Kunai Reviews
A competent Metroidvania with some attractive visuals and fun gimmicks, but they can't hide the fact that the game underneath is far less inspired than it first seems.
The novelty of traversal doesn't last, leaving you with a generic adventure inspired by Metroid
The game holds itself well and is great fun, even if it lacks any real innovation. The unique weapon combinations can make each run different and interesting, but the repetitive nature of each level means that Kunai's replayability could be in doubt.
On the one hand, I feel like Kunai kind of missed its mark. The game is definitely trying to be something different and set itself apart, but there are just enough pain points that it’s hard to think it really works. There’s a lot of effort to keep you engaged and offer a slight twist on the formula, but most of those twists come off as broadly neutral.
Kunai is, for most part, a wonderfully complex Metroidvania. The colourful artwork, smooth movement, and clever level design are some of the greatest the genre has seen, but the high difficulty of the boss encounters will prevent some players from fully enjoying this vibrant world.
Kunai is a wonderful game and another stern reminder as to why I keep kicking myself for avoiding the Metroidvania genre for as long as I’ve had. Clearly this is a genre still in it’s renaissance period with new, inventive play styles still coming out at a decent pace and kunai is no exception to that rule. TLDR: It’s a good game. Buy it.
Kunai throws a grappling hook and a fair amount of style into the Metroidvania genre for a solid if not stellar example of the form.
Even with its steep difficulty curves, KUNAI is a charismatic and rewarding experience but some of its core mechanics doesn't work as well as the studio think, specially if you look at some well received games of the genre that came out this generation.
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