An Okami sequel is on the way, nearly two decades later

There were several major surprise announcements during this year’s edition of The Game Awards, but perhaps none was quite as out of the blue as word of a sequel to Okami. Not only that, the original game’s director, Hideki Kamiya, is at the helm.

« Okami is a game critically acclaimed for its unique world, heartwarming story, and exciting adventures, » publisher Capcom said in the teaser’s YouTube description. « Now, a new adventure in the same vein as Okami has been set in motion. » Details are thin so far. Production is just about to get underway.

Kamiya also directed Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe during his first stint at Konami, before leaving to form PlatinumGames. It emerged last year that Kamiya was departing the Bayonetta studio. Now we know that he’s part of a new studio, Clovers, which is making this sequel alongside M-Two Inc Machine Head Works. (The shuttered Capcom subsidiary Clover Studio made the original.)

Okami is one of the greatest examples of video games as an art form. As Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess that takes the form of a white wolf, you use a paintbrush to help solve puzzles and defeat enemies. The 2006 game had an unforgettable look, but it was stylized to bolster performance on the PlayStation 2. With much more powerful hardware at their disposal, Kamiya, the studios and Capcom have the potential to deliver a sequel that’s visually more than worthy of Okami.