If Folklore were a beefy Japanese stew, the recipe would sound delicious: Take half a pound of Kameo: Elements of Power, season it with some Shadow of Destiny, throw in some diced Pokemon and a dash of Final Fantasy X, and boil it for fifteen to twenty hours in two cups of Silent Hill. Although some of those ingredients are appetizing, the entire dish is only somewhat satisfying, and some bites might leave a bad taste in your mouth. Food analogies aside, Folklore is a strangely compelling title with an intriguing concept, imaginative worlds and charming gameplay, but the presentation is terribly inconsistent and some design choices render parts of the game tedious and repetitive.

The story in the game is pretty interesting. Ellen is a mystified young woman that seemingly lost her mother 17 years ago, who sets out for the bizarre town of Doolin after receiving a cryptic letter with clues about her past. Keats is a reserved reporter for an occult magazine who's used to getting prank phone calls about ghosts and goblins. However, a chillingly realistic call from a woman being attacked by so-called "faerys" convinces him to investigate. Since Keats simply can't resist a good story, he quickly departs for Doolin as instructed by the terrified caller. With its captivating twists a turns, this plot ultimately becomes the major motivation to stick through the game's sluggish first act.

Folks come in many shapes and sizes.

As each chapter begins, you choose to play as either Ellen or Keats. Though each has individual plotlines, their stories intersect while following the game's major events, and you do have to play through as both characters to get the whole story. Serving as the central hub and the place where most of the story unfolds, the gray village of Doolin is lovingly referred to as the "town of the dead." A fitting nickname, as it's actually a passageway to the Netherworld, a place populated by spirits of the recently deceased. Ellen and Keats travel separately to the Netherworld to unlock the memories of the dead, thus helping unravel the mysteries of Doolin and figuring out their personal involvement.

The Netherworld is comprised of realms populated with folks, which are wicked manifestations of the souls of the dead. Folks come in many varieties, from simple plant-like monsters to hulking war machines. Although they are the game's main enemies, their power must be harnessed in order to survive the Netherworld. Every time you hit a folk, its blue soul exits its body temporarily, and will turn a reddish hue after repeated strikes, giving you the opportunity to suck it in and gain the folk's abilities, turning it into an id. Quickly hitting the R1 button and snapping the PS3's Sixaxis controller upward will vacuum the soul into your character, relinquishing powers that range from offensive combos, defensive abilities, elemental attacks and more.

Upon capturing an id, you can map their abilities to the X, Square, Triangle or Circle button for use in battle, with fluid combos allowing you to switch powers mid-attack. Changing ids is as simple as pressing the L2 button to bring up a menu, highlighting the id you fancy and pressing any of the four applicable buttons to lock them in. A quick flick of the controller will confine most ids, but truly foul beasts require a more intricate process of capturing. Some will demand timed motions with the Sixaxis, and others require you to tilt the controller from side to side, repeatedly smashing their souls into the ground before they finally submit. The motion control variety certainly makes for a more interesting game, which might have been less compelling were it all controlled with buttons. Folklore's motion sensing is implemented subtly and effectively, enhancing the overall experience instead of making it a chore.

Speaking of chores, playing through the game from two different perspectives sounds interesting, but the execution does not live up to its potential. As you're seeing the game's events unfold from two points of view, you will often be subjected to the same cutscenes twice. And not only must you traverse the exact same levels over again as a second character, but you essentially have the same objectives leading up to identical bosses - the titular Folklores. This means you'll have to take a boss down once only to have to slay it a second time, which the game doesn't even bother rationalizing. However, the game does make attempts to diversify the experience by offering each protagonist some unique abilities and a few exclusive ids, but it doesn't do much in distracting from the repetition.

An interesting aspect of the level design is the way in which the realms are built sequentially. For instance, you must capture one particular folk to aid in seizing another, which in turn will assist in defeating the boss. Following the sequence is essential, as many folks have weaknesses that can be exploited only by using specific ids. The game also tasks you with upgrading your ids to make them stronger and more efficient. This is done by unlocking their ‘karma', or meeting criteria such as capturing a set number of the same folk, or defeating a particular folk a certain number of times with a specific id. Folklore also comes packed with a basic dungeon editor which lets you create, modify and upload dungeons to share with others online. Building dungeons is rather simple, but it proves a worthwhile feature, as you might invest a considerable amount of time tweaking your creations and playing through others.

The contrast between the game's two halves - investigating Doolin and battling through the Netherworld - is further enhanced by the distinctive graphical style of each location. The realistic Doolin looks like a ‘town of the dead' should, with a depressing color palette and decrepit buildings. The fantastic Netherworld, on the other hand, is vibrant, colorful and varied. The visuals astound with well-designed character and creature models and intricately detailed environments. Stunning explosions, impressive foliage and other remarkable effects also demonstrate the PS3's graphical capabilities. The only visual detraction is the animation, which isn't always smooth.

Rapture it isn't, but the third realm is underwater.

The sound is generally impressive, with music that also plays to the game's duality. Soft, down tempo piano keys that evoke the miserable and somber mood of the village accompany the act of walking through Doolin. Conversely, upbeat musical selections and exciting boss music highlight the battles of the Netherworld. However, the sound effects are only average, not making too much of an impression either way. The game also severely lacks in voice acting, as only the rare cutscene is voiced, and even then, the performances can be cheesy and overacted. Folklore's main issue, aside from having to replay levels, is the presentation. Although some turning points are presented in more contemporary cinematic cutscenes, most are shown in comic book frames with nearly immobile characters speaking through text bubbles. This style obviously conflicts with the rest of the game's atmosphere, and is made worse by tepid, one-dimensional writing.

Folklore certainly has problems, but it will win you over in the end with mostly enjoyable gameplay. Capturing folks, upgrading their abilities and defeating bosses is gratifying enough to merit stomaching the game's awful presentational style. The graphics impress, the sound mostly satisfies, but the cutscenes typically bore the senses, even with the well thought-out plot. Despite these concerns, Folklore still manages to be an overall enchanting experience, albeit difficult to describe. It's not exactly an action game, it isn't really an RPG, and it's not a traditional adventure game. What it is, however, is a game that places most of its eggs in the gameplay basket, and succeeds on many levels in becoming oddly addictive.