Fate/Samurai Remnant is an action RPG developed by Omega Force and Kou Shibusawa, released in 2023. This is an entry in the extremely popular Fate series, and it gives us a bit more detail about the time period Miyamoto Musashi comes from, even if it is not specifically "her" original world.

The story follows Miyamoto Iori, a peace-keeping ronin who gets dragged into a Waxing Moon Ritual (basically the same concept as the Holy Grail War from the main series). This happens after he summons a mysterious Saber-class servant while trying to survive an attack by another Master/Servant pair.

Iori is the disciple of the legendary Miyamoto Musashi, who in this specific world was male (and is already dead at the beginning of the story). This creates a really nice reaction when he sees the other Musashi summoned as a servant who is actually a female, the counterpart we all know and love from Fate/Grand Order.

The game is divided into two parts: the main story and free-form exploration. You can consider this game sort of an open world because each map (albeit limited) is filled with side objectives and missions that Iori can challenge. These grant him rewards of various kinds, like equipment, money, or consumables.

There are plenty of mini-games you can pursue, like honing his blade to get some stat boosts or carving Buddha statues. There are also side stories related to each of the summoned servants, shedding more light on their characters and history.

The main story is pretty straightforward, but it has quite a few twists along the way which makes it enjoyable. Iori investigates the ritual to find the source and stop it before it causes more damage to the people living in the city. During this journey, he encounters and befriends various servant and master pairs. The game even allows you to summon and play as some of the Rogue Servants you find in the story.

While the narrative is solid, I do think the disconnect between the open world and the main story (which is quite a streamlined experience) can make you feel a bit estranged. Especially if you spend a few hours exploring between chapters, you might be left thinking, "Wait, what was happening again?"

The story also has multiple endings depending on the choices of the player, but none of them are really considered "canon" in the strictest sense. One of the endings is only unlocked in New Game+, forcing you to play through most of the game again. I still think this final route was a bit of a stretch, with Iori fighting Musashi to the death to decide who gets to use the vessel of the Grail.

I have to say that I enjoyed playing the game, even if I started to feel a bit of fatigue in the second half. It could just be me, as I am not really that into open-world games, but I still suggest this to anyone interested in the Fate series.