Demon Slayer makes it’s worldwide video game debut with the release of “The Hinokami Chronicles”. Based on the source and anime of the same name the game follows the plot line of the first couple of arcs with Tanjiro Kamado looking for the demon who turned his sister Nezuko and slaughtered their family.

Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles is a 2021 fighting game, it is developed by CyberConnect2 and published by SEGA. It is currently available on PC and console.

Editor’s Note: A Playstation review code for Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles was provided by Sega in support of this review. Spoilers for Hinokami Chronicles, the source material of Demon Slayer, as well as the anime may be present within this review.

Demon Slayer makes it’s console debut in Hinokami Chronicles.

So fun fact, I’ve only just recently began watching Demon Slayer as well as the film. And with season two having begun the video game came at an absolute perfect time for anyone looking for more content. Granted the fighting game’s story mode is a recap of the source and anime it’s the combat that steals the show. If you’re familiar with CyberConnect2’s Naruto Ultimate Ninja franchise then you’ll feel right at home playing The Hinokami Chronicles.

Hinokami Chronicles is a great retelling for those who haven’t seen the anime or read the manga.

THE GOOD: With the new season of Demon Slayer out for the sake of new viewers I’m going to keep spoilers to a minimum due to late bloomers possibly choosing now to jump in. That being said, the basic premise of the series is that Tanjiro Kamado is looking for revenge against a demon who killed his entire family and ended up turning his little sister Nezuko (the only surviving member of his family’s attack) into a demon herself. Tanjiro gets training to become a Demon Slayer to find & kill said demon hoping to return Nezuko’s humanity. Along his journey he joins up with fellow Demon Slayers Zenitsu & Inosuke. This is where much of the game’s story mode is based upon with it following rather closely to the source material. There’s some exploration with some of the game’s maps which lets players find bonuses and such.

If you played CyberConnect2’s previous fighter franchise Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm then fans of that franchise will be very happy. Hinokami Chronicles plays more or less exactly like Ultimate Ninja Storm. You can guard, dash, combo, and special attack in similar fashion with some minor additions to keep the engine feeling a bit fresh. There’s boss battles in the story mode that are based on the bigger villains from the anime and CyberConnect2 have always been pretty great with boss fights. Admittedly, Demon Slayer’s bosses aren’t as epic feeling as the bosses in Ultimate Ninja Storm, but they get the job done.

Relive Demon Slayer’s greatest moments with Hinokami Chronicles.

There’s a versus mode where players can face off in online or local multiplayer combat. Unlike UNS where it was a team of three, here you’re set to a team of two characters. You can switch between characters mid-battle or use them for attack assist when able. If you choose to play as a demon you’re forced to play alone. Demons have unique gauges &!abilities from the human characters such as healing. It’s a neat additional twist to the gameplay mechanics & can even act as an artificial version of competitive play when playing with friends. Honestly much of the gameplay’s creativity stems from the demon gameplay, which admittedly felt like an odd choice. Story mode acts as an adventure mode where you progress through a road map of canonical events from the anime & source.

Hinokami Chronicles features a quasi-open Adventure mode map.

THE BAD: While it’s easy to look past the fact that this is the first in what’s likely to be a series of titles Hinokami Chronicles currently lacks a competitive feel. I compared it earlier to Ultimate Ninja Storm in gameplay, but UNS could be extremely competitive feeling. Hinokami Chronicles often feels a bit too much like a button masher. This was likely due to CyberConnect2 taking into account the large influx of Demon Slayer fans since the anime began airing and the franchise’s overall subsequent rise in popularity who have likely never played anime fighters before. If that’s what they were going for then it makes sense, but I can see veteran fighting game players having a lack of interest in Hinokami Chronicles beyond the initial playthrough.

Fans familiar to CyberConnect2’s past fighters will feel right at home.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles is a great opening run for a traditional console game based on the insanely popular anime & manga franchise. Though it lacks a competitive edge, it does a great job of maintaining the spirit of CyberConnect2’s game design style as well as the source material it covers. It’s perfect for those who don’t have a prior history with anime fighters of the past and can only get better for veteran players in the future. I’d also recommend it for those who want an easier way to digest the series canon if they don’t have a lot of free to go all in with a binge of the anime or manga.