Homura Hime Review – Persistent Scars, Effervescent Hearts

Indie games have become far more respected in recent years, though there is still an undeniable disdain many affix to the medium. After all, besides the handful of culturally-defining breakout hits, the vast majority are not given the time of day, sometimes even perceived as imitations or mockeries of the past, lacking marketing and budget. Still, while you can’t change someone’s tastes, you can keep them informed. And in the case of the Crimson Dusk-developed Homura Hime, I feel like this action title has the capacity to appeal to practically every fan of the genre, becoming a must-play hit that stands toe-to-toe with the all-timers.

Story and Setting

Homura Hime is set in a world where humans and demons coexist, though that apparent status quo is haphazard, to say the least. Intensely corrupted and regretful souls can transform into archdemons, contaminating their surroundings. Exorcists combat these threats, and titular protagonist Homura Hime is a new proficient addition to the cause. Alongside her aide Ann, the duo heads out on a journey of intrinsic worldly purification. Yet, this journey isn’t quite as straightforward as it initially appears.

While Homura Hime is an action game first and foremost, its narrative ended up being a more prominent, compelling focus than I expected. Amidst Homura’s traditional journey of reasonably foreseen twists and turns, the missions she and Ann undergo have their fair share of brief lore documents and memorable characterizations from the archdemons that effectively allude to upcoming events. It’s not a masterclass by any means, but I did build a genuine investment in this setting, and I also bought into Homura’s and Ann’s bond, built off of contrasting personalities. Admittedly, the archdemons are what surprised me the most; despite their brief screentime, there’s plenty you can gather about their histories, goals, and relationships. There’s a steadily strong story here, being a favorable supplement to the central appeal, the combat.

Combat System and Combos

To be entirely candid, the battles throughout Homura Hime are some of the most gripping experiences I’ve had in the action genre as a whole, thanks to a vast array of thoughtful, intertwining systems. Homura’s combos boast deliberate weight and impactful speed, coalescing into distinct combos earned at a digestible pace. Currency earned from stages and fights is partially used to learn new techniques, giving you time to familiarize yourself with each application before your toolkit expands. There’s an element of player agency here as well since you’re able to choose which abilities you desire from across a decent selection.

Combos function as you’d expect, comprising specific button combinations between light and heavy attacks alongside spaced inputs. Homura only has one of these close-ranged weapons at her disposal, which, while limited, promises that it’s utilized to its greatest extent. Personally, I had no issue with this whatsoever, given the evident self-expression in how you choose to approach fights.

On the other hand, ranged tools vary pretty dramatically. Referred to as Blessed Shots, they start out with back-to-back projectiles before additional variations arrive, with evident pros and cons. Interestingly, you’re able to equip and swap between multiple types of these ranged shots mid-battle, making it the arguably most malleable facet of your toolkit. They can’t be spammed ceaselessly; a gauge dictates the usability of these moves, though it automatically recovers by itself, ensuring the swift pacing isn’t impeded.

Enemy Design and Mechanics

Enemy design is consistently a highlight here, with each foe having distinct appearances, movesets, and counters that double the delight when executed in tandem. The core of this loop lies in enemy attacks that appear in different colors, each requiring a different reaction. Red relies on parrying, while yellow involves complete avoidance. When also considering that foes can have protective barriers that can only be destroyed by melee or Blessed Shots, depending on what hue they exude, there is plenty to actively consider in the moment, especially in the later hours.

Bolstering these systems is special skills triggered when holding the triggers and face buttons. In addition to these attacks all being notable in their synergized capabilities, they’re recharged through offensive action. This design choice incentivizes relentless assaults, reinforced by how quick parries are; they can be pulled off and cancelled in the midst of movement, creating a gratifying cycle.

Parry System Analysis

Unfortunately, the one semi-major gripe I found myself having with this combat system resides in its parries, which are essentially a double-edged sword in hindsight. While their swiftness and fluidity complement the pacing of each fight, it results in too much leeway. To elaborate, when a red attack is signaled, the incoming arrival is not uniform. Instead, the actual impact differs depending on the foe and the specific attack they unleash. Ordinarily, you’d have to time the parry to align with that impact, but since the parry here can be turned on and off so rapidly, you can sometimes get away with spamming once you see the telegraph.

To be clear, this isn’t an overarching, incessant problem across literally every encounter, since groups and bosses put a wrench into the potential parry spamming. Still, it felt frequent enough to mention. Ideally, making the parry activation timing stricter or lengthening the cooldown per success would’ve rectified this issue. Then again, I adore the general swiftness coating the gameplay loop anyway, so I ultimately find this tradeoff worthwhile in the long run. Plus, later encounters can become veritably challenging.

Circling back to battles, one of the more memorable mechanics is domains. Especially powerful foes or bosses emit these field-altering effects once they hit a certain HP gate. My issue with parrying is somewhat mitigated here, since domains are eliminated only when you either completely deplete a foe’s barrier or counter their attacks. Failure requires a restart, making it a welcome punishment and thereby making the eventual overcoming of these scenarios all the sweeter.

Level Design and Exploration

Impressively, Homura Hime also thrives in its level design. Despite the primarily understandable linearity, there are still several platforming sections, collectibles, and side paths that are well worth trekking off the beaten path. Notable rewards include Life Crystals and Blessed Crystals, which increase your maximum health and Blessed Shot capacities. Currency en masse can also be gathered from destructible objects, which, besides being used for learning new skills and combos, can be redeemed for Omamori.

These items function as your equipment, providing passive stat boons, such as raised attack or defense. Thankfully, these pieces of gear are more like tools you’ll occasionally ponder than frequent considerations. This is still an action game, and it never loses sight of that ambition. The standout event that occurs throughout the stages is the minigame to retrieve wandering heads belonging to the central vendor, Kushinada. They’re really just brief escapades to spice up the stages a tad.

Technical Performance and Bugs

Before concluding, one final point I should mention regards bugs. I did play an early pre-release build that was explicitly not final, so my experience with the following aspects may not match the final release. For instance, audio would rarely warp for a few seconds, the camera would act up in tight spaces, and most noticeably, the dialogue text that shows during gameplay was bizarrely minuscule. None of these problems really impacted me all that significantly, to be clear, yet they were all undeniably noticeable. Framerate and performance were positive overall, though, with persistent stability.

Final Verdict on Homura Hime

It’s rare for an action game to click from beginning to end, but Homura Hime impressively manages to embody that exotic abnormality. Phenomenal enemy design, combo variations, and character growth are bolstered by efficient level design and a genuinely enthralling story. While the parry system and minor avenues of meager polish are present, they don’t detract from an otherwise excellent action experience that I firmly recommend to anyone even remotely intrigued.