KUNAI

 Switch
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 59 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 59
  3. Negative: 7 out of 59
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  1. eyaron
    Feb 10, 2020
    9
    If you love Metroidvania like games, this is the game for you. The game designers managed to make you feel like a spider-man with a katana, which is awesome!
  2. bjarkibjarki
    Feb 11, 2020
    8
    As someone who loves platformers and metroidvanias, this was right up my alley. I loved this from the beginning to the end. A fun swinging mechanic, strong visuals, a lot of collectables and many upgrades, just what I need. However, despite the countless things I love about this game, there are some things that make this, unfortunately, not worth a 9 or 10 rating. Some small cons are: NotAs someone who loves platformers and metroidvanias, this was right up my alley. I loved this from the beginning to the end. A fun swinging mechanic, strong visuals, a lot of collectables and many upgrades, just what I need. However, despite the countless things I love about this game, there are some things that make this, unfortunately, not worth a 9 or 10 rating. Some small cons are: Not the longest game, not really that hard (besides the final boss), one small but sometimes noticeable bug and under-utilized aspects (for example one of the key weapons in the game I literally only got less than a hour before the final boss, although that may be my fault since I unintentionally found a secret-ish game mechanic which let me bypass some areas without the intended weapon ;3). All and all I loved it, definitely worth it if you like platformers (and probably one of my all-time favourite indie games), but short if you're more experienced with 20-60 hour titles.

    EDIT: I completely forgot about one thing! In short: Great music and great tracks.    … Expand
  3. Asdsyn
    Feb 12, 2020
    10
    This game is top tier goodness, interesting visuals,really fluid movement and combat with those dual kunais,and also the exploration is handled really well here, overall a good metroidvania,the only con I would say is that it's short,length is on par with another metroidvania timespinner and it's as good as that.superb work turtleblaze
  4. Graftwijgje
    Feb 10, 2020
    10
    No fan of metroidvania games normally, but this one's actually fun and interesting enough to play, and keep playing. That's a big win in my book ;D
  5. snaxs
    Feb 10, 2020
    10
    One of the most fun platformers I have played in a very long time. Tabby is great, and I love his mode when you duck, the smile is just amazing. The different boss themes are great. No, I won't spoil!

    Also, on the switch this game is even better than on the PC. It just clicks on the console.
  6. charlyhinoise
    Feb 10, 2020
    9
    Oh man this was a $15 gamble I'm very happy I made. One weird (non blocking) bug aside, this is just a little jewel of a platformer. The art direction is spot on, mixes some humor in the story, and the core gameplay just feels super fun and tight. Starts out easy but no worries, if you like a challenge you'll get it later on. The sense of place is fantastic, music and environmental soundOh man this was a $15 gamble I'm very happy I made. One weird (non blocking) bug aside, this is just a little jewel of a platformer. The art direction is spot on, mixes some humor in the story, and the core gameplay just feels super fun and tight. Starts out easy but no worries, if you like a challenge you'll get it later on. The sense of place is fantastic, music and environmental sound effects are really good. It's not the longest of games but it's certainly not short either, I'm over 10 hours in and not at the end.… Expand
  7. Daokochan
    Feb 19, 2020
    10
    Fantastic Metroidvania with lovely 2d graphics, awesome combat and lots of places to explore.
  8. Picuco
    Jan 8, 2021
    10
    Really fun! Similar to Metroid and Hollow Knight but maybe not as hard. Still a fun challenging game!
  9. BuckWild
    Feb 19, 2021
    9
    An all around great and challenging metroidvania game! Definitely a good choice for any switch owner!
  10. Sunshadow87
    Feb 22, 2021
    7
    Kunai es un buen juego de acción exploración con mecánicas de movimiento divertidas, originales y muy conseguidas. El problema es que Kunai es un metroidvania y no un juego de acción-aventura, y dentro de este genero falla en un punto clave, revisitar escenarios no es divertido en kunai: faltan interconexiones entre escenarios o algún medio de teletransporte, y realmente volver a recorrerKunai es un buen juego de acción exploración con mecánicas de movimiento divertidas, originales y muy conseguidas. El problema es que Kunai es un metroidvania y no un juego de acción-aventura, y dentro de este genero falla en un punto clave, revisitar escenarios no es divertido en kunai: faltan interconexiones entre escenarios o algún medio de teletransporte, y realmente volver a recorrer escenarios antiguos con nuevas habilidades, cosa no necesaria pero que es gran parte del atractivo del genero, resulta más un tedio que otra cosa. Además, la visión global de los escenarios acaba estando muy desconectada, lo que lleva más a continuar esta imagen. Realmente creo que se equivocaron bien en el diseño de niveles (o del mundo más bien), bien en el genero del juego. A pesar de ello los controles son una gozada y es muy disfrutable para las poquitas horas de duración que ofrece. Eso sí, la dificultad del juego es bastante baja excepto algún pico absurdo de dificultad (aunque nada excesivamente desafiante) como por ejemplo el propio jefe final... en general bastante desbalanceado también en este aspecto.
    El estilo artístico también me tira bastante para atrás, pero eso es ya cuestión de gustos.    … Expand
  11. swedetrap
    Feb 21, 2020
    9
    Despite the over saturated Metroidvania presence on the eshop, Kunai manages to stand out with aplomb due to amazing controls, an imaginative setting, and fantastic level design. Just when you thought you were done with 2D for a while, boom, you need to try this.
  12. Bmartin89
    Feb 22, 2020
    9
    This game is a joy to play, I love the smooth controls the graphics are good, I find it hard putting the game down after i start playing.. I love the battle mechanics, Also like the weapon upgrades you get when you progress through the game.. Overall i give this game 9/10.
  13. chris_w42
    Feb 20, 2020
    10
    Wonderful design, great sense of humor, delightful movement and controls: Kunai is my game of the year!
  14. HurleyJ44
    Feb 19, 2020
    9
    This was by far the best demo I played at Pax East and the game doesn't disappoint. The controls are super fluid, exploration is super fun, the visuals are so clean. The movement system is my favorite thing about this game. I cannot sing this game's praises enough.
  15. neipo13
    Feb 19, 2020
    10
    Followed this game on twitter for a while so maybe I'm biased but the graphics/effects look gorgeous
  16. EliasRoa
    Feb 19, 2020
    10
    This is worth the money it was. Now, I will say, I got between 5-10 hours of gameplay, but got an extra couple hours trying to find all the hats.

    The gameplay was as smooth as taking a knife of butter and spreading it across really warm toast. It was smooth. In fact, and I’m not saying I don’t like Celeste but it has way smoother gameplay compared to Celeste. The story was interesting    This is worth the money it was. Now, I will say, I got between 5-10 hours of gameplay, but got an extra couple hours trying to find all the hats.

    The gameplay was as smooth as taking a knife of butter and spreading it across really warm toast. It was smooth. In fact, and I’m not saying I don’t like Celeste but it has way smoother gameplay compared to Celeste.

    The story was interesting but it had a major plot twist near the end. The game felt like a metroidvania where you get weaponry and use it for obstacles earlier in the game. Also I do absolutely recommend finding the minimal in the forest map, it’ll be used throughout the game and help you save tons of time looking for where you need to go. Getting hats was worth my time. I normally don’t look for secrets in games but these hats... they kinda look a bit badass to wear. You feel like a pro wearing these hats. They are scattered around the map but some places are pretty smart hiding places for the hats.

    I had some problems with the game:
    1. Sometimes the music got a bit tedious like the First time I got onto the airship. And the same boss music was used in the last boss, I kinda wish there was more effort put into the final boss music because it didn’t really feel like a final boss with the basic boss music playing in the background
    2. If your last save was in another map and you died, you would travel all the back to that last map which can be annoying sometimes
    3. Once I completed the game, upgraded my katana to max and everything else maxed out, I had no use for my money, I just wish I could use my money on more things you know?
    4. Ok, this isn’t a complaint but the RPG becomes atrociously OP when you fully max it out. But on the other side, it’s fun to RPG jump to get through areas quicker and it does tons of damage

    Some examples of what I liked in game:
    1. Smooth gameplay and platforming using the Kunai as grappling hooks
    2. Once you fully max the SMGs our, you can use shoot them downwards to look like you are in the game Downwell
    3. There are funny references in the game, read the dialogue to people in Robopolis and you will understand what I mean
    4. Finding chests were actually worth finding even if I found them on accident
    5. I had to find the items to everything, find the minimal, find the WiFi box to access the shop, find the weapons, find the hats
    6. The color palette that was used in the simplistic design of everything.
    7. The satisfaction of killing an enemy with the Katana doing a down katana slash

    Overall, I say this was totally worth the $17 or so it costs. I thank the devs a lot for making such a fun game to play! -Elias Roa    … Expand
  17. EmperorSno
    Feb 21, 2020
    9
    A great Metroidvania game with tight and fluid controls, player upgrades and a variety of enemies that you can use different tactics to overcome. Nice colour scheme and art style. I wasn't a fan of the main character or the story but it didn't detract from the gameplay and I really enjoyed swinging around the levels using the Kunai. The music is good too. A perfect game for pick-up andA great Metroidvania game with tight and fluid controls, player upgrades and a variety of enemies that you can use different tactics to overcome. Nice colour scheme and art style. I wasn't a fan of the main character or the story but it didn't detract from the gameplay and I really enjoyed swinging around the levels using the Kunai. The music is good too. A perfect game for pick-up and play in small doses without having to remember too much from the previous play session. A definite recommendation from me,… Expand
  18. drumgodfist
    Feb 22, 2020
    10
    Just finished the game and I absolutely loved it. Was a really well produced game
  19. Marcelaoo
    Jul 22, 2020
    10
    Repeating my review from the PC version, this game is just amazing in pretty much every way (graphically, animation-wise, humor, tone, game feel, etc.), the movement mechanics are simple enough for anyone to pick up but are complex enough to take a while to master. The bosses are very creative and all involve some sort of movement mechanic and are decently challenging. My only gripe withRepeating my review from the PC version, this game is just amazing in pretty much every way (graphically, animation-wise, humor, tone, game feel, etc.), the movement mechanics are simple enough for anyone to pick up but are complex enough to take a while to master. The bosses are very creative and all involve some sort of movement mechanic and are decently challenging. My only gripe with the game it’s that it’s way too short, hopefully there’ll be some DLC down the line, I would gladly pay for it! Great job Turtleblaze and crew!… Expand
  20. Idawala
    Aug 31, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved the game, it has a solid and fun mechanic, creative boss fights, a really cool art style and world that feels like an awesome playground to have fun with the weapons and abilities given to you.

    And I love how the world is connected to each other and the map system is good enough for you not to get lost but still requires you to remember the layout a little bit, and to me that aspect was perfect.

    But I have a few reasons why I didn’t give it a ten:

    1- the game is “kinda” short, not too short, but I feel like it needed an extra stage at the end.

    1.5- in my opinion there should’ve been a final area after powering the mech before the final boss, an area that truly tests all of your abilities and what you’ve learned so far.

    2- I know this might sound whiny but I think using different soundtracks for each boss will make the fights even more memorable.

    These are not really issues with the game, but I think if these things were added the game would’ve been a perfect 10/10.

    And I hope Turtleblaze will go on to make more games, and to be honest they deserve more recognition.    … Expand
  21. TempoTheMan
    Aug 16, 2021
    7
    kunai has its flaws, sometimes unclear mission objectives and a lot of backtracking, but in the end its not a long game and its great controls, fun powers and hard difficulty made me a fan of the game (with some rage quitting aside)

Awards & Rankings

56
#56 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Nintenderos
    Nov 11, 2020
    83
    Kunai is one of those games that doesn't innovate in the Metroidvania genre but achieve what it wants, being a difficult and a really great title. It also offers a great soundtrack and good gameplay.
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  2. Worth Playing
    May 21, 2020
    78
    Kunai is a solid game. The genre formula sticks to the blueprint well enough to not mess it up. The game is of a decent length, and it has the right amount of difficulty most of the time, but the kunai movement sells you on what makes the game enjoyable. For genre fans, this is well worth checking out.
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  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    May 1, 2020
    80
    With personality and polish to spare, Kunai hits its mark. [Issue #46 – May/June 2020, p. 19]
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