Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Twitch
    Game on Aus
    • News
      What’s coming to PlayStation Plus in June 2023?

      What’s coming to PlayStation Plus in June 2023?

      June 1, 2023

      IT’S JUNE! — and that means two things: it is officially the rainy season & it’s time for the next…

      ANZPL Split 1 2023 Trophy

      ANZPL Split 1 2023 LAN Finals: Champions Crowned

      May 30, 2023

      This is it. The ANZPL Split 1 2023 LAN Finals. Who would win the Lower Final and make it to the Grand Final to face the Skorpions?

      Company of Heroes 3 Xbox console give-away

      Company of Heroes 3 Xbox console give-away

      May 30, 2023

      TODAY’S release of the Company of Heroes 3 Console Edition released on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, FiveStarGames…

      Assassin’s Creed: Mirage details emerge

      Assassin’s Creed: Mirage details emerge

      May 25, 2023

      AT the PlayStation Showcase this morning there was a few moments of excitement for me, one of them being the…

      PlayStation ’23 Showcase report

      PlayStation ’23 Showcase report

      May 25, 2023

      PlayStation went ahead with its PlayStation Showcase earlier this morning and kicked off the old E3-style season presentation of a…

      View All
    • Reviews
      Crucial T700 – The SSD powerhouse!

      Crucial T700 – The SSD powerhouse!

      September 6, 2023

      The Crucial T700 sets a new standard in performance when it comes to Consumer Grade SSDs, pushing speeds faster than…

      Hyper Karting and Hyper VR street signage

      Hyper Karting & Reality Hyper Amazing!

      June 7, 2023

      I recently visited Hyper Karting, a go-kart and VR centre in Sydney. As well as the go-karts, I was very keen to experience Hyper Reality.

      Company of Heroes 3 (Console Edition) – Tactical Brilliance

      Company of Heroes 3 (Console Edition) – Tactical Brilliance

      June 5, 2023

      Company of Heroes 3 marks the highly anticipated return of the critically acclaimed real-time strategy franchise to consoles. Developed by…

      Diablo 4 Review – A Dark and Thrilling Return to Glory

      Diablo 4 Review – A Dark and Thrilling Return to Glory

      May 31, 2023

      Diablo 4 is the long-awaited continuation of the iconic action role-playing game series developed by Blizzard Entertainment. I had the…

      Alienware AW510K Low-Profile RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

      Alienware AW510K Low-Profile RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

      May 25, 2023

      When I reviewed the Alienware AW720M Tri-Mode Wireless Gaming Mouse at the start of the year, I came away intrigued…

      View All
    • Podcasts
      Nuts & Bolts Ep 84 Hero Card

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 84: What Is The LCS Doing?

      June 3, 2023

      The World Of Tanks ANZPL LAN Finals have decided the Split 1 champions. Jim takes us through the action! Lots…

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 83 Hero Card

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 83: Let’s Get Down To Business

      May 20, 2023

      There’s lots to cover this week. Join Mercury and Jim as the World Of Thanks ANZPL heads towards their LAN…

      The Weekly Show Ep 279 Hero Card

      The Weekly Show Ep 279: Tech Issues: The Show

      May 19, 2023

      Doomcutie joins Stormie and Jim as they talk through mods, leaks and so much more! Plus our Bloody Good Game Of The Week thanks to Aussie Broadband.

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 82 Hero Card

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 82: We Missed You!

      May 13, 2023

      It’s been a couple of weeks so Jim and Mercury catch up to talk all things Dreamhack Melbourne. Plus Snoop…

      The Weekly Show Ep 278 Hero Card

      The Weekly Show Ep 278: Look Who Just Drops In

      May 12, 2023

      Doomcutie joins Stormie and Jim as they talk through mods, leaks and so much more! Plus our Bloody Good Game Of The Week thanks to Aussie Broadband.

      View All
    • Categories
      • BY PLATFORM
        • Playstation
        • Xbox
        • Nintendo
        • PC
        • Mobile
        • VR
        • Retro
      • BY GENRE
        • Action
        • Action-Adventure
        • Battle Royale
        • Fighting
        • FPS
        • Horror Games
        • RPG
        • Simulation
        • Sports
        • MMORPG
        • MOBA
        • Platformer
        • Strategy
        • Survival
        • Indie
      • GOA ESSENTIALS
        • Esports
        • Conventions
        • Tabletop
        • Hardware
        • Funny
        • Streaming
        • Win
        • Podcast
        • Video
    • More
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
    Game on Aus
    Home » Katana ZERO Review
    GAMING REVIEWS

    Katana ZERO Review

    Nick HollidayBy Nick HollidayApril 26, 2019
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Score: 10/10          |        PLATFORMER        |        RETRO        |          ACTION

    “It’s an addictive process of strategic trial and error, no matter how frustrated you get.”

     

    Load up your tape deck and sharpen your Samurai sword. Katana ZERO is about to take you on a fast-paced, brutally violent, frustrating and oddly satisfying experience. This ultra violent 2D platformer by Askiisoft and Devolver Digital follows the trend of other indie retro-inspired games delivering a somewhat high difficulty curve. Yet learning to push through these barriers is where it’s fun grows with the help of some well constructed mechanics.

    From the outset you don’t know very much about who you are or why you’ve been hired to slice people up. These questions of who and why are pretty consistant through out. All you know is that there are “10 days remaining” without much more added context. Your character, known only as Dragon, doesn’t really know much either as he suffers from nightmare-filled PTSD from a very fuzzy past. In the meantime, you work under your therapist, of all people, who not only provides you with a mystery drug called Chronos but also assigns you with assassination missions. The mind started to boggle as I’m trying to put the pieces together. But I knew from that point that the confusion would ultimately be worth it. Katana ZERO was about to take me on a wild ride not only with its gameplay but with its question filled story as well. Without spoiling too much, the story does contain some heavily themed elements including drug use and lots of swearing. It’s safe to say this isn’t like your typical 90’s platformer.

    The confusion as to what was going on wasn’t the frustrating part though. I learned that progression was a slow and steady process set at high speed. The way this is presented is through a somewhat time loop-esque mechanic where you plan out your attack. Essentially, it has a lot to do with trial and error. There are times where I nailed my execution on the first try. However, there were plenty of moments where I would go in, get shot down, go in again, get killed, go again…you get the picture. There were the odd occasions that left me swearing like a sailor but was calm enough to not throw my controller across the room. As repetitive and frustrating as it is, you start to learn how these enemies act and how to efficiently take them down. They aren’t all a walk in the park though.

    Katana ZERO Review

    Dragon also has the ability to slow down time, meaning I was able to dodge and parry enemies with ease. By taking advantage of this, I was able to pull off some pretty cool and very satisfying kills. The beauty of the gameplay and the level design is that there was more than one way to clear a room. It gave me plenty of freedom to experiment with different strategies if I was ever stuck with the same dilemma.

    his meant that the none of the levels ever felt entirely the same. No matter how frustrated I felt about the room that I had just cleared, I was always keen to see what sort of challenges I would face next. The coolest part about using this ability was that a replay at the end of the level shows off all your tricky attacks at normal speed.

    Though gameplay isn’t exactly limited to combat like most other platformers. The fast paced action is broken up with interactive story driven scenes in between where you conversate with your therapist and other NPC’s. Your conversation responses initially felt like a “choose-your-own adventure” type of mechanic. However it seemed to only just change the responses you get back with no real repercussions down the line. Being able to be more interactive with how the story plays out made for more of a connection to Dragon than I had initially expected.

    Katana ZERO Review

    The aesthetic of Katana ZERO is very 80’s/90’s inspired but that isn’t solely limited to its pixel graphics. It’s teamed with an upbeat electro soundtrack that Dragon keeps in his tapedeck. This kept the adrenaline flowing while I sliced and diced through enemies. The menu, HUD and some elements of level design also scream 80’s with heavy splashes of neon colours.

    Honestly it’s hard to find a flaw in Katana ZERO. It’s an addictive process of strategic trial and error, no matter how frustrated you get. Combined with it’s retro aesthetic, it’s an action-packed joyride for platformer lovers who like just a bit more punishment with their games.

     

    At the time of publication, Katana ZERO has been refused classification in Australia and New Zealand. It’s currently unavailable for the Nintendo Switch but it’s still available now for purchase on Steam. UPDATE: Katana Zero has now bee classified as R18+ in Australia & New Zealand and will be available on Nintendo Switch later this month.

    I give Katana ZERO a 10 out of 10.

    Like Game On AUS on Facebook

    Join Game On AUS on Discord

    Follow Game On AUS on Twitch

    Subscribe to Game On AUS on Youtube

    Follow Game On AUS on Instagram

    Follow Game On AUS on Twitter

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleFirst Play – Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
    Next Article MMORPG Memory Lane Part 12 – City of Heroes

    Related Posts

    Crucial T700 – The SSD powerhouse!
    GAMING REVIEWS September 6, 2023

    Crucial T700 – The SSD powerhouse!

    The Crucial T700 sets a new standard in performance when it comes to Consumer Grade SSDs, pushing speeds faster than…

    Hyper Karting and Hyper VR street signage
    GAMING REVIEWS June 7, 2023

    Hyper Karting & Reality Hyper Amazing!

    I recently visited Hyper Karting, a go-kart and VR centre in Sydney. As well as the go-karts, I was very keen to experience Hyper Reality.

    Subscribe

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    Ads

    Categories
    • ACTION
    • ACTION-ADVENTURE
    • APPLE
    • BATTLE ROYALE
    • CLOUD GAMING
    • CONVENTIONS
    • DLC
    • ESPORTS
    • Events
    • FEATURE
    • FIGHTING
    • FPS
    • FUNNY
    • GAMING HARDWARE
    • GAMING NEWS
    • GAMING REVIEWS
    • GIFT GUIDE
    • GOA
    • GOA PODCAST
    • HORROR GAMES
    • INDIE GAMING
    • Industry
    • MMORPG
    • MOBA
    • MOBILE
    • NINTENDO
    • Open-World
    • OPINION
    • PC
    • PLATFORMER
    • PLAYSTATION
    • Press Release
    • PREVIEW
    • RACING
    • RETRO
    • RPG
    • SIMULATION
    • SPORTS
    • STRATEGY
    • STREAMING
    • SUBSCRIPTION GAMES SERVICE UPDATES
    • SURVIVAL
    • TABLETOP GAMING
    • TECH
    • VIDEO
    • VR
    • XBOX
    Related Article
    Crucial T700 – The SSD powerhouse!
    GAMING REVIEWS

    Crucial T700 – The SSD powerhouse!

    September 6, 2023Zak BearmanBy Zak Bearman

    The Crucial T700 sets a new standard in performance when it comes to Consumer Grade SSDs, pushing speeds faster than many other NVME PCI-E…

    Crucial Memory and DDR5: Unleashing Epic Experiences!
    GAMING HARDWARE

    Crucial Memory and DDR5: Unleashing Epic Experiences!

    July 13, 2023Zak BearmanBy Zak Bearman

    Our friends at Crucial offered us an opportunity to review some of their Pro series memory! Me being the avid gamer and hardware savant…

    Hyper Karting and Hyper VR street signage
    GAMING REVIEWS

    Hyper Karting & Reality Hyper Amazing!

    June 7, 2023Darren 'Str8JaktJim' MacneallBy Darren 'Str8JaktJim' Macneall

    I recently visited Hyper Karting, a go-kart and VR centre in Sydney. As well as the go-karts, I was very keen to experience Hyper Reality.

    Game on Australia Logo

    Game On Aus is an Australian games publication working across written, video and podcast, and supported by an ever-growing community of content creators and fans!

    Copyright GameOnAus 2023. Privacy Policy. Website by Digital Hitmen

    CONTENT
    • News
    • Gaming Reviews
    • Podcast
    • Tech
    • Indie
    ABOUT GOA
    • About Us
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.