Many video games can get away with barely sketchy efficiency if the gameplay expertise is a little more laidback and relaxed (or ‘cinematic’, in case you like). Others, nevertheless, like Slave Zero X, which give attention to blistering fight and classy visuals, might be nearly unattainable to advocate if their efficiency isn’t as much as scratch. Sadly, that is precisely the case with writer Ziggurat Interactive’s retro motion recreation, which truthfully has the potential to be one of the respectable hack ‘n’ slash/beat ‘em ups in current reminiscence, however for now, squanders this on Swap with a dreadful body price.
That is genuinely irritating as a result of the core gameplay is distinctive – actually. And for a brief interval as we labored our approach by means of the sport’s opening stage, we thought to ourselves, “Good lord, that is nice!” Sadly, whereas the introductory stage boasts moderately secure efficiency to enrich the continuous motion, the body price tanks after you beat the primary boss and transfer onto the second stage. It obtained so dangerous that we needed to swallow our delight and finally name it quits earlier than the top, defeated by the poor optimisation on Nintendo’s console. The writer says there is a patch on the best way which ought to alleviate this, however the recreation got here out almost two weeks in the past on the time of writing, and the harm is completed.
![Slave Zero X Review - Screenshot 2 of 4](https://images.nintendolife.com/screenshots/147424/900x.jpg)
However let’s speak concerning the positives first, we could? Slave Zero X is a prequel to the 1999 Dreamcast third-person shooter Slave Zero (which, by the way, was revealed by the just lately revived Infogrames label) and shifts the motion onto a 2.5D airplane whereas buying and selling in weapons for a samurai sword. The story sees you are taking management of Shou, who merges with a stolen Slave Unit Prototype and thus turns into a near-unstoppable killing machine intent on getting revenge on its creators. Each Shou and the Slave Unit are absolutely voiced, so there’s some good back-and-forth dialogue throughout gameplay and cutscenes. Clearly, you’re not right here for the plot, although, and the sport does an excellent job at making certain you’re not pulled away from the motion for too lengthy.
It is a conventional hack ‘n’ slash in the place the purpose of the sport is to be taught particular combos by combining gentle and heavy assaults to outlive. Its gameplay is exceptionally methodical, so there’ll be no button mashing right here, people; it’ll get you nowhere. You should use each assaults along with directional presses to unleash totally different strikes, and it’s also possible to dash, leap, and duck to combine up your offensive technique. We are going to say, nevertheless, that leaping doesn’t really feel all that nice; certainly, each time the Slave Unit isn’t swinging its sword, it’s not probably the most agile character on this planet, so leaping up ledges or over gaps feels a bit extra cumbersome than it ought to.
![Slave Zero X Review - Screenshot 3 of 4](https://images.nintendolife.com/screenshots/147419/900x.jpg)
While you’re within the midst of a struggle, nevertheless (and the body price is behaving), Slave Zero X feels fantastic. There’s a little bit of a steep studying curve at first with the fight mechanics, however when you get right into a little bit of a groove and accumulate longer combos, you begin to actually admire the work that’s gone into the gameplay. As you progress additional, the enemies turn out to be an increasing number of quite a few to the purpose the place you is likely to be up towards 4 primary troopers, 4 heavy enemies, and three airborne drones multi functional go. To be trustworthy, that is in all probability one of many principal the explanation why the body price struggles to keep up consistency, and it additionally feels considerably antithetical to the methodical gameplay mechanics.
Slave Zero X actually feels at its greatest if you’re up towards one or two (perhaps three) enemies in a single go. It permits you to decelerate a bit and determine the optimum option to dispatch foes whereas offering ample alternative to parry incoming assaults or dodge out of the best way. It’s if you get a dozen or so enemies in a single go that it might probably begin to really feel overwhelming, however fortunately the sport does present a few further methods that will help you handle the group.
By clicking the left analogue stick, you’ll be able to ship out a fast pulse which sends all surrounding enemies flying backwards, permitting you to regain your footing. In the meantime, urgent ‘R’ enhances the Slave Unit’s assault energy, which makes bigger enemies really feel a bit much less ‘spongy’ than typical, leading to faster, extra satisfyingly gory deaths.
![Slave Zero X Review - Screenshot 4 of 4](https://images.nintendolife.com/screenshots/147427/900x.jpg)
We also needs to observe that Slave Zero X seems attractive. Developer Poppy Works utilises extremely detailed 2D sprites along with 3D rendered environments, and visually, it really works properly. There might be a number of factors in every stage the place you’ll flip a nook, permitting the digicam to pan across the surroundings to offer an actual good peek on the background. Once more, nevertheless, this in all probability doesn’t assist the body price on Swap, and the mixture of a number of characters on display screen with a fairly busy, animated background is a match made in hell for efficiency.
We hate to bang on about this a lot, however Slave Zero X follows within the footsteps of Konami’s Contra: Operation Galuga in that it’s a genuinely nice recreation… simply not on Swap. Each titles rely closely on split-second reactions, and when the efficiency isn’t as much as snuff, it makes the expertise far more troublesome and irritating than the designers meant. Slave Zero X was already delayed on the Swap, however truthfully, we might have been pleased to attend longer.
Conclusion
Slave Zero X is an extremely irritating launch, as a result of it might have so simply been a slam dunk. It is an excellent recreation — it truly is — with fashionable fight mechanics, stunning 2D sprites mixed with 3D environments, and an superior, cyberpunk-esque storyline. Sadly, although patches could finally flip this lump of coal right into a diamond, the sport because it stands is a sizzling mess on Swap, with a wildly inconsistent body price that makes the advanced, methodical gameplay really feel like a chore to play.