8.0
Katana ZERO is a very polished fast-paced action platformer with instant-death combat, awesome slow-mo effects, and a story told through cinematic cut-scenes after each level.
Katana ZERO
Askiisoft · Apr 18, 2019
About
Kill your enemies or face instant death. Slow down time as you slash and dash through a dystopian city to unravel past secrets in this retro adventure.
In this stylish pixel art neo-noir platformer, you're a samurai assassin facing breakneck action and instant-death combat. Attack enemies with your sword — or whatever else is at your disposal — and avoid obstacles to progress to the next level. Choose how you respond in conversations that drive the story forward between levels.
Trailers & screenshots
Scores by platform
Critic reviews
- 9.0While I’m not sure I’d say Katana Zero justifies subscribing to Netflix if you don’t have an active subscription, it is immediately one of the best games on the service, and a fantastic, and near-perfect, conversion of a magnificent game. If you have a Netflix subscription, drop everything else and play Katana Zero right now. It is that good. Replaying it has not made the wait for Katana Zero DLC easier.
- 8.0Revisit the serious and colourful cyberpunk samurai adventure in a whole new platform with touchscreen controls that you'll need to practice a lot.
- Overall Katana Zero is not only a great action platformer but also a game with a solid story that will leave you wanting more. Well worth buying to get that fix for your time bending katana wielding noir story needs.
- 8.5Katana Zero is a mesmerizing title. The narrative twists and turns in odd ways, and the payoff is both open and satisfying. The action is crisp if you can commit everything to memory well enough to create small, bloody masterpieces. With a familiar yet attractive presentation, Kata Zero feels right at home on the indie-loving machine that is the Nintendo Switch.
- If you're in the market for a fast paced, action packed platformer then Katana Zero should be on your list. The gameplay is awesome, the music is great and I really like the art style! I highly recommend checking it out.
Gamer reviews
Katana ZERO
Loved this game so much
I really really love the atmosphere, music, and gameplay. highly recommended
Katana ZERO
Narrative:9 Thought Provoking/Theme:8 Sound Design: 5 Gameplay: 5 Engaging And Flow:10 Unpredictability:9 Fun:10 Art:9 Uniqueness:10 Quality:10 Forgettability:10
The bad part is that it ends.
This action-platformer was a blast! Akiisoft made an impressive game and it was coded by ONE guy! The combat is a satisfying bullet-dodging, blood-splattering masterpiece which demands player focus and patience. That paired with synthwave soundtracks, neo-noir themed pixel art and a complex but interesting story which teases for a possible sequel(?) makes for a definitely worthwhile experience. Highly recommended for all action game fans. One of the best games in its genre. Yes, that should work.
- 9.0
This is a true hidden gem for a fair price. An addictive combination of tightrope combat (where most foes are one hit kills, but so are you) and platforming puzzles. All accompanied by a retro art design done right and an excellent thumping soundtrack. Run, jump and slash your way to the end of the area by using your katana, traps, throwables and a slow motion skill. You'll stay right in the action since every failed attempt rewinds the game to the beginning of the 'screen'. Levels contain multiple stages and the game is generous enough with checkpoints to keep it tense but not too unforgiving at the time. Immediately after you've solved the puzzle and you've successfully executed the solution (sometimes you need a few tries to get it right), you'll get to enjoy a satisfying recording of your effort. It feels rewarding to see your own mastery of a section of the game. The 'campaign' can be finished in one sitting, but the game has a lot of replayability after completing it once. There are multiple dialogue options to explore, your choices matter and alter the game and therefore there are different endings to get as well. The story can be a bit vague at first, but after multiple runs where you've explored all directions you'll see the bigger picture. Another downside is that the variety in enemies and other mechanics is limited. I find myself chasing perfect runs on certain levels even after finishing the story a few times. The controls are really tight and possibly one of the best I've experienced on the Switch. Absolutely fell in love with this game!
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