Developed by Good Catch Games and now updated with online multiplayer. You can now battle your friends in Black & White Bushido from the comfort of your home.
WHAT IS BLACK & WHITE BUSHIDO
Set in a world where light and shadow existed in parallel, but are now separated after an eclipse shattered the fabric of reality. Now, each battle for survival using their element to their advantage. Black and White Bushido is a 2D arena brawler that pits you against either the light or shadow. Each team can move about the stage covertly when moving through their respective colours. You must fight for control of the objective, environment and items while hiding from your foes. Playing mind games with your opponent is an important skill in this game and one you’ll learn quickly when playing.
DESIGN
Just starting up Black and White Bushido was a treat. Before diving into the game, you get a short animation that is beautifully done and shows off how well you can make something using only a contrast of two basic colours. This same artistic design is matched across all seven stages, with the seventh stage being hidden behind a mysterious lock which can only be broken by fulfilling a specific requirement.
What makes Bushido unique is the black and white light shafts that blend with your characters’ colour – you turn invisible when standing still or walking; when you move, you’re just a light grey. This means controlling the map and positioning is fairly important if you want to survive very long.
GAMEPLAY
In Bushido, up to four players can compete in teams composed of either light or shadow characters within the two different battle modes: capture the flag and deathmatch. There is also a challenge mode which is only single player.
You can play as four different characters: a Samurai, Nobushi, a man wielding a large hammer and a stylish female thief. All the characters handle the same and only differ in design. Your main method of attacking is the omni-directional lunge which leaves you vulnerable if you miss your target. Items also spawn throughout the stage that will help you in dispatching your opponent.
Combining this with the stealth-mechanics, you have to tread very carefully – especially if you are in the enemy’s colour. You never know where they might be hiding – perhaps using items as bait to lure you out and reveal yourself.
CAPTURE THE FLAG
Capture the Flag is the mode where the stealth mechanics of this game really shine. Each time the flag is captured the light shafts shift in favour of the team which captured the flag last. The goal is to capture the flags enough times to fill the entire stage with your colour.
DEATHMATCH
In Deathmatch the objective is simple. Killing the opposing team the required amount of times before they kill you that many times. In this mode the light shafts cannot be controlled and will change at random from where they will appear to which colour. Sometimes the light shafts can fill up the entire screen with only one colour, inciting some harrowing moments as one team is forced to run away.
CHALLENGE MODE
Challenge mode is a solo player experience which is designed to help you hone your skills for multiplayer. These challenges can range from taking down the enemy from above, standing still for 8 seconds without dying and so forth.
ITEMS
Three items randomly spawn throughout the stage: a shuriken that kills instantly if it hits, caltrops if stepped in that cause you to bleed everywhere thus revealing you, and the smoke bomb. The smoke bomb deserves a little bit more explanation. The first time you use the smoke bomb you’ll notice that your character places it on the ground, and the second time you use it, you will be teleported back to wherever you placed the bomb. It’s a great way to move across the map quickly and stop the enemy team from capping a flag.
Overall, Black and White Bushido offers an original twist to a battle game that has you playing mind games with your opponents. It’s a relatively cheap title that offers many hours of fun, on top of being easy to learn as you play and being available across a range of gaming platforms.
