Asking, "is this game good?" is the wrong question.
Asking, "is this game for me?" is closer to the right one.
I picked this up based on its looks, and it gave me a lot to look at.

Killer is Dead is a noir A24 arthouse movie disguised as a grindhouse character action game. Is there a plot? Technically, yes. Taking anything at face value will leave you confused. There are cyborgs, unicorns, aliens, ghosts, and lots of sexy women. If you want answers, you'll have to dig. Here is an excellent essay on the themes, gameplay symbolism, and visual motifs if you want an idea on how the game's operating. I would say its a spoiler, since it talks about the ending of the game, but I also did not discern many of the plot points from my playthrough of the game, so it almost feels more accurate to say the game is a spoiler for the analysis of itself.

Killer Is Dead is smaller in scope than other character action games around the same time, as it is made by a smaller studio. At times it can feel unpolished, with some screen tearing, and the visuals are extremely stylized in a way that hides how sparse some of the level designs are. Some of the game mechanics feel inconsistent, but combat isn't that difficult, so I never felt frustrated.

Surprisingly, I found the game easier and more fun to play on the Hard difficulty setting, as the increased enemy aggression gives you more opportunities to use the dodge-at-the-last-second-to-activate-bullet-time mechanic. There are unlockable new moves, abilities, and situationally useful tools that I didn't realize how to unlock until like my third playthrough and therefore never used that add some variety, so your first playthrough won't be indicative of the game's feel with a complete moveset.

An element of the game I was oblivious to going in was the wooing of sexy ladies. Defeating enemies in levels upgrades your character, but the reward money for completing levels is entirely used to buy presents for your girlfriends of expensive tastes. These "dates" consist of stealing looks at your lady's body, (when she's not looking, so you don't kill the mood), until you build up enough courage to give her a present. Give her enough presents she likes, and she'll let you stay the night. Succeed on three dates and you'll get to see more of how they spend the night together. This is how you unlock the three subweapons in the game.

Your two girlfriends will constantly call you throughout the game to mask loading transitions pining for your attention, have literally zero plot relevance, and are there to remind you why the player character is doing any of this - to get laid. It is a very weird vibe when "this" consists of motorcycle racing tigers and beheading yakuza bosses. Even moreso if you're like me and never start dating the second girl because of the confusing mission menu layout, so I had no idea who Koharu was or why she was calling me to the point I felt gaslit into thinking she was introduced earlier in the game and I'd forgotten about her (she wasn't, I hadn't)

Giving a score on this game feels weird. I'm glad I played it. I'm giving it 2 stars, which for me is an average, C rank game, but that feels like a misnomer. Nothing about this game is normal. It is dripping in blood and style, taking graphical approaches so unconventional they often gave me a headache. But damn if it isn't memorable. For some people, its mix of gameplay, sexuality, and utter self-confidence to not explain itself even a little bit will make it exactly Their Thing. For others, I can see them immediately bouncing off the relatively simple combat, the eyebleeding graphics, the nonsensical story, or the overt sexualization of women.

I really would not describe myself as the type of person to seek out a game where you can tell women apart based on whether they prefer missionary, doggystyle, or cowgirl. But by the time I had platinum'd this game, it had earned my respect, even if I still didn't feel like I completely understood it. I'm glad it exists. (And cowgirl is best girl.)

Syncing the drum controller with the Nintendo Switch was one of the worst experiences I've had with a piece of hardware, but once the dust settled, Drum 'n' Fun was, well, a ton of fun!

There's an alright selection of songs, including some strong originals and several picks successfully mining that seemingly endless sense of nostalgia for after school cartoons, and the game's simple "red" and "blue" note structure made for a system that was easy to grasp and enjoyable to master.

The visual flare for this adaptation of Taiko no Tatsujin is colorful and fantastic, as it always seems to be. I'm not sure where this game would be without it, honestly; Taiko no Tatsujin is so conceptually straightforward, it'd be easy to otherwise produce a competent competitor. (Having the keys to the Bandai Namco soundtrack vault sure doesn't hurt, though.)

I don't know if the Switch adaptation needed to so aggressively plug Nintendo by sneaking Kirby and an Inkling into the avatar slot, and by adding a few soundtrack medleys, but I'm always happy to see some Splatoon representation, I suppose.

Virtually none of the Disney content lands, but the toolbox of attacks at your disposal are varied enough and genuinely fun when put to the test by the Birth By Sleep's harder battles.

There are a few good winks for the camera, a certain Final Fantasy "hero" included, and Birth By Sleep's core plot, while still riddled with typical Kingdom Hearts happenings, can be fun simply because the layers it builds into this already crazy elevator pitch of a series.

The music is, as always, beautiful.

Excessive cheese and periodic frame rate crashing aside, it was nice having a fun, arcade style game to co-op with the significant other.

The plot is a little silly and leans deep into fan service, but that seems like an alright direction given how these Warriors crossovers basically exist for fan service. Does it matter that the vehicle for this is a ridiculous time travel mechanic? Eh.

At the end of the day, Hyrule Warriors is a game about letting you thrash Moblins or whatever with the bird person from Breath of the Wild, and boy were those Moblins thrashed. I had fun with it.

Echoes of the Eye manages to do the impossible by recapturing the joy of discovery and breathtaking moments found in the base game. The basic loop of piecing together the bread crumb trail of clues in order to find genuinely shocking, cosmic scale discoveries is still absolutely engrossing. Further, the add-on succeeds in meaningfully adding to the story we know without overly recontextualizing, avoiding any threat to our memories of the base experience. It simply adds more memorable moments to the universe. There are so many different incredible things Echoes of the Eye does in narrative, mechanics, and spectacle, but to discuss any of it would be to spoil moments that should just be seen. If you enjoyed Outer Wilds, stop reading or watching anything about the expansion and play Echoes of the Eye.

MILD SPOILERS TO SLIGHTLY COMPLAIN









This being said, Echoes of the Eye does not quite live up to the perfection of the base game. In the late game, there is a mechanical idea that is initially super cool but ultimately way overstays its welcome. Mileage may vary from person to person on how obstructing/frustrating the section is, but pretty much anyone is bound to be at least annoyed, which is certainly not the developer's intent. Further, there is a chokepoint on the bread crumb trail later on that is pretty obtuse and in a place that could make players wander truly aimlessly for hours if they do not happen upon it in the right sequence. The base game had moments of obtuseness too, but in the light of the full experience, they are easily forgotten. The flaws in Echoes of the Eye will cast a more permanent stain. Even so, the expansion overarchingly works on such a different level than basically any other game that it still ranks as one of the best experiences I have played.

Replayed the PS Now version on a whim. managed to platinum it in a couple days, which is crazy because it took me months as a kid.

I still have my issues (the Mz Ruby chapter and god awful boss fight, the races, the twin-stick shooter sections), but I can’t deny this game’s charm. Muggshot and Panda King’s chapters are just a total blast and the art style still looks great. it’s definitely undercooked (especially compared to Sly 2) but it’s still really good fun. wish they still made games like this