Your character is an assassin, one with the very useful ability to be able to see into the future. Which is a lot more serious a backstory than you might expect for a game filled with brightly-coloured sprites and endless OTT violence.

Katana Zero takes place sometime after a disastrous war, with your character suffering from guilt and post-traumatic stress in a city plagued by crime and homelessness. And yet despite all these familiar components Katana Zero still manages to feel fresh and exciting, not only because it blends all its gameplay elements together so well but because itвЂ™s one of the few video games where you get to visit a psychiatrist between levels.ДЄctually, the idea of a talking to a psychiatrist has come up in a number of survival horror games, most notably Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, but here itвЂ™s used less for psychological profiling and more to underpin the gameвЂ™s unusual story. ThereвЂ™s also a strong element of platforming in the game, although things never get quite as extreme, or abstract, as something like Super Meat Boy or Celeste. ThereвЂ™s a lot of obvious comparisons to make when it comes to the gameplay too, which works something like a side-on version of Hotline Miami вЂ“ except with swords instead of guns. ThereвЂ™s some very nice pixel art but thatвЂ™s a pretty commonplace look for indie games and increasingly something of a clichГ©. To start a level, I could bust through the door to take out a guard, stun a sword wielding enemy running towards me, jump over the stunned enemy, slow time to deflect an incoming bullet back toward a guard, and then turn around to take out the stunned guard.Like many an indie title Katana Zero is not an immediately impressive sight when you see the screenshots or videos. As my skills increased, I felt myself quickly reacting instantly utilizing all of my newfound abilities. I can tell that Katana ZEROВ will be mesmerizing to watch someone speedrun, like Super Mario 64. While the narrative kept me glued to my switch between levels, the gameplay was challenging, engaging, and satisfying when I took control. The gameplay tying into the narrative really heightened the sense of immersion. Once you go through the level safely, вЂњThe DragonвЂќ will state вЂњYes, that should workвЂќ and a replay of the level will play that can be skipped, slowed down, or fast forwarded through. Each time you die, he states вЂњno, that wonвЂ™t workвЂќ and you rewind to the start of that section of the level.

Now, because вЂњThe DragonвЂќ can see into the future, that gives you the ability to plan out each level before you actually go through them. What was cool gameplay-wise in relation to this was how Katana ZERO played with the gameplay mechanics of this perception of time. As the story continues, вЂњThe DragonвЂќ slowly finds the truth about this drug and how it is being used against him while also finding out who he really is. This include moments like one where the player randomly appears back in the chair with your therapist, strengthening that sense of lost time. There are times in Katana ZEROВ where there will be Kojima-esk cutaways abruptly toВ completely different sections of the game. It was fascinating to see how he handled being shackled to this drug while also using it to strengthen his skills. If you run out of medicine, you essentially lose your mind and wander the rest of your days as a crazy person with no perception of time.

We have grown accustomed to it and really just turn our brains off when it comes to this dilemma.ДЄs the game continues on, the plot slowly unfolds and it is seeming unveiled to you that this medicine you are receiving gives you the ability to see into the future however, you slowly lose all perception of time. A typical example would be dying hundreds of times without the game ever mentioning it once. Sadly, the gameplay often contradicts the narrative the game is trying to tell. There has to be gameplay in there to keep the player entertained between cutscenes unless a game is designed around it. A modern issue with storytelling in video games is that, well, its a video game. The overall narrative to this game captured me and what I find even more compelling is how the story ties directly into the gameplay. On a surface level, Katana ZEROВ looks like your run of the mill 2D action platformer, but once you dig deeper there is so much more to discover. Through the 15 or so levels of the game, you will use your sword to take out rooms of enemies while also utilizing a dodge roll, an ability to slow down time, and the ability to pick up objects and chuck them at enemies. Katana ZERO, developed by Askiisoft and published by Devolver Digital, puts you in control of вЂњThe Dragon,вЂќ a super skilled samurai assassin tasked with taking down high-level targets.

Katana zero