Killer Is Dead

If I had to describe this game in one word, it would be "weird".
It's "weird" both in a good way and a bad way. The good weirdness is that nearly every level is unique, bizarre and highly creative. The screenshots on the Store page don't really do it justice. The bad way is that the story is very hard to follow and doesn't make much sense.

In contrast, the gameplay is fairly conventional, it's a hack-and-slash much like Bayonetta or Metal Gear Rising, but it does not have the depth or polish that these games have. It also has a mode where you have to stare at a woman's breasts without her noticing, so that she gives you upgrades after your incredibly engaging date. Some people criticized this for being sexist, I'm going to criticize it for being extremely boring and pointless.

Overall, if you're looking for a game that is both weird and creative, I would recommend getting it when it's on sale. If you're just looking for a good hack-and-slash/spectacle fighter/character action/who even cares/ game, I suggest looking somewhere else.

wow now THIS is even more NONSENSICAL than serious sam 2... this game is just fucking retarded, plain and simple. the plot is totally pointless and stupid as fuck. it reaks of lame japanese anime-manga stupidity that its hard to stomach. once again, all that shit out of the way hows the gameplay? well, i can't say I really enjoy spam attack button, mash this button, hack & slash games...its basically a 3d beat em' up and its really not that in depth or complicated...

it's also fairly short and beatable in a sitting or two, the few moments the combat is exciting it can feel satisfying, but i dont know, im just not a fan of these beat em up button mashing games period..

5/10

In Killer Is Dead, you play as Mondo Zappa, an assassin armed with a katana and a cybernetic arm. Clients come to the Bryan Execution Firm with targets that turn out to be demonic creatures.

The story is very vague and extremely weird. Shortly after starting, you meet a creepy girl called Alice who is in a very surreal house, with obvious inspiration from Alice in Wonderland. Then later, you end up on the moon. Later, there's a demon that has stolen a musicians ears, and you will also motorcycle chase a man riding a tiger. The levels are all over the place, and there's not much story tying it all together.

The character designs are quite varied. Some are interesting and more serious, but then you get Mondo's assistant Mika, who is an over-the-top whiny anime girl. Her personality is obnoxious, but other characters do acknowledge her behaviour, so it seems part of the joke.

The game gets off to a poor start. You are forced to walk slowly over long distances, then when you introduced to the combat, where you can only slash and are unable to do anything else like dodge until those concepts are taught to you. The initial chapters are very short and cut-scene heavy too, so you will have seen two mission summary screens after around 2 minutes of gameplay (that's no exaggeration).

The graphics are interesting, being a cel-shaded style like “Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z”. The level design is fairly linear, and there are some fairly clunky areas where it looks like you could move there, but hit invisible walls.

Combat involves hammering the X button to attack (there aren't really any combos), Y to break enemy's guard, holding B to block, or dodging using B and a direction. Dodging/blocking at the right time allows you to counter, allowing you to dish out several hits. Increasing your hit streak without taking a hit increases your attack strength.

When you execute an enemy, you can choose the reward. You can choose health gems to recover health, blood roses to regenerate your arm gun, or experience which increases your health bar or blood level.

You can spend your experience points on new abilities. Aside from the abilities to regenerate health, the abilities don't add that much to the combat.

If you lose all your health, you can choose to restart at a checkpoint or use one of your continues. At which point Mika jumps in to restart your heart. This involves mashing a button as fast as possible.

The camera is frequently zoomed in too close to the action, meaning its hard to see ranged enemies. I found myself constantly dodging and running away to try and reposition the camera in order to get a better idea of what I was up against.

There are Gigolo missions which involve going on a date with a woman, and if you are successful; you can gain gun upgrades or other items. It's a really shallow, sleazy and offensive event. The woman will repeat the same dialog lines, occasionally looking away from you. When she does, you have to take a sneak peak at her body. Doing it enough times allows you to pluck up the courage to give her a gift. Fill the bar up, and you are successful. Get caught perving at her too many times; then you fail.

Killer Is Dead's gameplay is quite basic which wouldn't be too bad if it had a great story to tell. I'm sure there is a coherent story somewhere in here, but it's hidden behind a lot of lunacy which obfuscates it.