The Hinokami Chronicles: the first Demon Slayer video game

A controller in your hands, a boy carrying his sister on his back through the snow, and suddenly the first notes of the series. The Hinokami Chronicles does not just put characters in an arena: it has you replay the story, scene by scene, up to the morning when Rengoku faces Akaza. For many fans, it is the best way to relive the first season of Demon Slayer after watching it.

Here is what the game contains, what you do in it, who you can play, for what age, and whether it is still worth it in 2026. Our page on Demon Slayer video games presents the whole series of games.

What is The Hinokami Chronicles?

The Hinokami Chronicles, Hinokami Keppūtan in Japanese, is an arena fighting game combined with a narrative adventure. Its name comes from the Dance of the Fire God, Hinokami Kagura, which Tanjiro inherits from his father. The title makes things clear: the game follows Tanjiro closely, up to the moment he discovers this dance on Mount Natagumo.

The genre deserves an explanation. In an arena fighting game, the characters do not face each other side-on along a line, as in classic fighting games, but move freely through a three-dimensional setting. You run, jump and circle around your opponent, which suits the series’ fights well, made of leaps and blades slicing through the air.

It was developed by CyberConnect2, the Japanese studio known for the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm games, a benchmark among anime-based fighting games. The studio applies the same recipe here: faithful settings, spectacular fights, and cutscenes that reproduce the shots of ufotable’s anime. Our article on ufotable, the Demon Slayer studio presents the team that made the anime.

The game also uses the series’ Japanese voices, which reinforces the impression of playing inside an episode. Our article on the Japanese seiyū of Demon Slayer presents these actors.

The game at a glance

The table sums up the main features of the game, as released in Europe.

The game was updated for more than a year after its release, with free and then paid characters. Its sequel, The Hinokami Chronicles 2, came out in 2025. Our article on The Hinokami Chronicles 2 presents it in detail. You do not need to have played the first to start the second, but the second’s story picks up exactly where the first’s ends, with the departure for the Entertainment District.

Story mode: reliving season 1 and the Mugen Train

Story mode follows Tanjiro from the night his family is massacred to the end of the Mugen Train. The player goes through the stages fans know: training with Urokodaki, the Final Selection, the Drum House, Mount Natagumo, then the train. Each chapter alternates free exploration, narrated scenes and fights.

The structure follows that of the season, episode after episode, with no shortcuts. The pace is that of a story rather than a pure fighting game: you take the time to see Tanjiro’s mother’s face again, Urokodaki’s hut, the streets of Asakusa, before the next demon appears.

Between two fights, the player can wander freely through the series’ settings, talk to the characters and collect memories. The cutscenes reproduce the anime’s key moments, sometimes shot for shot. For those who have seen the series, the emotion comes back intact, and for those who have not, the game tells the main stages of the story.

Story mode stops where season 2 begins, at the Entertainment District, and those who want to know what happens next will find it in the second game or on screen. Our article on Demon Slayer season 1 tells of the episodes the game brings back to life, and the one on the Mugen Train arc the final part.

The boss fights

The highlights of story mode are its boss fights. The player faces the great demons of the first season, each in their own setting: the Drum House, the forest of Mount Natagumo, the carriages of the train. These fights reproduce the demons’ attacks and their transformation phases, as in the anime. Rui’s threads tightening, the drums that rotate the house, the hands emerging from the train seats: each boss has its traps, which you have to learn to avoid.

The key moments are staged with sequences where you have to press the right button at the right time, such as the Dance of the Fire God against Rui. The game seeks the feeling of reliving the scene more than difficulty. A beginner can finish story mode without too much trouble, which makes it a good way in for a fan who has never touched a fighting game. Our article on the best Demon Slayer fights looks back at these battles as they unfold in the story.

Versus mode: two-on-two fights

Alongside the story, versus mode offers arena fights between teams of two characters. You choose a main fighter and a partner, who steps in as support or takes over. Fights are played against the computer or against other players, on the same console or online.

Each character uses the forms of their breathing style: the waves of Water for Tanjiro and Giyu, Thunder for Zenitsu, Beast for Inosuke, Flame for Rengoku. A gauge lets you unleash the most powerful techniques, and an ultimate attack ends the closest fights. A training mode lets you practise each character’s combos before taking on other players. Our page on all the Demon Slayer breathing styles presents these techniques.

The system is easy to pick up, which makes it a good game for two players on the sofa, between brothers and sisters or between friends. The combinations of two characters change the way you play: a Tanjiro and Nezuko duo does not handle like a Rengoku and Giyu duo.

The characters at launch

At release, the game has eighteen playable characters. They include Tanjiro, in his normal version and his Dance of the Fire God version, Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Giyu Tomioka, Shinobu Kocho and Kyojuro Rengoku. More unexpected characters join them: Sakonji Urokodaki, Sabito, Makomo and Murata, the ordinary demon slayer from Mount Natagumo.

Not all of them are available from the start. Urokodaki, Sabito and Makomo unlock after the prologue, Murata after the fifth chapter, Rengoku and Tanjiro’s Dance of the Fire God version after the eighth. Story mode therefore also serves to open up versus mode, which encourages you to finish it before inviting friends round.

Six characters come from Kimetsu Academy, the school parody born from the bonus pages the author slipped into her volumes: Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Giyu and Shinobu in high school versions. These versions change the appearance and a few moves, for the fans’ enjoyment: Giyu as a PE teacher, the trio in school uniform. Our article on the playable characters in The Hinokami Chronicles gives the complete list for both games, and our portrait of Murata, the ordinary demon slayer tells of this endearing character.

Updates and added content

The game grew for more than a year. In November 2021, two demons became playable for free, Rui and Akaza, followed by Yahaba and Susamaru. In December, Enmu, then the Tamayo and Yushiro duo, joined the list. For the first time, you could play as Tanjiro’s opponents. Playing Rui or Akaza against a friend who has chosen Rengoku means replaying the series’ great duels the other way round.

From summer 2022, paid content drawn from the Entertainment District arrived: Tengen Uzui, Nezuko in her awakened form, the trio in their disguises, then Daki and Gyutaro. They are playable in versus mode, but story mode does not cover this arc. All these added characters are automatically included in The Hinokami Chronicles 2, which takes the first game’s complete roster before adding its own. Our article on the Entertainment District arc tells the story of these characters.

A worldwide success

The Hinokami Chronicles passed three million copies shipped worldwide in March 2023, according to figures released by its publishers and reported by Anime News Network. It is a very good result for a game based on an anime, driven by the series’ global popularity after the Mugen Train film. The game came out a year after that film, at a time when Demon Slayer was drawing millions of new viewers all over the world.

This success explains the sequel. Sega and CyberConnect2 first released a board game, Sweep the Board, in 2024, then The Hinokami Chronicles 2 in 2025. Our article on Demon Slayer’s box office records tells of the series’ popularity in cinemas.

From what age?

The game is rated PEGI 16 in Europe, which means it is not recommended for those under sixteen. The reason lies in its violence: necks are cut, blood is shown, and some scenes reproduce the harshness of the anime. In North America, it is rated Teen. These guidelines apply to a child playing alone, with no adult nearby. Consoles and PCs offer parental controls, which also let you limit playing time and online games with strangers.

For a younger fan, it is better to play with them the first few times, or to turn to Sweep the Board, which is more family-friendly. Our article on Demon Slayer, from what age gives guidelines for the series, and our page Demon Slayer for children completes them.

A console in the series’ colours

Between games, the console can take on the series’ colours. Our three-piece case for Nintendo Switch 2 shows Tanjiro and Nezuko carried by a wave, with two matching controller covers. It protects the console from scratches and the small knocks of everyday life, in a bag as on the living room table. It is filed in the controller and Switch cases collection, and the complete Tanjiro Kamado collection gathers everything featuring the game’s hero.

A Demon Slayer gaming desk

For those who play on PC, the desk can also change its look. A resin chibi Tanjiro keycap fits on a mechanical keyboard, in place of the Esc key for example, and our desk mat with a battle collage covers the whole gaming space, in fourteen sizes. A big-head Akaza keycap also exists, for those who prefer to play the demons. They are in the keyboards and keycaps collection and the mouse mats collection.