SHINONOME ABYSS The Maiden Exorcist is going to confuse some gamers. This is partly because it involves gameplay that’s unique amongst its roguelike action peers. It’s also because the game downloads with an icon and title for a different game. If you buy it and end up downloading Deep Shinonome: Yin-Yang Maiden, don’t panic. You’re good, even if our heroine, Yono, is not.

Yono’s brother is an exorcist, but he’s gone missing. This prompts Yono to become an Onmyouji herself, and it’s not long before she’s called to put her skills to the test in the family villa. Thankfully for her (and, more specifically, us), a helpful tutorial is there to explain the mechanics…because this game requires some explaining.

Basically, you’ve got a top-down view of the various buildings on a room-by-room basis. Each room contains one or more doors to progress through, but behind those doors could be any type of yokai or other spirits, called monomoke. And unfortunately, you’re not given much to counter that threat. You need to figure out how to survive and progress based solely on what you pick up as you make your way through.

They apparently don’t teach exorcists that “the separation’s in the preparation.”

Items include a gun that you can shoot through doors, but your ammunition is limited and the gun isn’t effective against all mononoke. You can lay down a bear trap to eliminate some of the larger ones, but even that may not be enough. So, you have to be clever. Really clever.

For example, certain spirits can’t be shot, but you can guide them to light a fire, and you can then lure other mononoke into that fire. Some rooms are dark when you first enter them, and you’ll need a candle to find and uncover key items. Candles burn out, however, so it’s important to find a lantern or fire to reignite them.

Audio becomes very important, as you’ll eventually learn to pick up on the sound queues to determine what type of and how many enemies are behind a door. Some can be lured out by calling them, for example, and you may find an adjacent room with a spiked pit from which you lure them to their deaths.

There are numerous health pick-ups to be found, but your inventory is limited. If you’re carrying a gun and some ammunition, you may then have to decide whether to hold onto your candle or keep some food handy to replenish your stamina (which decreases as time passes). You can always drop items to pick them up later, but the game does grade you on how quickly you complete the levels, discouraging backtracking. Thankfully, some pick-ups will increase your inventory size.

So, the gameplay centers around learning the layout of the various environments, then figuring out the best way through based on the inventory items you pick up. This means trial and error will eventually win the day…depending on the game mode. WODAN, the developers, provided three. Harai presents predefined puzzles for you to solve as you progress through the story. Misogi, however, randomly generates the maps, tasking you with getting through the first time. Gyou does the same, but at a higher difficulty. These latter two modes raise both the stakes and the replayability.

Visually, SHINONOME ABYSS The Maiden Exorcist is right where it should be. The detailed pixel art does a fantastic job of presenting the numerous mononoke and the environments in a clean, appealing manner, while also providing an appropriately retro feel. It all does start to look the same after a while, but at least it’s never drab.

That carries over to the gameplay, which may be too slow for some players. Although there are some action moments (especially as Yono starts to unlock her own special powers), your ability to pause and plan is what will see you through. Personally, I liked that approach; my favorite roguelikes tend to be the ones that focus on strategy.

I can therefore recommend SHINONOME ABYSS The Maiden Exorcist to two groups: puzzle gamers who don’t mind a bit of action, and roguelike fans who don’t mind a lack of action. That may sound oxymoronic, but those players will know what I mean. I’ll also recommend the game to anyone looking to try something different from the norm. The gameplay here may get repetitive, but not as much as playing yet another platformer for shmup, right?