Okage: Shadow King

In this unusual role-playing adventure for the PlayStation 2, you must defeat your demons to have any chance of taking over the entire planet. Several people have linked the visual style of this game to that of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the fluid, stop-motion appearance of the three-dimensional characters is not wholly dissimilar to that which may be seen in seasonal television specials. OKAGE: Shadow King is not a novel about the festive season; instead, it is a gloomy fable about opposites that questions fundamental ideas of identity and essence. The player assumes the character of Ari, a young guy who suffers from an extraordinary illness. Ari’s shadow has become a haven for a mighty demon named “Stan.” This demon is growing more and more ingrained in Ari’s existence. Ari sets out on a dangerous and intricate mission to eliminate the planet of seven other competitor demons so that he might free himself and the demon he possesses. Ari suffers from the weight of playing host to Stan, but he is also helped from time to time by the powers that his nightmare has, and the two of them begin to form a symbiotic connection with one another.