previously inaccessible areas waiting to be revisited. It is a game that rewards curiosity, which is exactly what a good metroidvania should do.
Most importantly, Akatori has personality. In a genre filled with games competing for attention through increasingly complex systems, there is something appealing about a title that knows exactly what it wants to be. It is colourful, mysterious, challenging, and occasionally wonderfully strange.
Verdict
Akatori may not completely reinvent the metroidvania, but it does not need to. Instead, it offers a beautifully presented adventure built around an unusually versatile central mechanic, a likeable protagonist and a mysterious world that constantly encourages exploration. The staff is more than a weapon; the Amber Storms provide a compelling reason to keep uncovering the truth, and the combination of pixel art and 3D environments gives the whole adventure a striking visual identity.
There are familiar genre conventions here, along with a few difficulty spikes and story threads that could have benefited from greater exploration. Yet those shortcomings are outweighed by the game’s charm and consistency. Five distinct worlds, hidden secrets, challenging bosses and a progression system built around discovering new ways to interact with the environment give Mako’s journey enough substance to keep the adventure moving.
Akatori feels like a game made by people who genuinely love the metroidvania genre but also understand the importance of putting their own stamp on it. It is not trying to shout louder than every other game in the room. Instead, it quietly invites you into its strange, colourful world and trusts that curiosity will do the rest. Once you start following Mako and her mysterious red bird into the unknown, it becomes surprisingly hard to turn back.
