Allison Weiss
Game Designer & Artist
Katana Zero
By Askiisoft
Super cool cover art for a super cool game.
Unlike most of the games that my posts have been about so far, Katana Zero is a game I played a while ago. As such, this post will act as a bit more of a retrospective, even though I will, of course, be replaying it so that my comments on things like controls and flow will not be muddled by my crumby memory. This is one of the juiciest games I’ve had the pleasure of playing, with juice in this context meaning that it has tons of visual and audio feedback for executed in-game actions. I really enjoyed mowing through this game, and getting stuck in a perfectionist loop when trying to kill everyone without being detected.
Basic Story Concepts
I’m just going to describe the vibe and general facts about the game’s plot, as that is what drives the player through the game’s levels, and adds extra layers of contextual complexity to the game’s finely tuned mechanics.
In Katana Zero, you play as a Subject Zero, nicknamed the Dragon, a katana-wielding assassin with a *possible* addiction to the time-altering drug Chronos. You receive your targets and Chronos from your psychiatrist, and spend your off time at your little apartment, sleeping on your couch, haunted by mysterious nightmares. As you progress through the game, you uncover hints of a conspiracy and seek answers the only way you can–by slashing through waves of violent grunts, gunmen, and trippy boss battles.
The Gameplay
Complete Control and Quick Resets
A really tight platformer, with quick executions.
Katana Zero is a 2D, pixel art platformer in which you execute your targets and their henchmen with your katana. You can also slow down time at the press of a button–but only until your meter runs out–making it easy to react immediately to your enemies and even deflect bullets. And although the game focuses more on executions that platforming as a puzzle, Katana Zero still has some of the tightest platforming controls I’ve enjoyed in 2019, or even just the tightest overall control. The game’s response to my button presses feel perfectly one-to-one, so everything the player character does happens exactly when I enter the command to do that. These finely tuned responses leave me with no excuses for any mistake or death, as each was brought on by my hand.
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/Nx794wAE/76778167_418200192179520_628107137037369344_n_hd.mp4
Dialogue System
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/ai3ZIJtM/77333359_454364655199118_547714699400052736_n_hd.mp4
I sadistically enjoyed Katana Zero’s take on a dialogue system. But what I really loved about it is your ability to rudely interrupt people. As someone who’s played plenty of games with bunches of front-loaded exposition, I’m used to spamming the ‘A’ button to fast forward through the slog. Here in Katana Zero, I can let the NPC know they are wasting my time! But they are able to remember my choices and get pissed at me if I do it too often.
I appreciate when games provide consequences to my unintended behaviors. I mean, I can’t even drink some herbal tea without thinking, “Oh god, what if I shouldn’t have done that? Did I just drink poison?”
Time Slowing Mechanic
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/275AK92A/76996908_1377946145714787_8509378528993607680_n_hd.mp4
This game is not easy, in fact it is super tricky. You and enemies move so quickly, and a single misstep means immediate death and starting the stage over again. Fast pace and high stakes cause the ability to slow things down to feel immensely powerful, making the time to think and plan your moves the key to success. The importance of strategy is further emphasized by the game’s narrative concept that your gameplay is merely the character’s precognitive ability at work while he plans the perfect run.
The narrative even justifies your ability as a side effect of your doses of Chronos, which I found to be a really nice, meta touch. But as the story’s secrets unravels, you are lead to question if the drugs bring it about…or inhibit it?
After Many Failures, Seeing Your Perfect Run
Katana Zero has the previously stated challenge and quick level reset, and these properties often combine and put the player into a swift rhythm of start-die-reset-slow time-progress-die-repeat until you are able to get through a stage blindfolded. And once you get through, you are shown a replay of your successful run without showing time slowing down. This acts as a gratifying reward after so many failures, seeing all of your plans come together as you perfectly slaughter your enemies without any pause or hesitation.
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/8QrRVWjG/77145790_460029824862411_2719348823951409152_n_hd.mp4
What Really Works
The Tape Aesthetic
There are several tapes and vhs themed visuals throughout the game. Our samurai guy listens to his walkman, the level select menu operates by selecting video tapes and inserting them into the vhs player, and an entire level takes place within the narrative that it is the events recorded on a security video tape.
I haven’t really seen tape recordings as an aesthetic past walkmans executed so broadly as a visual, audio and narrative theme, and executed so brilliantly, at that. I’d recommend this game just to share its retro splendor, but it totally helps that this game is fun, challenging, and has a wild narrative of twists and turns, in spite of lacking a conclusion.
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/VYhOexGr/74199365_2155311314773793_1862487584085639168_n_hd.mp4
Pictured below, the level select screen which, in a fun touch, is a close-up view of the TV in the Dragon’s apartment.
Days that Remain
After completing a level, going to sleep on your couch, and waking up from some wild dream sequences, the game displays a black screen and the words “# days remain”. It also plays a little sound byte of a bass-y beating sound, very similar to what occurs in Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask when the player turns back time. In Majora’s Mask, the days that remain, are the days before the extremely creepy moon crashes into the land of Hyrule, thus ending the world. Such a foreboding callback being present throughout Katana Zero, even the foreshadowing of the words alone, lead the player to understand that something bad is going to happen very soon.
After completing Katana Zero, I’m still wondering if the whole game is just the Dragon stuck in a permanent vortex of precognition seeing the same 9 days over and over again. And that just leads me down the thought-hole that every new game is just the same afterthought of a strung-out, neo-noir samurai. It’s trippy stuff, and I love it.
What Didn’t Quite Work
The Cliffhanger Ending
Katana Zero ends on a big ol’ “to be continued”. Going in to the game I was expecting a brief and contained, extremely juicy game. And that is what I got from the gameplay, but the story grows more and more intense without resolving fully. You have a big final battle and uncover secrets surrounding grand conspiracy, but are still left with questions and anticipation. No spoilers here folks, but y’know, don’t trust anybody because they might not be real, or they might be trying to use you or kill you.
Also…is the little girl okay? Was she even real?! I gotta know! I’m just so hooked on the story that by the time it was over, I was still riding my hype wave. So if anything, my issue with this stands in testament to how immersive the story is.
Final Thoughts
Pick up a virtual katana and start questioning your reality!
Pictured to the right is Katana Zero’s awesome website’s homepage. You probably already noticed that it closely resembles the appearance of the game’s level select menu!
The game has been out since April 18, 2019, and in my opinion, is a must-play. It is out on Nintendo Switch, Steam, GOG, and Humble Bundle. You should definitily check it out!
I gotta say, now that this post is done and I’ve once again been swept up in the Katana Zero spirit, I honestly want to re-write this whole post until it feels perfect. But that’d be crazy…or would it? Maybe just a few more times…
Ally Weiss 