Didn’t expect much at all, thought it was going to be “guy kill people with samurai sword” turns out it’s much more than that and it’s overall a pleasant surprise.
First of all, the game is aesthetically pleasing with its gritty pixel art and heavy usage of blues, pinks, and purples. Together with its pumping and mesmerizing synth-wave soundtrack, Katana Zero creates a pseudo-retro punk atmosphere (even without most of the retro punk technology) with its visuals and the dystopian neo-noir landscape the game takes place in.
The gameplay, while essentially being an action platformer at its core, has plenty of unique mechanics. In order to progress throughout each level, the player, Zero, is required to kill every enemy. However, a single hit will result in death, requiring the player to redo the entire selection. While this can test the player’s patience and frustration and at times will feel difficult, trial and error and perseverance are the key to succeed in each selection.
Katana Zero excels in player freedom and choice since there are multiple paths and variations to complete in each selection using its game mechanics such as slowing down time to create easier timing to defeat enemies and reflect bullets, rolling around the stage, which grants some frames of invisibility, and using environmental traps and weapons, such as throwing a bottle of fire into oil tanks to create a chain explosion around enemies. As far as level design, Katana Zero is near flawless with its execution of gameplay function.
Another element that amplifies the focus on player freedom and choice are dialogue choices during and in between story missions. While most of these won’t impact the overall story and just added fluff to mold Zero’s personality as the player pleases during conversations with characters. There are a few key interactions Zero will have that could change the game’s course. From completing a level in a different way to unlocking different endings. It adds a sense of replayability to see all of the possible dialogue branches that could lead to different outcomes.
That said, there is no denying the game is still very difficult and will test your patience despite the short sections, the slow-motion ability, and infinite respawning. With its lack of accessibility and its heavily dependent on player reflexes and reaction time, it’s definitely a niche not everyone will enjoy. Especially in later levels when the sections are longer, there are greater numbers in enemies and enemy variation and there are more tricky enemy and hazard placement. This is not a positive or negative notation though, just something the player needs to be aware of for what type of game they’re getting into.
However, in between the game’s chapters are story content that is quite interesting….to say the least. Katana Zero takes advantage of its neo-noir setting with dystopian undertones to set up the overall plot for Zero, as he slowly begins to discover who he really is. Katana Zero presents many captivating ideas and themes that deal with human psychology, mental illness such as PTSD and drug experimentation. It’s hard to say much without spoiling the plot but for its short game length, Katana Zero packs in a lot.
In fact, because Katana Zero has to tell a lot of story within 4-8 hours, a lot of its writing is unexplored and there’s plenty of unanswered questions (despite the end of the game indicating there’s more to come). While the overall plot is fantasizing enough with its setting, the majority of characters hardly exist beyond one-dimensional antagonists for Zero to face or characters that are ultimately used as a plot device for its themes. Because of the short length, Katana Zero has no time to let its story elements breathe, creating a sense of convolutedness at times due to the rushed pacing. Because of its demanding gameplay, it would be impractical to have more levels but there should have been more story scenes during the game. So the characters would be fleshed out better and create a grander impact for the overall plot.
Barring some hiccups in story execution due to length and the player’s mileage will vary depending on its difficulty, Katana Zero is overall a well-put-together game that meets more than the eye. From the combination of standard action-platformer gameplay combined with slowed time to ultimately create a frantic but yet calculating experience to dialogue choices that gives a sense of player freedom. These gameplay elements complement the story’s premise full of non conventional ideas and impressively still manage to tell a compelling tale in the end with its length, even if more could easily be expanded. Katana Zero is definitely a game that shows a lot of promise, especially for the future.
First of all, the game is aesthetically pleasing with its gritty pixel art and heavy usage of blues, pinks, and purples. Together with its pumping and mesmerizing synth-wave soundtrack, Katana Zero creates a pseudo-retro punk atmosphere (even without most of the retro punk technology) with its visuals and the dystopian neo-noir landscape the game takes place in.
The gameplay, while essentially being an action platformer at its core, has plenty of unique mechanics. In order to progress throughout each level, the player, Zero, is required to kill every enemy. However, a single hit will result in death, requiring the player to redo the entire selection. While this can test the player’s patience and frustration and at times will feel difficult, trial and error and perseverance are the key to succeed in each selection.
Katana Zero excels in player freedom and choice since there are multiple paths and variations to complete in each selection using its game mechanics such as slowing down time to create easier timing to defeat enemies and reflect bullets, rolling around the stage, which grants some frames of invisibility, and using environmental traps and weapons, such as throwing a bottle of fire into oil tanks to create a chain explosion around enemies. As far as level design, Katana Zero is near flawless with its execution of gameplay function.
Another element that amplifies the focus on player freedom and choice are dialogue choices during and in between story missions. While most of these won’t impact the overall story and just added fluff to mold Zero’s personality as the player pleases during conversations with characters. There are a few key interactions Zero will have that could change the game’s course. From completing a level in a different way to unlocking different endings. It adds a sense of replayability to see all of the possible dialogue branches that could lead to different outcomes.
That said, there is no denying the game is still very difficult and will test your patience despite the short sections, the slow-motion ability, and infinite respawning. With its lack of accessibility and its heavily dependent on player reflexes and reaction time, it’s definitely a niche not everyone will enjoy. Especially in later levels when the sections are longer, there are greater numbers in enemies and enemy variation and there are more tricky enemy and hazard placement. This is not a positive or negative notation though, just something the player needs to be aware of for what type of game they’re getting into.
However, in between the game’s chapters are story content that is quite interesting….to say the least. Katana Zero takes advantage of its neo-noir setting with dystopian undertones to set up the overall plot for Zero, as he slowly begins to discover who he really is. Katana Zero presents many captivating ideas and themes that deal with human psychology, mental illness such as PTSD and drug experimentation. It’s hard to say much without spoiling the plot but for its short game length, Katana Zero packs in a lot.
In fact, because Katana Zero has to tell a lot of story within 4-8 hours, a lot of its writing is unexplored and there’s plenty of unanswered questions (despite the end of the game indicating there’s more to come). While the overall plot is fantasizing enough with its setting, the majority of characters hardly exist beyond one-dimensional antagonists for Zero to face or characters that are ultimately used as a plot device for its themes. Because of the short length, Katana Zero has no time to let its story elements breathe, creating a sense of convolutedness at times due to the rushed pacing. Because of its demanding gameplay, it would be impractical to have more levels but there should have been more story scenes during the game. So the characters would be fleshed out better and create a grander impact for the overall plot.
Barring some hiccups in story execution due to length and the player’s mileage will vary depending on its difficulty, Katana Zero is overall a well-put-together game that meets more than the eye. From the combination of standard action-platformer gameplay combined with slowed time to ultimately create a frantic but yet calculating experience to dialogue choices that gives a sense of player freedom. These gameplay elements complement the story’s premise full of non conventional ideas and impressively still manage to tell a compelling tale in the end with its length, even if more could easily be expanded. Katana Zero is definitely a game that shows a lot of promise, especially for the future.