![]() ![]() I want to say that the game is reaching past the screen to direct the player’s gaze at these hyper-violent actions and the processes we engage in when we play these games and embody these characters. If we go into mild spoiler territory here, the characters addicted to Chronos – the drug that affords infinite respawns, if you will – are all highly adept killing machines. It’s hard to escape the feeling that there is something Katana ZERO is trying to say about the medium and the genre it is placed in. This condemnation for a game in which physical movement flows so well and adorns such style feels like a disservice, but there is a tangible failure to unify these elements into something which actually drives home anything of note. The slow reveal of plot information runs in contrast to the hyperactive action the player is tasked with: another jarring element. In Katana ZERO, a satisfactory pace is always broken by something. But in that instance, it was such a surreal break in the pace that it added to the comedic effect of the whole scene. I’m reminded of Not a Hero from Roll7 where levels were followed with relaxed diner conversation with the BunneyLord character. It would be bad enough if these kinds of characters were regularly placed in a game where dialog was the main point of interaction, but Katana ZERO dispenses with any notion of pacing through the dispersal of these scenes in between its tense action pieces. This display in swinging, emotional excess is typical across an array of characters in the game. Reactions from this character can swing wildly from calm and reserved to a screaming mess. One of these characters operates as a paradoxical therapist/drug dealer. In between levels, the pace will slow right down for the player to engage in conversations with an array of characters. It’s something that breaks the pace ever so slightly, even if it is a nice feature.īut this isn’t the only place where that happens. ![]() The combat is all so fluid that I almost resent the video at the end of a level showing you your accomplishments at full speed, like a Super Meat Boy retrospective. Bullets can be deflected back at enemies with a satisfying motion, and bullet time a major help in achieving such a feat.īecause the attacks of the player are primarily melee, it makes the dodge roll really satisfying as a maneuver that gets the player closer to an enemy, ignoring their attacks. That you can only take one hit really feeds the style in a player’s actions through a level. The animation, in particular, is fluid and translates well to the action. Pacing is EverythingĮverything in the game looks beautiful. It’s an interesting framing device and the story focuses as much on addiction as it does on the consequences of having this ability. This drug is the clever framing device that Askiisoft has placed around the concept of player death in the game. Players face clusters of levels which can lead to a frenetic boss fight but more often ends in a cryptic and slow unveiling of a plot concerned with a drug called Chronos. ![]() And death does occur frequently, as any hit upon the player spells doom. The player takes control of a contract killer with the ability to rewind time upon death. It’s a beautiful piece of music, but the contradictions start here when the player goes into a level to experience the pulsating electronic fare of the main soundtrack. It presents itself through a kind of neon-noir lens with a melancholic piano melody greeting the player at the menu and stalking them in between levels. It blends so many aesthetic styles from cyberpunk games like The Red Strings Club and Furi. Katana ZERO is a mash of inspirations, with the hyperviolence of Hotline Miami foremost among them. It has style emanating from its pores with gorgeous art and superb animation, but beyond that, it feels as if it’s grasping for something that doesn’t quite come to fruition. Katana ZERO from Askiisoft does this to a certain extent, but unfortunately not to its own benefit. Every now and then a game comes along that makes you scrutinize how you think about the medium or how you approach games in general. ![]()
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