Katana ZERO

TL;DR: It's a visceral neon soaked assassination game with a good helping of platforming action and a gripping story delivered through the eyes of a drug fuelled blade with legs while a rocking synth soundtrack plays in the background. If Hotline Miami is LSD then Katana Zero is DMT The 100 deaths per minute arcade play style of Hotline is complemented perfectly by the addition of limited slow-mo. Dashing through a room slicing apart 3 guys and then reflecting a shot back at the sentry that's out of reach will get your blood pumping and satisfies immensely. I love this game I have already finished it twice and have noticed a bunch of secrets I want to go through and try to figure out. The soundtrack is amazing, so much so that i'm dissapointed it's not for sale as DLC. The graphics are great too, typical pixel style but varied environments and the attention to the little details are a treat. Unfortunately you will be left wanting more. At the start you are given your sword, shown to dodge, jump and use slow mo and... that's it. That gameplay never evolves past this basic set of abilities which, while solid with tight controls and animations, apart from 3 special thrown items there is nothing else to use. The game even teases the player about this at one point. There is a certain level where the mechanics change and it's really fun and lets you think of new ways to solve problems but then it's gone never to come back and you feel cheated. All in all it's a must play game if you liked Hotline Miami or SUPERHOT and at the price you will get your monies worth even if you do wish there was more there. Looking forward to their next project.

This game is a masterpiece! From the immersive level desing to the incredible soundtrack, Katana ZERO hits all the marks. Gameplay: One of the things that brings this game together is its control scheme. Whether you prefer to play with a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad the controls are very fluid. You will be rewarded for acurate timing and proper execution and punished for a sloppy approach. The simple but elegant move set allows the player to feel completely in control of Zero at all times, something that is overlooked all too often in action platformers. Level Design: The levels in this game are beautifully crafted. Each area is unique and well detailed. Most levels allow multiple ways to approach and complete them, rewarding several different styles of gameplay. Story: Without spoiling anything I will say that the storyline and character development are fantastic. I appreciated that the choices you make are actually consequential. The story was so enticing that I played it start to finish in one seven and a half hour session (you might be faster, there was a few levels I really struggled with), and plan to play it again to uncover some of the secrets and pick different dialogues. Soundtrack: The soundtrack is one of the best I've heard in a long time. Each track compliments its respective area beautifully. Every song went straight on my playlist. I generally wouldn't give a game a perfect score, in fact, I spent quite some time trying to think of something to fault this game on and came up with nothing. I would absolutely recommend this game to anyone who enjoys platformers.

I had a lot of fun with this title. It reminds me of Hotline Miami and Superhot. Story is interesting and at the same time not overwhelming because it doesn't require to read walls of text. Mechanics are easy to learn and hard to master. I would really like to buy DLC or a sequel!

The story is the usual Devolver plot: drug infused protagonist with amnesia gets on a killing spree with the predictable twist ending. With Bastion this game was one of the most overhyped indie pixel games. It is one of those strategic slashers which is fun for a short while but it loses is flavour faster than a bubblegum. There is just not enough substance to sustain it for longer than two hours. It reminded me a bit of another Devolver game called RONIN. Although that one had a much longer shelf life because it offered some really interesting level design with different strategic approaches and upgrading skills. Meanwhile in Katana Zero you spent half the time doing a point & click story that is quite tedious with it's shock value and rubber reality.

A game should challange it's player and make it's player improve by slowly amping up the difficulty, but never in such a way that you hit a brick wall. Katana Zero does so flawlessly. The smooth and slick movement and combat system is super simple and easy to adapt onseself to- However: It can also be mercilessly hard and push you to your limits, but never in such a way that makes you throw your controller across the room. The game makes you want to see things through and actually complete what you started. You know for a fact that everytime that you die that it is completely your fault, you did a mistake. You did not jump at the right moment, roll, attack, deflect. The game is never "unfair" to you. It is mercilessly fair and should you do a mistake, you will know by dying. The soundtrack is fantastic and it sets the mood perfectly for this dystopian world that we're in. The story is very in depth and complex, you start by not caring at all, since it is a side-scrolling action platform-esque game. However, you do start caring about your character and the characters that surround him. I will recommend this game to anybody at any given time. Amaizng work!