Some platform games are about traversal puzzles. Others use the principles of the genre to be combat puzzles instead.
It’s not about “can I make the jump” or “can I time wall bounces correctly”, it’s about “do I have enough time to barge into the room, kill the nearest enemy, and dodge incoming fire.
Katana Zero is definitely the latter. It’s an intense action game with platformer trappings, where solving each encounter can take more than a little skill, foresight, and understanding.
Sometimes, however, there comes a time to sheathe your sword and find new paths in life… so we’ve prepared a list of eight games which could be your next journey. They are all similar in one way or another to Katana Zero, in case you want more of this playstyle, but don’t fancy replaying K0.
Thankfully the catalogue of digital items on G2A.COM can keep you supplied with attractive alternatives and follow-ups! So without further tactical pause, let’s leap weapons-first into the list of…
| Game | Release | Genre | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sanabi The Revenant | 2022-06-21 | Action | WONDER POTION |
 | Anomaly Agent | 2024-01-24 | Adventure | Phew Phew Games |
 | What Lies In The Multiverse | 2022-03-04 | Indie | Studio Voyager |
 | Ninja Issen | 2023-11-22 | Action | Asteroid-J |
 | Cyber Shadow | 2021-01-26 | Action | Mechanical Head Studios |
 | Valfaris | 2019-10-10 | Indie | Steel Mantis |
 | Orbital Bullet | 2021-04-22 | Action | SmokeStab |
 | My Friend Pedro | 2019-06-20 | Indie | DeadToast Entertainment |
 | Hotline Miami 1 2 Combo Pack | 2015-03-10 | Adventure | Dennaton Games |
 | Hotline Miami | 2012-10-23 | Adventure | Dennaton Games |
 | Hotline Miami 2 Wrong Number | 2015-03-10 | Action & Shooter | Dennaton Games |
 | Mark Of The Ninja | 2012-10-16 | Adventure | Klei Entertainment |
 | Deadbolt | 2016-03-14 | Action & Shooter | Hopoo Games, LLC |
 | Gunpoint | 2013-06-03 | Indie | Suspicious Developments |
 | Ghostrunner 2 | 2023-10-26 | Action | ONE MORE LEVEL |
 | Ghostrunner | 2020-10-27 | Action | ONE MORE LEVEL |
 | Heat Signature | 2017-09-21 | Indie | Suspicious Developments |
My Friend Pedro
| Release date: | 2019-06-20 |
| Genre: | Indie |
| Developer: | DeadToast Entertainment |
At some point there comes a day when you wake up in butcher shop and a talking banana tells you to kill the owner.
You could refuse, but then My Friend Pedro would be a very short game, and nowhere near as fun. Thankfully, the masked player character asks no questions and goes on an exciting, violent rampage across fantastically designed levels.
My Friend Pedro is 2.5D action game with a strong emphasis on planning… and being really smooth about your violence. The game evaluates your performance, and encourages mastering the levels to get higher scores for each mission. Which isn’t an unpleasant proposition. MFP’s slow motion, flips, kicks, and split gun targeting make a smooth run really satisfying to execute and watch.
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Hotline Miami 1 & 2
| Release date: | 2015-03-10 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Dennaton Games |
Hotline Miami might be the patron saint of room-cleaners this entire list is devoted to.
Both games in the series are top-down shooters with many ways of violently disposing of your targets and incredible satisfaction waiting at the end of a well-cleared level. Hotline Miami is viscerally brutal, and it will mercilessly test both your patience and your skills.
Figuring out the best way to clear a level with as many points as you can is a fun challenge, and it will most likely take many attempts before you master each stage. Learn how to breach rooms, avoid notice, and consider how much time certain finishers are going to take, and combine this all into a sequence of violence which will leave bloodied floors in your wake.
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Mark of the Ninja
| Release date: | 2012-10-16 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Klei Entertainment |
While most games here are typically interested in open combat, Mark of the Ninja prefers a stealthier approach.
Of course, plenty of people can still die, but they won’t get the chance to fight back. MotN’s 2D, side-scrolling presentation is incredibly easy to read, with visual indicators for both vision and sound, so you can hatch a perfect plan for staying out of sight and out of mind of the guards.
In addition to each stage’s objective, there are also several optional challenges, which will test your skill and system mastery. It’s always worth pursuing them, because they give you additional Honor for tool and technique upgrades. And it’s not a slow game either, it’s highly dynamic, and leaping into action after forming a plan looks and feels great, especially when the plan works.
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Sanabi
| Release date: | 2022-06-21 |
| Genre: | |
| Developer: | WONDER POTION |
Sanabi is technically a platforming game, but its 2D side-scrolling gameplay and plenty of enemies to skillfully dispose of make it a viable candidate for this list.
You’ll be playing as a veteran equipped with a cybernetic arm doubling as a grappling hook, which is incredibly handy for traversing cyberpunk skyscrapers and fighting people standing between you and your objective.
Sanabi play a little bit like Bionic Commando, but with the arm as your only weapon, and with a pretty noir vibe. As it’s mostly a platformer, movement is very important, and it’s incredibly satisfying to chain a series of grappling arm-assisted swings to safely get in position to eliminate an enemy. You might have a limited toolset, but this allowed the game’s design to be really precise and dedicated.
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Deadbolt
| Release date: | 2016-03-14 |
| Genre: | Action & Shooter |
| Developer: | Hopoo Games, LLC |
And we’re back to dedicated room cleaners. In Deadbolt you’ll be playing as Reaper who has to deal with a rampant undead problem.
Each level is pretty much self-contained, and you’re free to find your own method of completing its objectives. With access to plenty of diverse weapons, the ability to travel through vents like a puff of smoke, and a stylish jacket, you’re perfectly equipped for the task.
Deadbolt is a side-scrolling, pixel-art stealth/action game, with a very pleasant enemy and gameplay diversity. While there are four broad enemy types, they come in many variants, which makes scenarios more and more complex as you go through the game. If you enjoy making plans and making hasty corrections, as well as don’t mind a bit of supernatural vibe, then Deadbolt can be great for you.
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Gunpoint
| Release date: | 2013-06-03 |
| Genre: | Indie |
| Developer: | Suspicious Developments |
Step into the shoes of Richard Conway, a spy for hire, specialized in infiltrating buildings for whatever purpose his employers require.
You have access to many tools, but the most important one is your ability to jump so powerfully you almost ragdoll yourself. Thankfully, it doesn’t kill you, because you’re going to use this a lot in your infiltration and during combat, because you can tackle the guards with it.
Another tool to help you navigate the 2D maps, if your talent for rewiring electronics, which can make or break your mission. Gunpoint isn’t quite as bloodthirsty as some other games on this list, but as a stealth/puzzle game with no set solutions it’s really good, and seeing Richard fling himself wildly through windows never stop being amusing.
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Ghostrunner
| Release date: | 2020-10-27 |
| Genre: | Action |
| Developer: | ONE MORE LEVEL |
Yes, Ghostrunner does look like a completely different thing. But is it, actually? It’s debatable.
This game about extremely agile sword fighting assassin has tightly designed levels, death comes cheap, and having a plan, skill, and precision of execution is key. It might be a first-person perspective action game instead of a top-down or side-scrolling adventure, but certain elements of the premise hold strong.
The game is set in Dharma Tower, a massive cyberpunk spire housing what remained of humanity after a cataclysm that ravaged the planet. The titular Ghostrunner is a cybernetic operative, who is given a task that will require a lot of careful parkour and indiscriminate murder. Ghostrunner was so good and so warmly received, that it even got a sequel, so if you like the first one, you can have more!
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Heat Signature
| Release date: | 2017-09-21 |
| Genre: | Action |
| Developer: | Suspicious Developments |
Heat Signature, from the creators of Gunpoint, is a game about breaking into space ships, wreaking havoc for one reason or another, and pretending that the horrible mess was actually the plan.
It has slivers of Miami Hotline, due to its top-down perspective, adds some roguelike procedural generation, and throws in bits of immersive sim, as your tools and environment can be used quite creatively.
The messes you end up in can take a while to find a way out, Heat Signature provides you a handy tactical pause to let you think, check your options and calmly execute your plan. As you complete missions, the map of the galaxy fills out and lights up, one node at a time. Heat Signature is also more about emergent narratives, than a fixed story to explore, so go out and make yourself a legend!
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Bite-sized violence
This concludes the list of games which might have just what you’re craving more of after finishing Katana Zero. If you find any of them interesting, you can find them on our marketplace, at prices low enough, that you don’t need to settle for just one title!
So get your loadout ready, steel yourself, and barge into the genre with complete conviction!