Katana ZERO
Katana ZERO, a time-warping samurai escapade, boasts stunning visuals, music, mechanics, and writing. It’s one of 2019’s best games thus far.
Katana ZEROis , at this point in 2019 , one of the best game of the class . There ’s so much to like about it - its sleekness , its flaky plot , its beguiling soundtrack , the fluidity of its slashing - around - and so very footling to take issue with . WereKatana ZEROto have a fault it would be its comparatively short runtime . But what a wonderful problem , when a game ’s only defect is that there is n’t enough of it in the world .
InKatana ZERO , players assume the role of a side - scrolling samurai who takes on a series of character assassination deputation . level lie in of interconnect rooms , and all of the enemies within each way must be defeated to proceed to the next . The mechanics here are pared - down to mostly run , jumping , rolling to dodge , and strap . But the samurai also has the ability to alter time ; holding down a certain button slow everything , include you , to a creep , allowing you to deflect bullets back at shooters and otherwise get out of tricksy situations . The retardation expends a metre that passively refills over meter , encouraging decisive and strategic usage of the power .
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One of the plot ’s defining feature is the samurai ’s vulnerability . If hit by an foeman or an environmental hazard even once , you ’re rewinded back to the beginning of the room you ’re in . Thankfully , this seldom , if ever , gets tedious - rooms are excellently spaced out and pace , keeping progress from lagging too much at a time . And once you do successfully authorise a room , you may watch a action replay of your passage through it . These replays are skippable , but it ’s fun once in a while to evaluate from a decisive remove how deftly ( or clumsily ) you outmaneuvered your enemy . Plus , slow - down military action are act as back at regular speed , make your effort seem all the more impressive .
Katana ZERO ’s plot is as satisfying as its gameplay . The game is localize in an unspecified dystopia in the backwash of a engagement reminiscent , in its divisiveness and evil , of the Vietnam War . The samurai is a veteran of that state of war and his journeying search idea of drug abuse , memory , trauma , and , expectedly , life and demise . The writing is mostly strong , and a time - sensible duologue organization allow player to select their responses and interrupt their conversation partner , the latter being an take in touch that does n’t seem to impact the overall storyline all that much .
Katana ZEROis a signally stylish , cohesive bundle . The biz ’s desoxyribonucleic acid is filmic - it evokesDrive , Blade Runner , John Wick , Baby Driver , and more , but at no pointedness do its inspirations overpower its distinctiveness . Its music is crucial to its success . Dreamier segments - literal dream as well as hallucination and other not - entirely - coherent images - are accompanied by adorable , floaty instrumentals ; these moments contrast with the equally compelling electronic soundtrack that propels legal action sequences .
At the peril of come across as too enthusiastic , it ’s worth being extravagantly clean about how impressiveKatana ZERO ’s execution is . The game refuses to let in a feature or element without handling it expertly . Even the seemingly obligatory vehicle - free and stealth portions , mechanically skillful deviance that so regularly drag down otherwise great biz , are captivating .
Katana ZEROends - perhaps a bit too speedily - by all but predict an eventual continuation . And the pinch that there ’s more to come elicits excitement border on giddiness . As big - budget games have increasingly embraced bloat and the overstuffing of content , it ’s refreshing to play a little , tight form of address brim with confidence in its style and design . Katana ZEROis just that : a authentic wonder .
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Katana ZEROis out now on Nintendo Switch and PC . Screen Rant was cater with a Switch download code for the purposes of this review .
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