Hotline Miami is one of my favorite games because of its fast-paced, instant-death combat accompanied by a great soundtrack. There are a lot of games that try to mimic that Hotline Miami feeling, but not a lot of games come even close to it but Katana Zero does. Instead of a top-down view, Katana Zero takes the 2D approach and it works so well. But to say that Katana Zero is nothing more than a 2D Hotline Miami clone would be wrong. It does enough things to set itself apart.

You start every level by taking on a contract containing a target. To get to the target and kill it, you need to fight through these well-made levels. You can slash, dodge and slow down time to take down the enemies in those levels. But take one hit and you start back at the beginning of the room. I really like this gameplay loop and it's fun to find a path that works best for you. Sometimes it felt a beat cheap during the few boss fights or when you get killed by an enemy that's offscreen for example.

The story itself is interesting enough. It follows an assassin that's trying to figure out its past by taking on those contracts. The story can be a bit confusing sometimes and when I felt it was finally going somewhere, it ended with a 'To be continued. The ending left me with some questions that I would've liked to be answered during the game. But apparently, the devs are working on some DLC for the game so it's not that big of an issue for me.

TL:DR: Katana Zero is a fun fast-paced action game that ends abruptly. Recommended to fans of Hotline Miami.