Katana Zero

Gave this game a go due to GamePass at the request of Kaz on Twitter. Really, really fun game with a pretty fun dialogue system. The game uses the typical 'choose your reaction' for dialogue, but has a unique option where the player just says "shut up" and it skips or at least forwards the dialogue. Interestingly, characters and the story react to this. There's a boss where you're said beforehand to not listen to a word he says, which the game reacts to if you do so by just choosing the "shut up" option. Very neat!

Gameplay is very simple but effective. You go through short levels killing everything, you die in a single hit and can slow down time. Funnily enough you get to see the entire run through the level again near the end without the slow-mo to see how 'epic' you were. Fun game!

Recommend collecting the secret weapons, some have unique effects/properties. Namely the Claymore(slower swing with larger hitbox that reflects multiple shots) and the Master sword(adds projectile).
The Prism sword is just nice and colorful, I for one get tired of enemies bleeding just red all the time(shout out to NanoBreaker for rainbow blood option).



Make sure to fight the True Final Boss, dialogue system is integral to unlocking it.

Hard mode adds altered boss patterns, enemy types/layouts and hazards.

Looking forward to the DLC, will likely be on PS4 by then(beat it on Mac originally).

Interesting note on the secret weapons. I have a few of them but didn't dive in too deep after completing the game. I tried Hard Mode, not a fan that it is locked behind Speedrun mode. Would like to just replay the story entirely on Hard which doesn't seem to be possible.

Didn't know about that final boss either. Going to give the game a little replay down the line!