Skipmore is a small Japanese indie developer that has released a couple of 3DS games in recent years. Both Fairune and it's sequel received a lot of praise from various gaming outlets due to their cheap price, great soundtracks and simple gameplay. Kamiko looks set to follow in the footsteps of it's predecessors.

The game starts off with you having to pick one of the 3 heroes of the game. Each of the girls has a different weapon to use and this will alter how the combat will be while exploring the world.

Yamoto is a sword user who's speciality is close combat. Uzume uses a bow, which means that long distance attacks are her forte. Last up we have Hinome, who uses both a sword and shield. She is kinda of a mixture of both characters as she can toss her shield as a projectile but also use her short sword if enemies attack her at close range.

Once you have decided on your hero of choice, it's time to set out on your adventure.

The game is broken up into 4 separate worlds. While there are similar elements to each of the worlds, they do have their own distinct look and feel. The main objective for each of these stages is to light 4 beacons which are usually positioned in the middle of the world. Once lit, a new gateway will open and you can then fight the boss of that area.

To light up the 4 beacons you will have to find 4 different altars that are scattered across the world. After using an altar, one of the beacons will light up. To help the player know where to look, the beacon that is lit is relative to where the altar is. For example, use an altar in the bottom right of the map and the bottom right beacon will light up. This helps the player to know what area of the world they have explored and gives a subtle hint as to where to go next, without having a big arrow pointing on the screen.

So, how do you go about using these altars and generally navigating the world? As mentioned before, each of the heroes has their own combat style. You use these attacks to defeat enemies, who then dish out combo points. These points fill up a bar that is located just beneath your health meter. The key here is to keep that combo going as long as you can by chaining enemy kills. If you get one kill then you get 1 point, 2 kills get you 2 points, 3 kills...you get the idea. These points are given to the player every time you hit a new combo number. It's not a case of reaching a combo of 50 and then just getting 50 points, as you get points every time the increment is increased.

Once you have earned yourself a nice amount of combo points you can use them to open up the chests that are hidden around each level, open locked doors or pour them into the altars to light the beacons. While you may worry about wasting points or not having enough for what you need, the enemies respawn all the time, meaning that you will have an endless supply at your disposal.

Another use for the combo points meter is a special attack. If you hold down your attack button for a few seconds then you will unleash a powerful move that will take care of most the enemies on screen. This will cost you points and to be honest, outside of a mandatory use, I never really used it in the game.

The game does have a few puzzles but nothing that will trouble seasoned gamers. Unlike Fairune, which left me scratching my heads a few times, the puzzles here are mostly just grabbing an item and then carrying it to a specific place. While easy, your progress can be hampered if hit by an enemy while carrying said item. If you get hit then the item is dropped and you have to go pick it up again.

Both the combat and puzzles are the complete opposite of Skipmore's previous games. In the Fairune games there is no real combat (you just run into enemies to defeat them) and the puzzles are quite obscure at times. Here, the combat is an essential part of the game and the puzzles quite simple.

Now, for what will no doubt be the biggest sticking point for a lot of people, which is the length of the game. I'm not going to sugar coat it, the game is short. My first play through was around the 50 minute mark and then the next two were 30 minutes and finally 20 minutes. Each run got faster and faster due to the levels becoming more familiar to me. While this is true of any game, many may find this a large negative due to how short their first run through is.

A big plus though is that the game is priced at under £5.00. Had it been priced higher then I imagine many would have been turned off by it and not seen the value in it. As it stands, it seems to be charting well in the eShop, so it is priced right.

Nintendo has spoken about wanting to court indie developers that will offer new experiences and exclusive games on the Switch. For me, this game has been a great get by Nintendo and it was honestly a reason why I wanted to buy my Switch this weekend. It proves that indie games do have their place in this industry and also that it's not just AAA games or things like Mario or Zelda that can have pulling power on gamers.

Skipmore have shown that they are more than a one trick pony and, despite having a similar visual style, have delivered a game that is very much mechanically an opposite of their previous games. I do hope that their relationship with Nintendo continues.