Check out 10 mins of anime slashin’ action from Samurai Maiden

Slash Fiction

D3 Publisher has released a 10-minute gameplay video of its anime hack ‘n’ slash adventure Samurai Maiden. Developed by Japanese studio Shade, the action-packed tale of swords and sorcery will hit PlayStation, PC and Nintendo Switch platforms in early December.

Utilizing the time-honored marriage of anime schoolgirls and time travel, Samurai Maiden sees a young lass from the 21st Century whisked back to Sengoku era Japan where, accompanied by her newfound friends, our hero takes up steel against a deathly army of monsters and ghouls. As she battles her way through the underworld, our young maiden will mastery the ancient art of the samurai, defeating ungodly creatures on her journey to return to her own time.

Despite the overall cheesiness of the characters and setup, I have to admit that I think Samurai Maiden looks pretty sharp (pun fully intended). I’m digging the super-colorful locations, the crazy-creepy enemy design, and the slick-looking combat. The visual effects also aren’t to be sniffed at. The action appears to move both smoothly and with precision, and overall it looks like it could be a fun, low-key, way to spend a lazy weekend… Even if you do gotta roll your eyes a little at the game’s “kiss other girls to power up” mechanic.

I mean, that’s never worked for me, and I’ve tried it over three times in my life.

Samurai Maiden launches worldwide, December 8, on PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch platforms.