Katana meets cosmic horror: Katanaut delivers a fast, stylish, and brutal roguelike adventure in space.
Voidmaw has been working on Katanaut for three years. It is their latest game and combines the fast-paced action of Katana Zero with the cosmic horror and atmospheric tension of Dead Space. What started out as a big tribute to some of the best 2D action games of the past few years has turned into a unique experience that combines pixel-perfect combat, Metroidvania-style exploration, and roguelike growth.
It’s clear that the game was influenced by Dead Cells, Katana Zero, Ninja Gaiden, and Dead Space, but it quickly becomes its own thing with its strategic gameplay, fighting based on reflexes, and never-ending discovery. Katanaut takes place on a broken-down space station that was left behind after a distress call.
People who lived there before have turned into bizarre, Lovecraftian monsters. You take on the role of an astronaut who carries both a sword and a gun and has to find their way through the station’s twisty hallways and figure out what happened that caused it to fall apart.
What starts out as a simple survival task quickly turns into a scary, difficult journey where every hallway could mean death and every encounter is a test of your skill and strategy. Katanaut‘s story is told simply, yet it effectively utilizes mood and environmental storytelling to create a compelling narrative.
Each trip through the station reveals more of a sad and disturbing story about human arrogance and experiments that go horribly wrong. NPCs in the game’s hub give you information and help you move forward. The Keeper takes care of pieces of memory, the Specialist gives new skills, the Weaver puts in strong implants, and Captain Chop keeps an eye on the monsters that are hiding inside the station.
There’s more to these people than just being vendors; they add some continuity and personality to a world that is mostly scary and lonely. Exploration shows bits and pieces of the station’s history, like bloody hallways, flickering lights, strange machines, and glimpses into the lives of people who used to live there.
Interested individuals can discover secret areas and elite challenges, and story details are often concealed in the surroundings rather than being directly revealed. This subtle way of telling stories, along with the roguelite structure, makes the game fun to play over and over again, discovering new pieces of the story and gameplay secrets each time.
Katanaut is a fast-paced action game at its core. The katana, guns, and a set of special abilities are used in battle, and the game is meant to reward accuracy, timing, and strategy. Hits with a sword feel heavy and quick, dodges and rolls help you get through groups of enemies, and guns give you more options when melee isn’t enough.
Because the cooldowns for special skills are short, skilled players can chain attacks together to make devastating combos. The station is made up of both handcrafted parts and procedurally generated ones, so no two runs are ever the same. The early levels are playable but still tense. As you go deeper, the levels get darker, more confusing, and full of monsters that are creepier and creepier.
The visuals are mostly blood, gore, and alien buildings, which create an atmosphere of constant fear. Things like walking through airlocks and into the void of space, along with dynamic lighting and pixel art details, make the tension and immersion stronger. Advanced time management makes the roguelike loop better. When a player dies, they respawn and can try the station again, bringing over pieces of their work.
These pieces of memory are what the game’s upgrade system is based on. They let you permanently gain skills, passive buffs, and skills that change the game. Because only a certain number of implants and abilities can be active at once, you have to be very careful about which ones they equip. This adds a strategic layer to the fast-paced battle.
Katanaut‘s combat is intense and thrilling. Encounters are built around large groups of enemies, dangerous environments, and sometimes special monsters or bosses. To stay alive, you need to be able to dodge, slide, and hit your target accurately. When fighting close up, the katana is satisfying and easy to use.
Guns, on the other hand, give you more control and range, so they can use both offensive and defensive strategies. Unique skills add to the variety of battles, letting you change the way they run to suit their chosen style, whether they like to slash at enemies directly or carefully eliminate them from a distance.
There are puzzles built into the station, and to move forward, you often need to be aware of your surroundings and use your skills. Some doors, elevators, or hidden rooms can only be reached by combining memory fragments with tactical fighting. This makes the exploration and action feel like they belong together. These mechanics aren’t too hard to understand, but the way they’re built into a survival-focused game makes every win feel like it was won.
The game is hard. Early runs are hard because you only have so much health and resources, so you have to learn how to use the game’s features and plan ahead. Endgame Warp levels make the game even harder by adding new dangers, tougher enemies, and fewer ways to heal.
Some people might find these stages hard, but they make the game much more fun to play again and again, and once you master them, you’ll feel like you’ve made progress. But the best things about Katanaut‘s fighting are how responsive, fluid, and satisfying it is to show off your skills.
Every sword move hits hard, and it feels natural to chain attacks together. Adding guns and skills makes the game more tactical. Even though the puzzles are simple, they work well with the fighting and exploration to keep things interesting without making the game too hard.
Possible weaknesses mostly have to do with sudden increases in challenge. Some players might think that the first few runs are too hard, especially if the random generation places enemies too far apart. People who want to try out multiple strong upgrades at the same time may be frustrated by the limited number of active implant slots, but this can also help them make more thoughtful decisions.
The roguelite structure of Katanaut is tied to how you move forward. Memory fragments found during runs can be used to unlock permanent improvements like new skills, guns, and benefits. This method makes sure that every try feels important, even if it fails. As you go deeper into the station, they get better at what they’re doing and can move on to harder places and Warp levels.
The upgrade method strikes a balance between freedom and limits. There are different ways to play, but each player can only use a certain number of implants and powers at once. Because of this limitation, people are more likely to try new things, since the experience is very different depending on the build. There is a constant fear of failing and a sense of gradually gaining power. This makes each step forward very rewarding.
Katanaut looks great thanks to its 2D pixel art style, which is a nice mix of old-school and new-school design ideas. The inside of the station is dark, moody, and very well-detailed. The environment is realistic and tense thanks to bloodstains, flickering lights, and alien machinery. Changing lighting builds tension, and careful use of color and contrast draws attention to important parts of the game while keeping the station’s oppressive horror.
Some parts are generated automatically, which adds variety to the visuals without lowering the quality. Boss arenas and special battles are made with extra detail to make them more important. Scenes with stunning visuals, like airlocks opening into the void of space, remind you of how big and alone the station is.
Katanaut boasts impressive sound design that complements the graphics and gameplay well. The tension and pace are set by dark synthwave music, and audio cues for enemy movements, attacks, and environmental hazards are very useful during battle. The sounds of guns firing, katanas clanging, and the moans of twisted creatures make for an intense soundscape.
Sound effects from the environment, like the hiss of air vents or faraway metal creaks, add to the scary mood. The music and sound effects are well-balanced so they don’t get in the way of the player’s attention or emotions. The general intensity of the game is raised by the mix of dynamic audio and responsive combat feedback.
Katanaut is a great example of what a single developer can do when they combine fast, fluid fighting with elements of cosmic horror and roguelite progression. It features action reminiscent of Katana Zero, an atmosphere reminiscent of Dead Space, and a Metroidvania adventure, which combine to make for a unique and interesting experience. Combat is fun and responsive, puzzles and exploration work well together, and the method for moving forward rewards sticking with it and trying new things.
The game’s difficulty might scare people who have never played it before, but learning the mechanics, beating bosses, and finding hidden secrets makes every run very satisfying. Katanaut looks and sounds great, with a creepily immersive space station, detailed pixel art, and a synthwave music that fits the tension and pace perfectly.
In the end, Katanaut is a quick, stylish, and violent roguelike that action, strategy, and atmospheric horror fans will enjoy. This shows how a single developer can use well-known games as motivation to make a game that is both familiar and fresh. With its never-ending challenges, deep customizable options, and hauntingly beautiful world, Katanaut is one of the best games of 2025. It’s a game that rewards skill, exploration, and persistence, and it makes you want to come back for one more run.
