For whatever reason I completely avoided Katana Zero. I saw it at various PAXen, I’ve seen it at past GDQs, and my response was basically “yep, I get it, I’m good”. Then, as with damn near everything these days, it popped up on Game Pass, so I downloaded it. Then it was just a matter of waiting for time to kill.

Time to kill arrived!

Unfortunately the game was really short. Two gameplay sessions from start to credits. Much of the game’s replayability comes from the speedrun modes, which don’t really interest me, so I just burned through it. There’s only 12 levels, but it’s a game made (largely) by one dude, so I can’t really fault it there.

It was good! It ends a little abruptly, but it’s open for a sequel. It’s very very similar to Narita Boy in that respect. If the sequel doesn’t land on Game Pass, I’ll probably buy it outright.

Strongly Recommended as part of Game Pass. Slightly less strongly recommended for retail price, unless you’re interested in the speedrunning aspect.