Kodoku

Kodoku is a horror action-adventure game with an emphasis on stealth elements. The game draws on the rich Japanese culture and art, and its main inspirations are films, books and comic horrors from that country. The game was created by Carnivore Studio, and the project itself was created as part of Sony's program addressed to independent artists.

Plot

In Japanese folklore, the name Kodoku means a kind of toxic magic used to poison, cause misfortune or kill a person exposed to it. To create it, witches closed the most dangerous insects in one pot, allowing them to eliminate each other. The juice of the survivor was used to create poison. Kodoku is also the name of a gloomy island where the game takes place. This place was abandoned by people a long time ago, and the power on the island was taken over by condemned souls and demons from old Japanese legends. It is also the place where the protagonist of the story ends up - a collector of books, whose obsession has become the acquisition of a rare bibliophilic volume. All the clues indicate that the desired book is located in this ghostly place.

Mechanics

The aim of Kodoku is to find a way to escape from the cursed island and to discover the origin of the supernatural power that rules this place. During the exploration, we will find documents, which will prove to be a valuable hint to solve the puzzle of Kodoku. Our protagonist will often have to face the evil powers of the island, which will prove to be an extremely demanding task - the main character doesn't have any traditional weapons. Instead, following the example of classic stealth games, the way to survive is to flee, hide in the dark and distract opponents. Our character is equipped with the ability to determine the location of opponents by listening to their sounds and the ability to concentrate, allowing him to predict where the threat will come from. Also, the collector has magical talents, thanks to which he can prepare spells using an advanced crafting system. Theses spells will allow us, for example, to remain undetected by demons. They will also help in solving some puzzles.

Technical aspects

As for the visuals, Kodoku takes a lot of inspirations from Japanese culture and art. Unusual graphic style and colors bring to mind the popular comics and animated films created in this country. All of these elements contribute to the originality and uniqueness of Kodoku.

Last updated on 28 January 2014