Suda is back with a stylish action game that lacks story and depth, but makes up for it pure flash.
You play as Mondo Zappa; an executioner employed by the state. He goes around executing monsters that are causing terror around the world. That's the extent of the story in all honesty. None of the 12 episodes really connect to each other and in the end, it's all one randomly tossed together mess. The characters are cool and fun and the game can be pretty funny, but the story has no structure and is almost impossible to follow making this the worst story Suda has ever penned.
The gameplay is as simple as a Suda game has ever been, but it's still incredibly flashy. It's all about building momentum and keeping a combo going. The more hits you land, the harder you hit and the faster you attack. It's satisfying to build your combos high and seeing Mondo zip around the stages killing all his enemies. You can also shoot at your enemies with you left arm Musselback and it can also be used to break enemy's guard. You can dodge with the circle button and if you press the button while standing still, you'll parry which will open an enemy up for a counter attack. If you dodge at the right moment, you'll enter a state where you mash the square button to hack an enemy apart.
While the combat is flashy and fun, it has no depth to it. It's just you mashing square while pressing circle every now and then. It's also not as satisfying as No More Heroes' combat, which this is similar to. Every kill in No More Heroes was satisfying as hell, cutting the enemies in half to have them burst into blood and jingling coins. Here, the end of combat encounters are satisfying and the special assassination kills you can perform are, but they are as satisfying. It's combat is much faster, more smooth and more fun than Lollipop Chainsaw's, however. Boss fights are still pretty fun, as they should be in a Suda51 game.
The music is very fitting. It's jazzy, creepy and rocking all at the same time and at appropriate moments. The Japanese voice work is also very good as is what I have heard of the English dub. Once again, Akira Yamaoka does a great job with the music, much like he always does.
The visuals are Suda's best so far. They are like a mix between No More Heroes and Killer7, cel-shaded but with very strong, dark colors and very dark shadows. It looks incredibly stylish even if it's running on Unreal Engine 3 and, while it might not be the most impressive game on a technical level, it's one of the most attractive game this year. Every character is very well designed and Mondo is one stylish main character. I've noticed a few texture loading common in UE games, but nothing worth complaining about.
One thing that is worth complaining about is the enemy variety, it's pretty lacking. It has more variety than No More Heroes but about as much as Lollipop Chainsaw, which had very little. One annoyance I had was that the game's lip syncing was way off with the Japanese voices which is very odd for a Japanese game. Aside from those two complaints, it looks fantastic and, once more, stylish.
PROs
- Fast, frantic combat
- Fun characters
- Can be pretty funny
- Boss fights are fun
- Music and voice work are great
- Visuals are fantastic
- Pretty damn stylish
CONs
- Story is about as absentminded and confusing as they get, Killer7 made a lot more sense
- Combat is incredibly simple
- Lip syncing is way off while playing in Japanese
- Enemy variety is severely lacking, both in design and gameplay
Overall, Killer is Dead is a fun time. It won't last you very long at all, it took me a little over six hours, and it isn't deep, but it's worth playing. It's probably not worth full price, but it's worth a look. It's as stylish as they come and it's just plain fun while it lasts, don't let the lack of story put you off.
Story: 5.0/10
Gameplay: 7.5/10
Audio: 7.5/10
Presentation: 8.5/10