![]() ![]() Levels have time limits to stop you dallying too much, but these are generous and rarely pose an issue. In fact, Katana Zero is a little on the easy side, other than the aforementioned stealth section. I can’t help but feel that upping the challenge but allowing for Celeste-like feats of muscle memory could have been more compelling. This need to be reactive keeps you on your toes, but a sense of rhythm is lost along the way. You have to approach the situation each time. It’s worth noting that enemy patrols don’t always reset in the same way. But with frequent checkpoints, death never steals much of your progress. ![]() Levels are inventively designed with a range of close-quarters and armed enemies, turrets, explosives, laser beams and other threats. Any objects left lying around, a bottle, a statuette, can be weaponised with a swift throw.Īll enemy attacks are lethal, but die and you’ll rewind right back to the moment you entered the room, ready to try again. ![]() Slow time and you can ricochet bullets off your blade straight back at the assailant. A quick slash of your katana is enough to bring most enemies to their knees, showering blood against the walls. You’re armed with little more than your sword and superhuman perceptions but these are more than enough for a glorious power-trip. Katana Zero is an action game first and foremost, however, and in this respect it really shines. And a seemingly crucial binary decision results in an anti-climactic non-event upon choosing one option – only one is truly meaningful. In one mission I was instructed not to kill anyone, and whereas I managed to stealth through almost the entire stage, the last section was obstinately designed in such a way that making it through undetected seemed impossible. Some of these appear limited in scope, however. There are choices to be made, too, through your dialogue selection and mission conduct. It’s surprisingly well-written, combining a deliberate hamminess with intrigue and moments of brutality and revelation. In fact, upon finishing the game I was still left with questions. It’s an engaging premise, with the mystery and suspense keeping you glued to the screen until the very end. But threads begin to unravel and your grasp on reality loosens as you learn more of your situation – something which, in part thanks to your amnesia, has eluded you. To cut a long story short, you’re an ex-military swordsman carrying out assassination contracts for your anonymous ’employer.’ The ability to rewind time upon death makes you a formidable warrior. You don’t know who you can trust – if anyone. The shady doctor who administers your ‘meds’ at the same time as administering your next mission dossier the other ninjas you encounter, all equally as masterful and aloof as yourself hell, even the little girl who lives next door. Bullet time, rewinding time, stealth sections, protagonist amnesia and 80’s B-movie stylings – the list goes on.īut when Katana Zero can take these familiar constituent parts and pull each of them off with such aplomb that the result is dazzling, who cares?Īlmost everyone you meet in Katana Zero is an enigma at first. A merciless ninja who lives a reclusive life. A secret government conspiracy to train super soldiers. On paper, Katana Zero is little more than an amalgamation of action tropes we’ve seen countless times before. ![]()
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