![]() ![]() Still, they do at least feel like they have some impact. As noted, though, I don’t know if these choices will actually impact the story or progression much, or if they’ll just tie into particular achievements and maybe change the dialogue. And that stealth level I mentioned? Well, you don’t actually have to be stealthy. You can befriend the little girl who lives in the apartment next to yours or blank her completely. You can talk frankly with the psychiatrist or cut him off at every turn. It’s up to you how cooperative you want to be in these segments. All of this gives insight into both the setting and the story. And then, post-murder spree, the Dragon returns home or goes out for a drink. Said psychiatrist then issues him with his next assignment, and it’s onto the carnage. Before each mission, the protagonist – codenamed the Dragon – goes to visit his psychiatrist to receive medication and discuss his increasingly weird dreams. With this being preview code, I have no idea if these actually impact things (barring other dialogue options, I guess), but the between-level segments offer plenty of these. I guess you’re just not cool enough to keep up with the latest anime.Īnother neat touch is in the dialogue options. Each level has gradually added new factors and taught new uses for your abilities, but in a very natural way, rather than with a giant text box saying “YOU NEED TO ROLL PAST MURDER LASERS.” Battle Without Honor Or Humanity ![]() Yet another has you tasked with not killing anyone except the target, demanding heavy stealth. Another requires you to sneak your way through a busy nightclub by mingling, Assassin’s Creed style, with the dancers. One level has both background and foreground elements, and heading out onto the balcony is required. While the first level is a pretty basic “kill everyone, go to exit”, every level since has mixed things up. So far, at least, every level has also offered some unique touches to the gameplay experience. The violence, too, is oddly beautiful: blood splatters onto the background, leaving a trail of crimson destruction in your wake. The entire game is rendered in beautifully animated pixel art, which adds another little stylistic twist to the proceedings. It returns you to the start of the section, so you’ve usually lost – at most – 30 seconds. Thankfully, death is little more than a slap on the wrist. At this point, slowing time is far from a guarantee of success. Later, when you ascend a set of stairs guarded by three rifle-wielding soldiers and some guy with a riot shield, you have to be both careful and clever to survive. More to the point, though, is that your protagonist has two very useful abilities: an invincibility-granting roll and the power to slow time for limited periods.Īt first, this feels somewhat overpowered: it makes deflecting bullets and dodging attacks all too easy. In gameplay terms, the side-on perspective gives it a unique, platform-y feel, and there are plenty of aerial acrobatics to be performed. ![]() ![]() Katana ZERO is still very distinctly its own game, though. This is what we in the assassin business call “a bit of a pickle.” Segments between levels that reveal parts of a plot, which may actually be the written equivalent of a jigsaw designed by MC Escher? Big check. A lot of 80s theming, with VHS tapes used for levels and visual effects? Check. Death returns you to the start of the section? Check. A single hit kills you and basically every enemy? Check. Use of one-shot environmental pickups as ranged weapons? Check. I don’t like making direct comparisons to other games too often – it’s lazy writing, frankly – but Katana ZERO wears a lot of Hotline Miami inspirations on its sleeve.Ĭaked in gore? Check. It lets you be a master swordsman of superhuman caliber: bounce off a wall, deflect a bullet back at the gunman with a perfectly-timed sword swing, roll under a shotgun blast, and then cleave its wielder in two.įrom what I’ve played, it also makes this extraordinarily satisfying. Katana ZERO scratches one of those eternal itches of gaming. ![]()
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