A side-scrolling slasher/puzzle game by the guys who made Hotline Miami. The gameplay itself is good enough I suppose, it has levels broken down into "screens" where you have to work your way through, cutting up bad guys. Like Hotline, you and your enemies are 1HKO's which adds to tension, but with any button press it will "rewind" you back to the beginning to try again. This is cool because it fits thematically with the game (we'll get to that) and lets you jump back in after you fail. It becomes NOT cool when you are trying a level for the 20th time and just have to repeat the same motions again and again trying to get things juuuuuust right. Especially the last couple of levels, this was getting a bit out of control for me. Overall it was enjoyable enough to play, but the real meat is in the story.
The main character is often teased as "a guy in a bathrobe", which is a funny way to describe a samurai in a cyberpunk~esque future, but we get to see him work through some psychological issues that show he was a real (maybe?) soldier in the not-too-distant past. Each level has a section with the main character attend a session with a 'therapist' who gives him a medicine that makes the screen and music go wonky. It quickly becomes clear that this Doctor is manipulating you and may or may not be the primary antagonist? You also form a friendship with an adorable neighbor girl (who may or may not be real?). You regularly meet others who share your abilities which is neat, but ultimately just means you can only kill them when the plot says you can. It sets up a very interesting tale but leaves MANY questions open and I think needs a full sequel or two to finish completely and ultimately is a bit unsatisfactory I think in terms of telling a whole story, this is obviously just a part 1 of X.
The main character is often teased as "a guy in a bathrobe", which is a funny way to describe a samurai in a cyberpunk~esque future, but we get to see him work through some psychological issues that show he was a real (maybe?) soldier in the not-too-distant past. Each level has a section with the main character attend a session with a 'therapist' who gives him a medicine that makes the screen and music go wonky. It quickly becomes clear that this Doctor is manipulating you and may or may not be the primary antagonist? You also form a friendship with an adorable neighbor girl (who may or may not be real?). You regularly meet others who share your abilities which is neat, but ultimately just means you can only kill them when the plot says you can. It sets up a very interesting tale but leaves MANY questions open and I think needs a full sequel or two to finish completely and ultimately is a bit unsatisfactory I think in terms of telling a whole story, this is obviously just a part 1 of X.