Subject: "Katana Zero's Massive Flaw"

Not the newest game out there but it is one I had quite a lot of fun with. I played the game on the October of last year and I thought I would share the experience with you guys. The game itself is a (very) fast-paced action platformer. The main character is a samurai who wields a katana to defeat his enemies.

It was released all the way back in 2019. I was quite hesitant to play this game initially, but Iā€™m glad I did. Iā€™m not the greatest at platforming games so I tend to avoid games from that genre but I was pleasantly surprised at how this went. The game did a lot of things right but left a big flaw that made me kind of disappointed.

Gorgeous 16-Bit Pixel Art

If you couldnā€™t tell from my OT0 review already, Iā€™m a huge sucker for games with well-made pixel art. I think thereā€™s something so beautiful about trying to represent the various complexities of the real world with a handful of pixels. Katana Zero focuses more on replicating the 16-Bit era of video games harkening back to the likes of the SNES or Genesis era of video games.

For me, what really stands out with the art in this game is the use of colours. The colours are very vibrant and punchy. One scene you would be looking out at the top of a city to see the blue and purple neon skyline and in another, you would be surrounded by a boring shade of grey in the middle of some warehouse. The game blends in the cyberpunk retrowave aesthetic with staunch industrialism astonishingly well.



Every screenshot in this game feels like wallpaper material. Itā€™s a beautiful love letter to 16-bit graphics as a whole and this is what really grabbed me in. I had a peek at the trailer but the screenshots on the Steam page was what really sold me. Itā€™s crazy how detailed some of the art is even showing some miniscule objects like syringes and other knick-knacks.

The music is also really good. It usually leans towards a more fast-paced EDM which really goes hand-in-hand with the gameplay style of course. It makes you feel like quite a badass. The music is a part of the worldbuilding in a way. The main protagonist can be seen with a walkman playing music before starting each level.

Weak Story

I think this was where the game really missed the mark in my opinion. The gameā€™s story has two really big flaws that make me dislike it. I want to clarify that I donā€™t think that it is a terrible story in my opinion. There is a plotline that the game follows but I just feel like there is a huge disconnect between the actual story. If I had to sum it up, itā€™s a very serviceable story.

To me, I just felt like the game started introducing a lot of plot threads but never really bothered to clean up and tie it into one complete package. Some characters felt completely unnecessary to introduce and Iā€™m sure the story could have done just fine without them. Backstory for characters feel like an afterthought and most of the story just happens through temporary build-up and immediate release.

The game also feels terribly short. I believe I clocked in about 5.5 hours of gameplay totally. The game is replayable if you want to challenge yourself to speedruns and the likes. There is also a NG+ Hard Mode with a higher difficulty. There are also some secrets sprinkled around that reward you with different swords. You have to complete the achievements to get them.



The game does offer braching dialogue making the gameplay feel much less linear. The different choices do have an impact thankfully and can lead to different endings. The dialogue writing is well done and it makes all the characters in the story that much more appealing and relatable in a way. The characters are diverse and you wouldnā€™t really know who you will encounter next while playing.

I know story is not exactly an essential part of games but it feels like there is a massive disconnect. I didnā€™t skip any cutscenes or anything of that sort but it still felt like I was missing something. Like there is a massive hole in the plot that just hasnā€™t been filled out. I have a conspiracy theory that they cut some of the content for the upcoming free DLC but Iā€™m not sure. Guess weā€™ll have to see.

Kick-Ass Gameplay

This is the gameā€™s trump card where it redeems itself. The game is very, very fast-paced and adrenaline pumping. I think there is a kind of dopamine flood each time you complete a level or beat some annoying boss. It just made me feel really rewarded as a player after finishing off each and every level. The game is incredibly satisfying.

The game has 2 main mechanics. The first one being bullet-time. You are able to slow down time and react to people moving around in the environment surrounding you. It is an integral mechanic and it is so satisfying to just swoop through and clear out entire levels on the map with this. It is limited however so you have to use it wisely.



The other one is with throwables. Some items in the environment are interactible and can be used as weapons. They can be grenades, molotovs and there are even flamethrowers. There are also smoke grenades that can help conceal you.

The game is astonishingly not that difficult. I think difficulty scales very linearly as you progress and it doesnā€™t spike anywhere. I played on controller instead of KBM and Iā€™m happy to say it was a pretty good experience. All the controls felt conveniently placed. The game is also pretty merciful with checkpoints and doesnā€™t set you back really far when you die.

My Thoughts

As far as Iā€™ve noticed, the game takes heavy inspiration from Hotline Miami in terms of the retrowave style and the swift gameplay. They have taken that formula and shaken it up to make Katana Zero. The settings and worldbuilding have lots of detail but the story just doesnā€™t try its best to explore a lot of it. The gameā€™s story just fails to grasp all of the elements from the worldbuilding.

The game itself is pretty shallow due to this. What you see is what you get. I just felt that the game had all of its ducks in a row and yet fumbled the most core part of it. Sure, the other parts more than make up for it but I think the game would have been perfect if it solved this one problem.



Ultimately, I think itā€™s a good palate cleanser that you can play between games. I appreciate that the game is very pick-up and play instead of being terribly complex with its mechanics. Itā€™s a very simple game that doesnā€™t a demand a whole lot from the player. Itā€™s not necessarily genre-defining or stand-out but it is definitely a game I can recommend that is worthy of at least a try.