The Craft of the Samurai (2021)

Developer: Evgeniy Sevostyanov
Genres: Casual, Indie
Rating: 4.3 of 5, 27 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 31 minutes
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A short, text-driven visual novel that feels like a classic Japanese jidaigeki film, focusing on dramatic dialogue and linear storytelling.

atmosphericcinematicdramatictext-basedlinearhistoricalviolentstory rich

What players say

Players describe this as a very short, linear visual novel with no choices, taking under an hour to read. The art and music are praised, but many wish there were more illustrations to match the narrative. Some reviewers call it a faithful homage to classic samurai cinema, while others find the writing amateurish and the story too simple.

Screenshots

More games like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.