Slave Zero X Review (PC)
Summary: Slave Zero X is a fantastic game with fast paced action and combat combined with great gameplay rhythm.
4.2
A Slice em-up Game
The great feeling of satisfaction to get what you hoped for; that’s how I felt when I started to play Slave Zero X. A fast-paced beat ‘em up game with katana, blood, gore, and a dysfunctioning dystopian world where to get to butcher enemies in a horde. That’s what I was hoping for and Slave Zero X and I got a bit more than that.
The fight and gameplay of Slave Zero is simple but challenging. It requires a good amount of focus as well as practice to defeat a horde of enemies coming from all directions as well as survive. One of the best things about Slave Zero is the 2.5D style of the game which puts all the enemies at your back or front. That means players can slay a dozen enemies at the same time and feel like a god doing it.
Even though you don’t get any other weapon in the game, you will never feel the need for it as well. You can carry a few grenades but that is a mere accessory and your main weapon is you, your agility, and your bloody katana. However, I would say that the movement and platforming of Slave Zero could have been much better.
Not just in terms of execution but in designing levels to have a bit more platforming challenges would have made the gameplay richer and more dense. Apart from the platforming, I would say the simplicity of combat was the best choice the developers could make. The game will get tense very quickly and very often which requires a lot of focus. Since we are not dealing with complex gameplay, we can put all the focus on combos, deflecting, and evading attacks.
The same could be said about the different and unique aesthetics of the game, its world, and its art style as well. It’s simple but glitchy style serves the world-building and creates the dystopian atmosphere of the game, but it’s not so bold to distract you from the main reason you are here: slaying enemies to the last one of them.
I found it truly fascinating that even though most of the beauty of the game’s art style lay in the background, it was passively making me hate this world and more encouraged to try to solve the issues of this country. This brings me to the most surprising aspect of Slave Zero X; its story.
I would not have expected such a well-written story from this game. Surely it is not a totally unique story nor does it have a weird narrative that would make your head explode, but the fact that there is a fine written story, no matter how simple, is always admirable. That’s actually what makes the little story of Slave Zero X work so good.
It is true to itself and does not want to dwell on unnecessary things nor it wants to be deep and philosophical. Its narrative, depth, and character development are just good enough to keep you going until the very last bit of the story. I would however criticize the lack of good music in the game. I am totally sure that a bit more ambient and synth-wave tracks would help not only the atmosphere of the game but the rhythm of it as well. Not to mention that having good songs would make pump adrenaline more into the bloodstream.
Final Thoughts
Slave Zero X is a terrific beat ”em-up game with fast-paced combats and loads of enemies to butcher and slay. The simple but challenging gameplay of the game works perfectly, however, there could have been more platforming in the game as well. Lastly, the story is good enough and well-written for such a title but a few good ambient tracks would have been wonderful as well.
About the Author
S. Masoud Kazemi An admirer of art that doesn't stop talking about films and games.
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