We’re getting an Okami 2, with Hideki Kamiya at the reins

Capcom are working on a sequel to Okami, the wonderful 2006 Zelda-like in which you play a sun goddess in a wolf’s body, roaming a world of ink and parchment. It’s being co-developed by M-TWO Inc, Machine Head Works Inc and CLOVERS Inc, and directed by original Okami game director Hideki Kamiya. I am tickled pink, I tell you. Find a trailer below.

There’s not much to share at this stage – the game doesn’t even have a formal title – but we do have a little blurb from Capcom. Here it be: “Okami is a game critically acclaimed for its unique world, heartwarming story, and exciting adventures. Now, a new adventure in the same vein as Okami has been set in motion.”

The trailer is a departure from the sumi-e-inspired visuals of the original game – it’s gaudier and, er, hairier. Perhaps a bit too busy for comfort, next to the crowded but crisp scrollwork of the first one. But there are plenty of familiar sights: the goddess Amaterasu herself, galloping through verdant fields, the spinning Reflector dish on her back, and the Celestial Brush dropping cheekily into view at the end.

I was not expecting a new Okami game in this, the year 2024. (I wasn’t expecting a new Onimusha, either. Nice work, Capcom.) The first one is perhaps less amazing in hindsight – it’s messy in a way Zelda isn’t, with some stodgy action-RPG elements and some repetitive fights. But my goodness, it has vision and heart and imagination in spades. I still play the intro movie now and then to perk myself up. I never did get round to playing Ōkamiden, the Nintendo DS spin-off. Time to change that, perhaps.

It’s something of a homecoming for Kamiya, who left Capcom to co-found PlatinumGames back in 2006. Last year, he left Platinum to go independent, commenting that he would “continue to create in my Hideki Kamiya way”. He’s been hinting about ideas for an Okami sequel for years.

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