Very fun and satisfying gameplay held back by a baffling combo system whose timer is so short it punishes you for playing "too cool" and getting multikills with the same specials that combos feed, because a cleared screen means a reset combo if the next enemy takes too long to show up. Plus weapon specials take time to charge, which is time not killing, which kills your combos.

This along with multiple unlocks being tied in this system makes replaying again and again to go faster become less satisfying instead of more.

Akane is an underappreciated little thing. I care for it dearly.

Largely you can tell the developers cared that they were making Akane even in aspects that aren't fully fleshed out, such as the story or physical presentation of the world: it isn't the most illustrious game in terms of budget, yet it still doesn't stutter or falter in delivering what it wants to.

It's a cute little package. The sound design & soundtrack are excellent and do a great job at vacuum-sealing the aesthetic of putting you in a cyberpunk murder-trance.

Played: Since 2019 | Reviewed: February 2023

Akane fucking rules. Pure high-score-grubbing arcade rush.

Remember when we all learned the term Skinner Box to describe empty feedback loops? Once I set down my cynicism and stopped over-intellectualizing my experience with this game, I realized how good it's been to have in my life.

There's nothing more to Akane than being thrown into an arena and mowing down enemies. All life is subject to a one-hit kill, including yours. You're armed with a katana that you can swing to your stamina's content, your choice of 1 of 6 unlockable guns, and a couple of special moves. However you wish to play, every single press of the button and its corresponding animation and sound effect is satisfying to the gut. The WHOOSH of the sword slicing a rando in half. The BOOM of the laser gun one-shotting an enemy heavy after blasting through 10 guys in a row. The SHING-SHING-SHING of parrying a set of 3 enemy bullets as you run towards the shooter. Goddamn, it all feels good. The story is just a quick table set to let you know you're on a revenge mission, and after you get your ass kicked the 12th time, you'll very much be on one yourself. It works. The missing half-star is reserved for only the most special of perfect experiences, but don't hold that against Akane.

Having such a reliable test of concentration at the ready on my Switch has been an improvement to my recent days. I never fail to slip past the cartoonish bloodshed and right into a zen flow state every session. Akane is a treat that is equal parts serotonin hit and sense of accomplishment to pick me up throughout the day.

Akane is the 2nd game I have played on my steam deck and I feel like this was just made for it. The arcade style combat is just a treat.

Hardly any story for this game but that is fine as this is not needed.

The art style is right up my alley. I'm here for the cyberpunk art style, The music in Akane is a great lofi synth score.
I think it is safe to say the artistic style of this game is for me.

The gameplay is fantastic and feels great.
Very rewarding and feels like a dumbed down version of Hades, nothing wrong with that.

This game is great and for $7.50 it's an easy purchase everyone should play it.


Also the 65hrs isn't the real time I put it in sleep mode and steam still counted the hours. I am unsure how many real hours I've played

Uma mulher, um objetivo e uma chance.
Akane consegue fazer muito com pouco.

Não tenho muito o que dizer além de elogiar esse jogo por ser mecanicamente simples, direto ao ponto e, o mais importante: divertido.

Pra ser bem sincero, minha única crítica é que os desafios/conquistas não podem ser obtidos fora de ordem, o que torna meio chata a tarefa de repetir um feito específico só porque naquele momento ele não era importante. Isso me soa como uma oportunidade perdida de deixar o jogador escolher como quer se desafiar e recompensá-lo pelos seus feitos.

É muito bom ver um jogo indie brasileiro fazendo tão bonito.