There’s genuine fun to be found, especially when you eventually (finally) manage to keep track of when certain enemies are likely to attack or fire back - timing one’s use of slow-mo to perfection and sending that pixel dot of a bullet back at the enemy. And like its contemporaries, Katana Zero makes sure to keep players thinking at every turn while retaining that consistent style that is the splicing of real-time and slow-mo bullet-deflecting alike.
#Katana zero platforms series
Even if the attempts at unease and genuine dilemma don’t always pay off - a crucial choice half-way failing to have any gravitas or weight a critical moment in the story confined to mere trial-and-error/brute-force puzzle-solving.įortunately, the frequent puzzle-lite interplay during combat - set across primarily a series of contained interiors containing a select number of bad guys to take down - as well as the perilous possibility that things could slip up at any moment are rarely out of sight. Odd as it is to find the obviously-marketed component, the action-platforming combat, pushed to the side here is a sign of how, in a way, the game subverts the expectation on how much one can get and/or take away from a game all about dying until the right solution is found. The best thing you can say about Katana Zero is that the anxious and uncertain nature of its setting is its greatest asset. While never really coming across as conclusive in its progression - persistently dropping and introducing many a new element or character or pivotal piece of information without ever really exploring in-depth any of the above - the game rounds off its never-ending cascade of unanswered questions on a cliff-hanger that it doesn’t quite earn. As you soon discover though, the deliberate - and clever as a result - clash between the vibrancy of its character sprites and the desaturated, near-monotonous figure of the environments, is but a front for what is a suggestion towards tackling tales of war, crime, trauma and some good old-fashioned time manipulation thrown in for good measure.īut this is all the narrative is: suggestions. All of which dressed in what can only be described as a more retro-glazed interpretation of that 80’s throwback style. When the bond between you and a young little girl, as much the suspicious intentions of who you assume is a psychologist there to help and assist you (in more ways than one), become far less straightforward, the game finds a way to keep you locked into the possible dread and desperation that may be about to show itself. But credit where credit’s due: as familiar and admittedly similar large swathes of the in-game action may seem, Katana Zero delivers on a tale that is at times intriguing, and in others, rather gripping. Just as the game appears to begin unraveling a fair number of previously loose ends and questions, though interesting, begin to rack up over the course of the game’s brief events. The end result is far from perfect and the disruptive “to be continued” by the game’s close does feel anti-climactic. Developer Askiisoft’s neo-noir themed, side-scrolling entry delivers on the necessities for madness with a purpose - all in the hopes of doing it all over again in the next, succeeding room of sloped corridors, closed doors and foes best left unaware of your presence. Far from it if you’re the type of person who revels in that all-or-nothing, reflex-heavy style of play that Hotline Miami helped popularize with its looming just-out-of-shot risk of failure, Katana Zero will most certainly whet the appetite of those looking for their next fix.
That’s not to say the main hook - its bullet-time infused, hyper-responsive, do-or-die combat - should be overlooked or dismissed, regardless of how close to its inspirations the game may stand. Dare we say, the very thing that will keep people hooked on the possibilities of a follow-up, albeit tainted by the suggestion that what we’ve been offered here, feels a touch inadequate. Katana Zero is the type of game whose hidden, maybe underplayed elements may well be its most interesting and longer-lasting talking points.
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