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Katana Zero is a 2019 platform game developed by American Indie game studio Askiisoft and published by Devolver Digital. Set in a dystopian metropolis, the neo-noir storyline follows Subject Zero, a katana-wielding assassin with amnesia who can bullet time and Precognition. Zero unravels his past while completing assassination contracts. Katana Zero features side-scrolling hack-and-slash gameplay in which the player attempts to kill all enemies in a level without being hit, using Zero's abilities to manipulate time, dodge attacks, and take advantage of environmental hazards. In between levels, the story is told in sequences where the player converses with non-player characters through .
Katana Zero was conceptualized by video game designer Justin Stander, who began development of the game in 2013. He had previously developed freeware games under his studio Askiisoft, such as Tower of Heaven (2009), and conceived Katana Zero as his first commercial game. Using GameMaker Studio 2, Stander sought to make a difficult story-driven game that did not force the player to wait through dialogue and . He focused on attention to detail and looked to films such as Sin City (2005) and John Wick (2014) for story inspiration. The development was prolonged and Stander worked mostly alone, although he recruited artists to design the visuals as well as musicians Bill Kiley and Thijs "LudoWic" Lodewijk to compose the synthwave soundtrack.
Katana Zero was released for macOS, Nintendo Switch and Windows on April 18, 2019. It sold 500,000 copies in less than a year and received positive reviews. Critics praised the gameplay—which they favorably compared to Devolver's Hotline Miami (2012)—and the visuals, writing, and music. The story divided reviewers and the unresolved ending was criticized. Several critics cited Katana Zero as one of the best independent games of 2019 and it was nominated for numerous year-end accolades.
Ports of Katana Zero were released for the Xbox One in 2020, and Android and iOS via Netflix Games in 2024. Downloadable content is in development and Stander intends to continue the fictional universe in future games.
Levels are split into several rooms, and the player must kill every enemy in a room using their sword, throwable objects, such as lamps and pots, or environmental hazards, such as lasers. Aside from occasional bosses, each enemy dies in a single hit. Certain levels feature unique game mechanics, such as a stealth game mission in a nightclub, a motorcycle chase, and an alternate player character. Any damage results in instant death for Zero, requiring the player to restart from the most recent checkpoint. Katana Zero has been frequently compared to Hotline Miami (2012), as both feature levels filled with enemies, one-hit kills, and require players to determine their chosen route strategically. Outside of the main game, there are two additional : hard mode features difficulty level levels with new enemy varieties, reworked bosses, and additional challenges; and speedrun mode challenges the player to complete every level in the fastest time possible, with the options to level editor and skip .
In between levels, the player converses with non-player characters (NPCs), such as the psychiatrist, the girl, and a Russian psychopath antagonist named V, who admires Zero's lethality. In a real-time dialogue tree system, the player chooses responses during conversations and can interrupt an NPC's dialogue at any time. Their decisions determine how much exposition is presented and how Zero is characterized; for example, Zero comes across as rude if the player repeatedly interrupts. Although they do not change the overall plot, players' dialogue choices can affect certain events, and one boss fight can only be activated by making specific decisions.
Zero and the psychiatrist's relationship becomes strained as the psychiatrist grows increasingly disagreeable and Zero suspects he is withholding information about the assassinations. Later, another clairvoyant swordsman, identifying himself as the actual "Dragon", dismembers and abducts V. Zero learns about his own past as a supersoldier known as a "NULL" and that the drug he had been taking, known as Chronos, gave him his abilities. However, it causes users to become trapped within their minds as a drug withdrawal symptom. Zero is tasked with eliminating the Dragon, but fails after encountering a similarly clairvoyant marksman, known as Headhunter, and is forced to kill intervening police - however, when he is eventually cornered, he is confronted by a pair of men wearing drama masks, who force him to choose whether to live at the cost of an unknown price or to die permanently at the hands of the police, with the latter leading to an alternate ending. Afterwards, Zero is tasked with destroying a bunker with confidential materials related to Chronos, and kills Headhunter. However, he ultimately spares the family hiding inside the Bunker, and, tired of being manipulated, kills the psychiatrist. The girl goes missing, presumably kidnapped by the masked men and the story ends on a cliffhanger. A flashback reveals Zero's nightmare is a memory from the war, and that he was the soldier who shot the scientist, and also worked with the Dragon, who was identified as Fifteen.
After Stander graduated in 2015, he developed Katana Zero full time. He worked on multiple projects alongside it as a precaution since he felt the chances of success were slim. The total budget was 60,000, which Stander noted was quite small for a game of Katana Zero scope. He stated: "Most of it was just not paying myself at all and cutting down costs in my own life to do nothing but work on the game." Stander worked largely on his own, although he recruited help for the art and music. The game was initially developed for personal computers (macOS and Windows). Stander decided to develop a Nintendo Switch version immediately after the system was unveiled because he saw it as a good console for indie games. GameMaker made it easy to porting Katana Zero and the long development meant it was already well optimized.
Stander wanted Katana Zero to feel cinematic and sought to subvert expectations: "As soon as you think you understand how this game is going to play out, then I just try to completely shift it on you... as soon as you're comfortable in something, I try to shift things up. And I do that several times throughout the game. I really mess with the player." To maintain variety, he incorporated many enemy types, environmental traps, alternate level pathways, and . A minecart pathway inspired by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) took over a month to create. Stander looked to indie games that feature "tight, fast-paced, instant death combat" for inspiration, such as (2009) and Gunpoint (2013).
The art style was inspired by the neon lighting aesthetics associated with the 1980s. Recruiting artists proved challenging; Stander called himself "a terrible artist", and for two years no artists worked on the game. He found artists through the online independent developer community TIGSource, but said it was difficult to recruit high-quality who would commit to the project. Many would only work on it for weeks or days before quitting for various reasons, such as other commitments or feeling their style did not match. Stander used the neon lighting to blend the artists' different styles. He considered being able to get an artist team to finish the game mere chance and credited the artists with motivating him to finish.
Stander focused on attention to detail and said adding a single mechanic, such as a gun turret, would require him to alter many different systems, such as the lighting, to maintain cohesion. Production value was important, as Stander wanted the engine to feel flawless. He said this meant "no Software bug. Everything needs to feel like an extension of the player. When you play it, you should always feel like this is exactly what I wanted to do and that is what the character did." When developing small freeware games, he could scrutinize minute details, which would result in him spending a year to make a short, 20–30 minute game. Adapting this mentality to a full-length commercial game contributed to the prolonged development; Stander originally expected development to last a year or two. His focus on particulars demoralized him, to the point he made little progress for a year.
Katana Zero is a pastiche of films Stander enjoyed. He was inspired by the Eastern culture of samurai cinema and wanted a vulnerable yet lethal protagonist similar to those from Korean cinema revenge thriller film. Film influences included Oldboy (2003) Sin City (2005), Drive (2011), and John Wick for their "invincible-yet-human" protagonists and "stylistic violence set over a dark, grimy, neon coated setting," as well as Seven Samurai (1954) and the films of Quentin Tarantino. The story structure was inspired by Hotline Miami, in which the player character is directed to kill by mysterious phone calls, and its themes include drug addiction and mental health. Stander hesitated to deal with such topics as they had never affected him, but after some research, felt he could treat them respectfully. Stander said the script was rewritten around 30 times.
Stander allowed the player to interrupt any line of spoken dialogue because many of the he grew up playing "would grind to a halt as the protagonist and the second banana argued about politics, or when the villain deigned to deliver a winding monologue." He considered this one of the biggest problems with cutscenes, as they strip players of their agency. Additionally, Stander felt an assassin like Zero would not wait to listen to a villain justify their schemes. He was conscious speedrunners would skip all the dialogue and included in-game consequences for interrupting constantly to create a sense of realism. He adopted a show-don't-tell approach to convey as much of the story, themes, and characters as possible through just visuals. A level in which the player controls the Dragon was intended to show the character's lethality without words.
The dialogue tree system originated from Stander's concept for a role-playing video game (RPG) that centered on limitlessness, allowing the player to interact with any object and fight any NPC. He wanted every action to have repercussions, which he likened to the Grand Theft Auto games. Although he never developed the RPG, Stander reincorporated the dialogue system in Katana Zero to keep the pacing consistent. Difficulty arose from finding the right timing between interrupting and responding. would choose the wrong response if they interrupted too late, or unintentionally interrupt by taking too much time to respond. Stander resolved the problem using "coyote time", a trick in game development in which developers provide the player a brief interval to make their decision even if the on-screen window of opportunity has passed.
Stander kept the stakes for each dialogue choice minimal to reduce tension and make choosing a response feel natural. He noted "even the ones that seem big will peter out or resolve themselves," similar to Telltale Games' The Walking Dead series, such as an instance in which a decision will cause the player to temporarily lose their sword. However, he said "the way the story is told is entirely dependent on the choices," noting worldbuilding and character relationships can change depending on the dialogue options. For example, Zero's relationship with the psychiatrist suffers if the player ignores his orders, which can lead to alternate story paths in which Zero learns information he was not supposed to. Stander used graphical effects to emphasize major decisions, such as moving or colored text and character animations. He accomplished this by programming the script to affect other areas of the game upon reaching certain points. His initial intention was only to add polish, but he began to experiment and added elements such as distortion effects and screen-shaking.
Kiley and Lodewijk looked to 1980s electronic music for inspiration since the game's themes—including drug use and the effect of war on a nation's spirit—were relevant in the 1980s in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. They originally worked separately, as Stander wanted Kiley to write muted music for story-driven scenes and Lodewijk to write energetic music for the main levels. According to Kiley, "As the project progressed we gleefully broke this rule and ended up writing music for levels and story scenes all over the place." Kiley and Lodewijk attempted to reflect Zero's changing psyche and moods in their music, such as when Zero experiences Chronos withdrawal and snorts cocaine in a limousine. Kiley drew influence from the work of Gary Numan, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Vangelis, and sought to evoke the feelings of 1980s .
Stander sent Kiley and Lodewijk screenshots, concept art, and notes describing the atmosphere he was aiming for, occasionally alongside an existing piece of music for reference. Lodewijk explained they would send their initial composition to Stander, leading to a series of exchanges that resulted in the final track. Some tracks ended up in different levels than intended, and for certain levels and dream sequences, Lodewijk wrote two tracks for Stander to blend in-game. Lodewijk composed most tracks in a single take, "letting go and sort of adjusting it as it went along." He drew inspiration from Nine Inch Nails, as he and Stander were fans of their dark and Industrial music tone. Lodewijk did not set out to make dark music, but he noted his tracks were often somber, even when he attempted to compose happy music.
Kiley said he composed using the same monitors Disasterpeace used to compose Fez (2012), while Lodewijk used vintage and such as the Akai MPC. While he did edit some tracks using his computer, Lodewijk described his process as "old-fashioned" and estimated 95% of his music was composed using vintage synths. Stander attempted to synchronize the music with the gameplay by having Zero turn on a Walkman at the beginning of each level, changing the music when Zero takes his earphones out to talk to an NPC, and slowing down the music when the player uses Chronos.
Katana Zero was released on April 18, 2019, as a downloadable game on GOG.com, Humble Bundle, Nintendo eShop, and Steam. The Switch version was temporarily banned in Australia after it was refused classification by the International Age Rating Coalition, due to its depiction of graphic violence and drug use. Devolver Digital resubmitted the game to the Australian Classification Board, which cleared it for a May release with an R18+ rating.
A physical release for Katana Zero on Nintendo Switch was announced to be distributed by Limited Run Games in July 2020, with pre-orders then scheduled to open that November. As of January 2026, it has not been released.
Critics praised the 16-bit visuals. They enjoyed the retro VHS aesthetic and visual effects—though some wrote their intensity could induce headaches—as well as the amount of detail in the sprites and animations. IGN found the lighting effects impressive and said they worked with the "slick neon aesthetic and fantastic sprite work" to give the game personality. GameSpot appreciated that Katana Zero did not use a retro aesthetic simply for nostalgia, and alongside Polygon found the detailed sprite work and smooth animations added emotional weight.
The soundtrack was acclaimed. Destructoid called it an "audial delight" and Nintendo Life reviewer said the music overshadowed the rest of the game at points. He felt the soundtrack had a clear focus but remained "willing to experiment with obscure genres" and complimented the composers for doing something original in contrast to the "cliché" chiptune style prevalent in indie games. IGN said the soundtrack was excellent and fitting, and PC Gamer liked how it was contextualized in the world.
Although reviewers praised the writing, they were divided on the story. Destructoid noted it was difficult to discuss since much is left to the player's interpretation. Shacknews praised the , and GameSpot said the story did a good job balancing graphic violence with "delicately quiet character moments and some heartfelt relationships". Some commended how the story provided context for the slow-motion game mechanic, and others thought it had heart. However, PC Gamer found the plot generic dystopian fiction with , while Game Informer felt it had interesting ideas but "most of them just cryptically meander without reaching any crescendo". Multiple reviewers disliked the ending, which they called abrupt, and felt teased story moments lacked payoffs. GameSpot found this problematic since a sequel was not guaranteed.
The dialogue system was considered creative and innovative. Reviewers said the branching dialogue paths and alternate story scenarios added replay value. The graphical effects used to emphasize dialogue were praised for adding emotional weight to conversations. Destructoid and Nintendo Life said the dialogue system helped make the story interesting, and Polygon wrote it helped the player build an emotional connection with Zero. Minor criticism came from IGN, which said many story deviations felt superficial, leading to later choices feeling inconsistent with those made earlier. Nonetheless, IGN said the dialogue system was entertaining and encouraged multiple playthroughs.
Critics enjoyed the fast, fluid gameplay, which they frequently compared to Hotline Miami. Rock, Paper, Shotgun and IGN said the influences were obvious, but this was not a problem. IGN said the controls were "empoweringly flexible" and Nintendo Life said it felt great to learn them. Reviewers frequently compared Katana Zero to a puzzle game, requiring the player to strategize and plan. They said this made completing each level feel satisfying, with Game Informer considering the trial-and-error process of polishing movements "the most entertaining part of the". Conversely, Polygon felt the gameplay, while good, did not live up to the presentation, and that the puzzle-like design made the game feel limited. The short length was noted, but IGN and Nintendo Life said it worked in the game's favor since it meant there was no filler.
Reviewers said the player character's abilities were static and limited. While Game Informer said this was a problem, USgamer found the game was "all about playing with those scant toys", and PC Gamer felt they were "adaptable enough to make the combat encounters varied". GameSpot, USgamer, Destructoid, and IGN felt the gameplay stayed interesting with its set pieces and variety of enemy types, though Game Informer disagreed. IGN reviewer said the Chronos slow motion mechanic was his favorite element since it was powerful but still limited, and Nintendo Life described the process of balancing Chronos use throughout the levels as exciting. Destructoid praised how enemies never reset to their original position after deaths, although Game Informer considered this an annoyance.
| The Game Awards 2019 | Best Independent Game | ||
| 2020 SXSW Gaming Awards | Most Promising New Intellectual Property | ||
| 16th British Academy Games Awards | Debut Game |
Android and iOS ports were released on May 21, 2024. The ports were published by Netflix as part of its expansion into video games; while free to download, they require an active Netflix subscription to play. The ports received positive reviews from Pocket Gamer and TouchArcade, who felt the game remained high quality on mobile platforms. However, Pocket Gamer said the controls did not transition well to a touchscreen due to the precision and reflexes Katana Zero requires.
On April 10, 2025, a teaser trailer for the DLC was released, confirming that the DLC is still being worked on and will remain free on release. The release date was not disclosed.
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