Akaneiro: Demon Hunters is a free-to-play role-playing game. Its setting is strongly influenced by Japanese mythology and Little Red Riding Hood. The player takes control over a Red Hunter, a member of a demon-hunting society. As expected, the story involves hunting demons but plays practically no role besides a few lines before missions and one dialogue in the beginning.
Combat is action-based with a fighting system similar to Diablo: clicking on enemies until they die. The player has two ways of attacking: using a melee weapon (there is no standard ranged attack) or one of the 18 energy-consuming special abilities divided into prowess (damage), fortitude (defense) or cunning (range, evasion and traps). Those three fractions are also the base of the three classes available when starting a new character. However, besides a small stat bonus and the starting ability, the class has no major effect: all abilities can be purchased by all classes, although the ones matching the class are cheaper.
The main hub is Yomi village in which the player can visit various shops and choose the next linear mission area. However, the player has to decide on three abilities before it starts. These missions and killed monsters bring three rewards: equipment, experience (earning enough results in a level up which improves the three character stats) and karma. Karma is the game’s currency; it is used to purchase equipment, abilities and more quest areas. It also allows to be resurrected when dying on a mission; otherwise the player loses all progress and has to start again. Of course this is where the free-to-play model comes in: karma can also purchased with real money. The game can be “bought” with a one-time transaction to unlock all quest areas at once. Experience is limited per area, i.e. a player who does not spend money eventually has to farm karma without actually progressing the character.
Additionally the game features the possibility to invoke another player’s character to help in combat. This idea is obviously based on co-op modes popular in other games, but here the character is controlled by the AI. The advantage for the invoked character is earned experience.
