May 23, 2014.. players will be slicing, dicing, and shooting as the suave executioner Mondo Zappa. Prepare for the thrill of love and kill in KILLER IS DEAD!
Killer Is Dead is a 2013 action video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan, Xseed Games in North America and Deep Silver in Europe.
Get ready for some seriously stylish action from renowned designer SUDA51. In this exclusive version for PC, players will be slicing, dicing, and shooting as the suave executioner Mondo Zappa. Prepare for the thrill of love and kill in KILLER IS DEAD! User reviews: Mostly Positive (1,044 reviews) Release Date: May 23, 2014 About This Game Get ready for some seriously stylish action from renowned designer SUDA51. In this exclusive version for PC, players will be slicing, dicing, and shooting as the suave executioner Mondo Zappa. Prepare for the thrill of love and kill in KILLER IS DEAD! Exclusive Features for Nightmare Edition: New difficulty mode called Nightmare Mode. In this mode, enemies can only be defeated using the following attacks: Adrenaline Burst, Dodge Burst, Headshots, so the gameplay requires far more skill and tactics. Players will not be able to use the Final Judgement finisher (QTE mode) to defeat enemies. Theater Mode - Rewatch cutscenes and get extended background information on characters, helping to unravel the story after your 1st playthrough Smooth Operator Pack for console will be included, which includes X-ray glasses, bewitching outfits, stunning beauties, and a killer new mission and boss! First off, let me preface this review by saying that this game is rather short and if you wanna play it on a computer with a dual core processor you are ♥♥♥♥ out of luck. However, if you can run this game, it is well worth your time and money despite these two problems. Be sure to see the guide as well on getting this game to run up to snuff, unless you're one of those people who think a game is enhanced by a subpar framerate. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=262696032 tl;dr? Get this game if you're into the hack and slash genre even slightly, enjoy a moderate amount of difficulty, or appreciate a unique visual style in a video game. (Seriously, some of the frames in some of the cutscenes in this game are wallpaper worthy.) Killer is Dead is one of the most unique games I have ever played. Perhaps not mechanically; after all, this is at it's core a hack and slash game and it does have many tropes of the genre such as a grading system and guarding/dodging mechanics. As for the mechanics themselves, they're actually very solid if a bit overly simplistic to those who are used to DMC levels of depth. However, everything about it otherwise, from it's beautiful visual style that's reminiscent of 70's esque color pallettes, character, and outdoor design gives this game loads of personality and unique identity among others in the genre. I will forever remember this game because of how unique it is. Oh, and the soundtrack is a beautiful blend of electronic ambient and classical music. Often very dreamlike, much like the game itself. This game is not without it's problems though. Sometimes, the camera may not zoom out enough to give you vital information on the next enemy telegraph, leading to mild frustration at times. You will hate the gigolo missions not because they're bad (They lack a lot of depth, though.) but because the people you date will bother you in the middle of a mission to remind you that there are, in fact, gigolo missions and the girls want to see you before their mission gets locked off until you complete a few other missions. A minor inconvenience, of course. But I am of the personal belief that side missions should not detract at all from a main campaign and should be able to be played at your own leisure. I assure you, this is said in the interest of informing about an unsatisfactory gameplay mechanic, not in regard of a controversial subject at the time of this review that I don't want to touch with a 1,000,000 foot pole because I honestly, really, could not give less of a ♥♥♥♥ if I tried, since said subject does not detract from a game for me at all. I only offhandedly mention it because some people do care and they should know it is in the game. There isn't a lot of enemy variety in this game either. However, this game is well worth your time and money, and I would even go as far as to say that it is a must own if you want to experience a game that is unlike most you've played. Expect challenge. Killer is Dead: Nightmare Edition is a crazy hack-n-slash action game that feels similar to games like Devil May Cry 4 (and probably others in the series, which I have not played), in terms of gameplay. But, that's pretty much where the similarities end - KiD: Nightmare is a bat-crap crazy game - which has unique characters, unique look for a cel-shaded games, strange levels, surreal elements that feel right out of a David Lynch film, an over-the-top ridiculous story + plot, satire elements, 4th-wall breaking elements, and God knows what else. That certainly isn't everything, as this is the strangest + most unique game that I've played since Deadly Premonition. Fortunately for us PC gamers, this game actually received a decent PC port...unlike Deadly Premonition. Without giving away too much on the story...well, it goes something like this: Mondo, who also has one bionic arm, works for an agency that assassinates people + does odd jobs. The story is just utterly over-the-top and ridiculous from there so I'll just leave it at that, plot-wise. The game is often very cryptic, not giving you everything in dialogue + in a straight-forward manner. Many of it, is in the visuals. Even if you cannot decipher the surreal + ridiculous story in its entirety, there is something else there that can help quite a bit - which I will get to later. Mondo is a character who seems to have no real attachment to anything - and just does what he has to do, whether in a main-mission or side-mission, not asking many questions and just going full-steam ahead. And once you finally get the full picture (especially if you also check out Theatre Mode - which I will get to), you'll likely understand why Mondo is the way he is, once we are revealed so much about himself & his past. Once you see this all, it'll make more sense: no wonder Mondo is so screwed-up, as he goes about the main-quest and especially the Gigolo missions like he does, with little attachment to anything & just going straight-forward with full-steam ahead. Once you finish the game + you want some things to be cleared-up, do yourself a favor: look + read over the unlocked Theatre Mode (which you can access in-game, in The Office). This actually tells the story + each chapter, in all of its ridiculous insanity, in a very straight-forward manner. If there's something that needs to be cleared up, there's a good chance that it's in there. Though, not everything will be revealed - as it's possible some things are meant to be left ambiguous to be interepreted or leave wide-open for (hopefully) a sequel. This game ran on Ultra settings at a very consistent + solid 30 frames per second, most of the time. I had very few hitches + slow-downs on my rig (i7 950; 1 GB VRAM GeForce 560 Ti; 16 GB RAM; Win 7 64-bit OS) - namely, on one part on the final level for the main-quest, actually. Some PC gamers might complain the game is locked at 30 frames (since many here do prefer 60 frames per second for a frame-cap), but the game runs smooth as silk for the most part & looks really slick. I'd rather have it at a stable 30 frames 99% of the time than say floating anywhere at anytime b/t 30 to 60 frames often, IMHO. Its art-style oozes nothing but unique-ness. The game has a cel-shaded look, but it still looks much different than other cel-shaded games such as the FPS game XIII + Borderlands series. While it may not be the most technically looking great, its art style is ozzing style, personality, unique-ness - and that style is completely fantastic, with its look, use of colors, and everything. No other cel-shaded games looks like this - period. The game offers up main-missions and side-missions, on the game's world-map. You select a mission and then go there. Most missions, they're quite linear - as you'll often wind-up going from point A to point B, in a linear fashion - hacking- slashing, shooting, and chopping your enemies up. Some maps are quite open, as you might have to find a few items in this huge map. Finish a map, you'll be graded - and you'll earn more money for items you can buy + also earn experience as you play to upgrade your character's skills. As you do more main missions, you'll often unlock other side-quests. Side-quests can vary in their nature. When you finish an Episode (to the main quest), you'll often unlock other side-quests in which you re-visit areas (from the Main Quest) and have specific challenges to do - which basically have side-quests often acting like challenge-maps that you'd see in other games. It could be a timed-event. It could be finding a specific item in the area and exiting the area. It could be just a specific new side-mission in that area. Who knows, roll the dice - as that is pretty much the kind of variety & insanity that comes with this game. There are even side-missions where you play a Gigolo and try to seduce girls, in which they often up certain weapons + upgrades that you can only from doing these missions. As silly & ridiculous as these Gigolo missions are, where you have to check-out the girls, look at them, ogle them, etc..especially when they aren't paying attention - this just enforces plenty of the game's already often 4th wall breaking + satire elements, making Mondo seem like a very flawed James Bond-like type of character - and slickly also being a satire on the world of assassins and spies, as well. Simply put: this game is loaded with over-the-top sex (from the Gigolo missions) and violence (from namely the main-missions). Even when you finish the game's main quest, you can re-do any missions you've done or not done - and continue in the game-world, which is great for players who want to master the game. Also, when selecting a mission from the world-map - the player can switch the difficulty of the even the level itself at any time. Since each difficulty had your best grade tied to it, people who want to master this game are likely going to replay it. With the X360 gamepad (which is how I played the game) - the combat looks + feels absolutely awesome. While it does take a little bit to get going as it eases the player into learning the game early on - once the game gets going, it gets going. The game gets better and better with its combat, once you get more skills + upgrades and more different enemy types to take on. Also throw in some awesome finishing moves (cutting people's heads off & slicing people in half) & incredible boss-fights, the game is nothing short of an action-packed roller-coaster ride. After the 12-13 hours that I appoximately spent with this game (on my 1st run), I was left with an often awesome, unique & crazy game. This over-the-top, utterly ridiculous, hack-n-slash game is an absolute blast, especially in the main missions. While some of the side-missions (challenge style missions + the repetitive nature of the Gigolo missions) are nowhere as great as the main-mission stuff + sometimes leave a little left to be desired here, they're still optional for the player to have things to do + challenges to take on, if you feel inclined. The unique art-style implemented in this cel-shaded game look great and the game runs extremely well (even if it is locked at 30 frames per second). Add onto this all that the game also has unique characters & a bat-crap crazy story + plot, satire elements, and 4th-wall breaking elements - this game is going to have its own cult-following for this stuff alone. Add onto it that gamers who might not care about the story stuff might want awesome combat, excellent boss fights - that is here, as well. Gamers who want it all - action, story, plot, insanity, you're not going to be left behind. There's just too much to like + love here for gamers to ignore; especially hack-n-slash action gamers. Killer Is Dead is the name of the game, but it's more like Killer Is Alive. This game feels alive, thrives (in so many ways) & is an absolutely awesome hack-n-slash action game. Grade = B. I only recommend this game if you have good computer. It has a problem with dual cores and it seems the developers have no intent to fix this problem. Your can't get past any part of the game where you talk on a phone, it will endlessly load. Aside from that it is an awesomme game, I played this on ps3 when it first came out, but I regret purchasing this on steam and supporting developers who ignore the community. Make sure you have a quad core and a good amount of memory if your interested in purchasing. If you like Suda51 games get it just know what your getting before you purchase. I have to wait to play as I have to upgrade my computer even though I can run it on the highest setting. Great game but bad port. unlocking your framerate WILL break the game. the game is not even rendered in a style that anything higher than 30 fps would be all that flattering to anyways so just don't do it!! that out of the way ill make this review simple: if you like Suda 51, Grasshopper, innovative hack n' slash games, high risk/reward combat, and/or this game even looks remotely interesting to you, i can just about guarantee that you'll have a great time with it. if you don't like those things, this game will do nothing to change your mind, but you probably wouldn't even be looking at this if you didn't like at least SOME of those things, in which case, you should probably give it a shot. btw, while the game does explain some things to you as far as combat goes, there are some things that are not quite apparent at first, like the fact that you can do an instant execution on enemies that are not only stunned but also those who are mid-attack, unaware, and those a sufficient enough distance away from mondo to be considered unaware. you can chain these insta-kills together as well to take out entire mobs instantly, and this is the only way to survive on nightmare difficulty. the importance of keeping the combo meter going as well cannot be overstated - it increases the speed and strength of your attacks, and has various other effects as you climb higher into the numbers, like a blood multiplier which allows you to pull off more executions. Suda51 is the best developer EVER, these games are the true argument that videogames can be an artform and I'm usually totally against that. Surreal experiences coupled with a mix of good (Liam O'Brian AND Patrick Seitz!? earsex holy ♥♥♥♥) and bad voice acting, probably on purpose, with repetitive but not monotonous combat while this game is AMAZING, Killer7 is one of the best games ever made and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone and everyone, hopefully one day it might come to steam so that the perfect platform can have the perfect game without needing a "dolphin" :) Killer is Dead is a Suda51 title that might not live up to its predecessors like Killer7, but it does deliver a very strange and over-the-top experience you'd expect from him nonetheless. If you're willing to give the Hack and Slash sub-genre a chance, you'll witness a very stylish cell-shaded game with challenging gameplay and hot chicks. The premise is similar to Suda51's No More Heroes and Killer7 in that you work as a hitman or "executioner" (in this game's terms) named Mondo Zappa. You're given contracts that serve as the game's main story mode, as well as side missions like dates and challenges. After every completed contract, you're paid an amount based on the difficulty and can unlock new missions, challenges, costumes, gear, and even gifts for you to use on dates. Mondo's main weapon is a sword, it's upgradable via the Moon Crystals that drop after killing enemies. You're also able to upgrade a sidearm, literally. You're entire left arm is 4-in-1 weapon that is upgradable in the same way as your sword. You're also able to upgrade Mondo with new abilities such health recovery via blood and an upgraded dash. Dodging and dealing consecutive damage is important in this game. You're rewarded for dodging enemy attacks at the last second with a counter attack called "dodge burst" with turns you into Kenshiro with a sword. This also becomes essential in later boss fights, where survival is key. Increasing your combo duration can also land you bonus drops from enemies like extra moon crystals for your upgrades. Overall, it becomes important to learn the enemy's movements. Let's not forget that this game is a port. It runs at 30fps by default, but with a few guides in the game's hub, you'll be able to run it at 60fps or higher. The game also fails to provide a decent amount of video settings at all. If you have a computer that runs most games pretty well, you have nothing to worry about. For $20, is a good deal. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a challenge or to any fan of Hack and Slash games in general. If the dating sim is your thing, just think: A delicious brown woman, a cute Japanese girl, a vampire lady, and a healthy nurse that speaks in sexual innuendos are waiting to be picked up by you right now! Killer is Dead is probably the most fun I've had playing a game this year. Suda51 goes for a more darker, noir-like tone, as opposed to his more brighter games such as No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw. Despite the darker tone, it's still one of those games that doesn't take it's self too seriously, yet still offers an interesting story; albeit a slightly incoherent one. This is probably one of Suda51's most cryptic games in terms of story, it has an open ended ending which can allow for multiple interpretations and many questions are left unanswered by the end of the game. The game mechanics for the most part are simple, attack, guard break/circle around the enemies when they block attacks, and counter/parry enemy attacks. Despite the simple mechanics I never felt the game got repetitive. Every mission had a distinct design with it's own unique boss. And to break the monotony there are sub-missions and Gigolo missions you can perform in between the main story. Pros: Unique setting dripping in Suda51's style. Lots of variety in missions. Nice amounts of side content. Simple yet still engaging fighting system. Cons: Issues with Dual Core CPUS. Somewhat incoherent story, maybe to lead towards a sequel. Occasional slowdown, didn't happen too often but at random times the FPS would dip. 9/10 From the finest hippie stoners, we have, Killer is Dead. A game you will like, but understand only if you are tripping balls. (honestly, look at my screenshots of this game) + Pros Pretty unique Interesting art style Decent fighting mechanism It has some old-school/retro feeling for some reason, don't know why - Cons A game with such recommended hardware , yet, no mirror reflections, INDEED IS SCARY. Decent to horrible port, with tons of bugs. It will make your brain hurt If you are a basement hippie stoner, GET IT ABSO-♥♥♥♥IN-LUTELY NOW! If you are a gamer, get it on a sale, i promise you, it's different from the rest of the games.
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