Quite a few video games have been set during Japan’s Sengoku period, including well-known ones such as Nioh and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (the latter by the team behind this year’s megahit Elden Ring).
Samurai Maiden is another game set in feudal Japan, and stars a 21st century high school student who for reasons unknown has woken up in the Sengoku period after falling asleep in history class.
And while student Tsumugi Tamaori might not be that great at history, she’s good enough to recognize Oda Nobunaga. This is a guy who’s credited with unifying Japan, putting an end to all the fighting between warlords and clans in the Sengoku period.
Of course, while Tsumugi might not be that good at history, it seems her skill with the sword is second to none judging by the game’s trailer below, which showcases the game’s anime-style visuals and action.
Here Tsumugi makes good use of the “evil warding blade” that Oda Nobunaga gives her at the burning temple where the two meet early in the game’s story… Tsumugi also comes across a trio of characters known as “the Gokage” in her adventure. These are three female ninjas who will help her defeat the horde of undead that is plaguing 16th century Japan.
Aside from groups of enemies to cut down while playing as Tsumugi, there will also be tough undead boss enemies to take down in the game. Thankfully, Tsumugi and the Gokage girls will be able to team up in order to perform combo attacks in order to defeat these powerful enemies.
Aside from this, there are several special abilities you can unlock in the game. For this you need to build up Tsumugi’s relationship with the Gokage ninjas, suggesting the game has an RPG component of some sort aside from the third-person samurai action…
Japanese company D3publisher is yet to announce an exact release date for their upcoming game, and has only specified that Samurai Maiden is arriving this winter, so those looking forward to play this don’t have that long to wait, then. The game will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC (on the Steam store).
Also, it remains to be seen whether this will be as hard as other Sengoku-era action games such as Nioh and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This seems unlikely taking into account that the latter is one of the hardest games ever made, but nonetheless, here’s hoping that Samurai Maiden offers a fun and challenging experience when it arrives this winter.