Quick Look: Killer Is Dead

That's not an excuse. Travis Touchdown was a real dirtbag too, and somehow they managed to portray that without extended gameplay sequences about being the best at objectifying women.

OMG so sexism

I'll take this opportunity to heartily recommend the No More Heroes series to anyone that hasn't given them a shot; the first one has some jank but ends up being a really unique experience with some fantastic characters. The second is really underrated, one of the best games that came out for the Wii.

Why am I reading the comments.

More importantly, why am I posting one.

Why.

Well, I'll say this much at least Vinny sort of gave it a shot. Expected the reaction that Brad and Jeff got. Regardless its one of my favorite games of the year. The combat is fantastic once you actually figure out how to make it flow well. Shame so many people are just disregarding this game because "lol sexism".

Was that Audrey Hepburn? A moon river?

@starvinggamer: I'll die!

Man... you kinda dropped the ball on this Quick Look. Though maybe that's just because I'm watching the Two Best Friends Let's Play of it right now. It was much more informative right from the start. And I guess I like their enthusiasm.

@ghost_cat: I think you're the only one that seems to understand what this game is all about.

As for me it's one of the best game I've played this year but I'm not very objective when it's a Suda51 game.

"Comment about privilege and children-people." "Another comment about not understanding the culture of glorious Nippon."

Now that that's out of the way, I'm all over this game as soon as the price drops below $30. Suda51's brand of over the top crazy always hits me in a really good spot, and this looks to be no different.

And now I think I'm going to enjoy these games more than I already do.

do you also complain about Madden quick looks?

Imagine, how much better the world would be, if people took all of this dumb stuff, and viewed it like it was meant to be. A joke! An totally satirical joke. We should all take a note from Vinny and laugh.

"It's as boring as I expected..."

We don't like enthusiasm around these parts.

I think this quicklook sold me on this game. Looks equal parts ridiculous and hilarious. More humor in gaming please.

I didn't play that one. Killer Is Dead has very simple levels as shown in this Quick Look - somewhat empty hallways with enemies that simply spawn in. The combat system is not really robust - there are no combos to speak of and the advanced techniques you can buy are mostly passive buffs.

That said there is something weirdly addicting in all of it IF you're into this kind of weird Japanese stuff. The combat has a strangely hypnotic quality to it. If you keep up a high combo meter without getting hit you'll be able to do a Finisher once you kill an enemy, allowing you to choose one of 4 attributes to upgrade. This gives you a really big incentive to fight well to get those finishers because unlike other games where a big combo just gives you a high score, here big combos will actually benefit your character allowing you to earn more moves, get more life etc..

The story is really strange and not a lot of things are explained. I haven't finished it so I can't really say if it pays off in the end or not but so far there are several elements in it that have me interested in finding out more. Vinny was actually onto something with the Cowboy Bebop comparison as Mondo and the crew keep doing jobs for various clients that end up turning into ghosts or disappearing without paying them for the job.

I don't think it's a great game by any stretch of the imagination, and I guess I can see how some might be really bored by it - but if nothing else it's a very unique experience.

No, those are entertaining. Vinny saved this one but Brad could've just done something else, he didn't add anything here. A new Daily Dota would be nice.

@humanity: Thanks for the mini-review, best to read user reviews that know what they're talking about than "critics" when it comes to deciding on a game like this. I'll probably wait for a price drop.

THANKS, Vinny...

I've been cracking up and seems a lot of other commenters are too.

Maybe if you like this game so much you should be comfortable enough to have a laugh, like I do with the sports games I like. This is a funny QL.

@humanity: I thought that it was funny when Jeff admitted to liking No More Heroes even compared KiD to NMH and then was all "This game is boring" when the combat is actually a step better than NMH ever was.

THANKS, Vinny...

I guess you missed the part where he said NMH wasn't fun to play?

This looks great, I'll definitely get this eventually even though I didn't really like Suda 51's past games that much.

@nsmb2_mario: When I beat the game I'll probably write a full review for the site but yah - my advice is definitely wait until it's fairly cheap. I bought it full price because nothing else was out and I wanted something to play but even so it's not something that has me hooked and coming back for more. I enjoy a daily dose of nonsense but usually don't end up playing more than 1 or 2 levels, and they're all fairly short.

I actually kind of enjoyed those cutscenes, but I can understand Vinny's point about that filter during gameplay.

Well looks like I found another game that I need to play before I put away my current consoles. Interestingly this would become my second suda51 game.

I love some of Suda's games but this just looks really boring. It's a shame, I thought it'd be better.

so true,

God damn it Vinny.

" What are your thoughts on Megan's Law ? "

Word. After spending a lot of time with KiD, watching Vinny play it made me scratch my head. The combat isn't as complex/crazy as Bayonetta's, but it flows much better than what was shown here.

It's whatever, though. Props to Vinny for trying it out.

@mbr2: Or you know people have different tastes. Weird, right?

Well the sad part is some of the cool shit you only get after you upgrade. You can get a move where you can insta-headshot ranged enemies when you perfect dodge thier bullets or a ability that lets you ping pong between enemies across the screen in rapid succession. You also upgrade your katana to allow it to swing faster. So while its not entirely complex once you add the layers of all the dodging/countering on top of the simplistic mashing of the square button it looks and makes you feel like an utter bad-ass when you're just ripping through enemys with crazy style.

did i just see the kremlin on the moon?

"Oh I hate this"

@demoskinos: Yeah, I'm aware. I managed to fully upgrade everything earlier today and it feels/looks nice. I'll definitely be spending my time between now and GTAV to do everything in it.

FUN IS DEAD

fin

This really does seem like the most obvious example of style-over-substance in Suda's work, and still very enjoyable.

I just wish that super dense contrast didn't make some parts of the screen look straight up crummy.

First Brad now Vinny. Wtf is it with all the yelling into fucking mics now?

I don't like this game. Where'd you get that idea? I never played this one and every other game Suda51 did that I tried was awful or at least broken in some key places (No More Heroes, Killer7, Shadow of the Damned). I just thought that both Jeff and Brad brought no energy to this Quick Look and made it boring to watch.

This isn't really worth discussing anyway. So I didn't like this particular QL, so what? That's mostly subjective and I'm a subscriber for a reason, because I generally like what they're doing.

I'm a big fan of No More Heroes, so I bought this game. I can't say I like it very much to be honest. I absolutely hate the art style, that filter does nothing for me. I liked the humour in No More Heroes a lot better, which is one of the things I liked the most about that series.

And for People complaining about this QL not being informative? There's literally nothing more to this game than what they showed. There's a silly plot, you kill dudes (and upgrade the combat along the way). That's pretty much it.

The game was a dissapointment to me personally.

I feel as though I know what Jeff is referencing towards the end, and I'm really enjoying it.

So, it's a Suda game. Confirmed.

That sure is a bunch of square rooms with some enemies in them. Yes indeed.

This definitely looks crazy and weird, but it doesn't look like fun to play at all.

In japan, this stuff is ok. The combat looks fine for a hack and slash, probably on the boring side for people watching it.

The hyper-sexism shouting is really dumb. If you don't like the game, then don't play it. If you think it's distasteful, then fine. Don't need to bring any sort of shitty agenda into video games.

This looks exactly like No More Heroes. This palace level looks exactly like the first level from NMH1. But on the moon.

Woah so craaaaaaazy.

I AM EJACULATING WITH PRIDE

Indeed, I don't really give a damn about the gigolo mode, but the gameplay looks boring for now. Probably would give it a try when there's a price drop.

Shadows of the Damned on the other hand is a solid piece of game.