In an extremely clever and fun framing of the action, every level is contextualized as being the planning of an assassination. Looking for something else to play on Switch? Why not check out our list of the best Switch games that are currently available.Katana Zero puts you in control of a nameless samurai assassin with the power to manipulate time and see into the future. This is a nifty little title that works so well on Switch (it's also available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One too by the way), will keep you guessing in terms of storyline, and always on your toes in terms of combat. The interactive cutscenes are brilliantly animated, all in the game's unique pixel art style, and the time-bending story is weaved excellently all throughout the entirety of the game. Levels are fantastically crafted, and always visually varied – my personal favourite is still the one where you work through a club, hiding from guards in clusters of dancers by strutting your stuff. Katana Zero is always strongly channelling a neo-noir vibe and is beautiful in a neon-pixels-covered-in-blood kind of way. "Katana Zero is brilliant at giving you enough tools to master each level too, meaning it can sometimes feel more like a puzzler than a 2D shooter at times"
So, oh boy, when that replay comes does it feel good. In the end, it's just about learning each level, how the enemies move, where the inevitable surprises come from and, eventually, making your way through from start to finish with no survivors. Each failure can be chalked up to bad timing, not utilising your time manipulation enough, or simply coming at a level from a slightly different tactical standpoint. Katana Zero is brilliant at giving you enough tools to master each level too, meaning it can sometimes feel more like a puzzler than a 2D shooter at times. But with Katana Zero, persistence, creativity and a little bit of good old logic means that it can be mastered fairly quickly – and you can always see where you've gone wrong if you're facing rewind after rewind. Near-instant gratificationĪs someone who gave up on Sekiro due to a lack of patience, not to mention that feeling of it being near-impossible that I just couldn't shake.
And yes, that means if you die several levels into their movement patterns, you're going straight back to the beginning of the fight. I won't spoil what or, more importantly, who they are here as they're so heavily tied to the game's twisting-and-turning storyline, but know that they're not easy, and still adhere to the one-hit-kill mechanic. Plus, just like Sekiro, that sense of achievement also extends to boss fights, as taking them down hinges on your ability to recognise their patterns as much as it does your skill. It's that sense of mastery – and sometimes relief – as you complete each level that feeds back that gratification loop, and far more regularly than you're going to get with something like Sekiro. There's so much to think about that getting through a level can feel like an achievement in itself, but then, continuing the VHS theme, the entire level will replay as a kind of black-and-white take on your colourful – and bloody – antics emphasising just how awesome your execution was as you massacred your way through each level.
Avoiding laser beams, blending into crowds, avoiding security cams, and unlocking doors are all obstacles that you'll need to figure out how to navigate, you know, amidst all the decapitating and the maiming. Thankfully, you also have the ability to slow down time to make sure that a well-timed move is as well-timed as possible – anything less and you are being whipped back to the start.
You'll have to use your katana, and a plethora of throwable weapons like Molotov cocktails, meat cleavers, and stone busts to avoid getting hit, and learn that a well-timed roll or slash of your blade can deflect bullets. However, because our lovely little samurai can rewind time, the moment you're struck by an enemy you are thrust back to the start of the level to try it all over again – this is accompanied by a lovely visual animation that's like physically rewinding a VHS tape. At its core, Katana Zero is a game with zero health bars and technically zero second chances.