Katana Zero (2019)

This game might be the biggest case of nostalgia glasses I've ever had. In my head I had always remembered this being like a 9/10 game that I love, but after replaying it, it's honestly closer to a 5 out of 10 for me, with it only being bumped to a 6 because of hard mode being more fun.

First on the gameplay side, the base game is just too easy. I know technically it can be harder by not using the time stop mechanic, but I feel like that's a cop out. Hard mode is how hard I think the game should have been in the first place. I also feel like sometimes the movement just wasn't smooth and responsive enough, especially where stairs are involved, but that might just be a get good moment.

The visuals are great, I have nothing to complain about on that aspect. I do have to say though, I feel like the music was kind of lacking, it wasn't bad, but besides the main theme that this game is known for, I wasn't impressed by the sound offering.

The story was fine, but I felt like it was purposefully trying to be cool and hard to understand to a fault. This is not helped by the random ending spot of the game because the funding ran out. That's not the fault of the developer but idk, nothing about the story engaged me.

I didn't do the secret boss fight even though I originally planned to because I was just bored of the game at that point and didn't feel like doing it. IDK maybe i'll do it when the DLC comes out.

Overall, I was massively dissapointed coming back to this game. Everything besides how nice the game looks I rememberd with way too high of prestige, the gameplay, soundtrack, story, and length of the game were all worse than I remembner. In the end, I will play the DLC since it will be free, but this is definitely not one of my top indie games anymore. Light 6/10

This next part is just a small rant about how hard it is to rate things. I give this game and Firewatch the same rating, bu this game is definitely better than Firewatch, but at the same time I don't want to bump this up to a 7 or Firewatch down to a 5. At the same time, making a giant numbered list of what game is better than what game also is flawed, so I guess this is just something you have to deal with when rating stuff.

Katana Zero is a 2d action game with gameplay that resembles the Hotline Miami formula where you enter a room and have to kill a bunch of guys in one try. TLDR: if you enjoy that gameplay, then you will probably enjoy those games.

The gameplay builds on this formula in a few ways. The two most obvious is the perspective but also the abilities. This game is 2d like Hotline Miami, but not top down. It's a standard 2d platformer instead. The game also has abilities that allow you to slow time, get an invincibility dodge, and one REALLY COOL one in only one section of the game (I don't want to spoil it but if you've played the game, you know what I'm talking about). The game play at the end of the day is exactly what you would expect. Fun for the 4-5 hours that this game takes to complete, but nothing too spectacular.

The visuals and sound are another great aspect of the game. I actually can't think of a game that does pixel art animations as well as this game. In certain cutscenes, the characters' animations are super realistic, to the point where it doesn't feel like pixel art, but more you're just looking at the world through a filter. The art team did an outstanding job. The music team also did quite well. The protagonist plays this electronic/techno music that fits the mood quite well. Just what you'd expect from this kind of setup.

Finally, the story is something I wasn't expecting to be the way it is. It feels like the game thinks it's strongest aspect is its story. While it's not bad, it feels like a lot too much. The story is one where you are drip fed information as the story goes on. That's fine and all, but the amount of information they need to tell is a lot considering the length of the game. If you're into weird sci-fi plots with twists, memory loss, and government conspiracies, you'll probably get a kick out of the story.

Overall, the game doesn't do anything bad, but nothing stellar, except for the pixel art animation. Considering it's a short experience though, it's a good pick up if you're looking to play something short and complete.

6/10

UPDATE: I played this on game pass so I wasn't aware of the price, but it's $15 on steam. Definitely only buy this on sale. It's worth $10 MAX.

I am enjoying my time with Katana Zero. It shines when you have multiple tools at your disposal and dive into a room to take out bunch of enemies: reflect a bullet with your sword to kill one, fling a knife at another, and then roll behind a third to get behind his shield and end him.

There are a lot of parallels with Hotline Miami in its bizarre, hyper-violent, drug filled story. However, the gameplay of Katana Zero is more of an assassin puzzle than the seat-of-your-pants, grab any weapon you can to get out alive.

Just finished this for no less than the fourth time! I didn't think I did that with games anymore - not since I completed the original Bioshock twelve times at least! Fair to say I'm a fan!

I just love the dialogue and interrupt system, the plot and themes are compelling, the combat is uncomplicated but satisfying (and fun to speedrun), and secrets like the goddamn secret boss I just beat are incredible!