Katanaut, new rogue-like, search-action game from Voidmaw is, like other games released this year, exceptionally tight in the moment-to-moment gameplay. However, after some time, I found that it was committing a cardinal sin of the genre; it made me wish it wasn’t a rogue-like.
You take the role of Naut, a sci-fi samurai who finds himself stuck investigating a space station that’s had a bit of trouble. The entire place has been overtaken by a demonic force, with the inhabitants turned into horrific, fleshy constructs.
Katanaut’s style is overtly gory, despite being pixelated, and it’s gorgeous. The game’s spaceship backgrounds become disgustingly painted with the blood spatter of the various horrors you’ll fight. As you get further or uncover different secret areas, Katanaut ups the ante by making everything just that little bit more gross.
Unsettling Looks
That also carries to the animation and design of the enemies you’ll encounter. There’s just something unsettling about how they all move, open maws of tendrils, and, despite looking as grotesque and obscure, are often still quite readable on the screen for dodging purposes.
An aspect of horror does lurk behind the veil, though. At random, from what I can tell, Katanaut will have a ‘horror’ chase you around the level.
They’re not scary, but it adds an element of tension that’s greatly appreciated as I tried to hunt down the altar to end its stalking.
For a game with a huge foot in the horror pool, Katanaut isn’t particularly scary. It’s certainly more on the gross-out horror, rather than “boo!”. Everything just looks like it’s moist, and the massive splashes of gore and various grizzly animations really add to the overall atmosphere.
Katanaut Combat Gameplay
It’s clear that Katanaut’s developer has refined the combat to the nth degree. Each swing of the katana, combined with the different abilities found in the levels, just feels right. I do wish there was a little more flexibility in the number of what you can choose, but there’s only so many buttons on the controller.
An absolute favorite combination became summoning this Eldritch ball of tentacles around me, and dodging into a crowd while opening a tear in reality with another ability.
There are a few abilities with long cooldowns, but upgrades or alternatives are thrown at you so quickly – especially if you upgrade loot drops – that it never becomes a problem for too long.
There’s also a secondary weapon you pick up, which is usually a gun. Katanaut wastes no time in going from weak pistols to a minigun, which I found quite funny. These run off ammo, which you earn back by attacking enemies with the sword. It allows some flexibility in the way you want to build Naut for that run, but the gun always, regardless of upgrades, feels a little piddly. It gets results, but there’s a distinct lack of punch.
This is all backed by a stamina function, so while it’s pretty much an instant kill for the grunts, you can’t just go completely crazy. The measured approach is encouraged while you explore the level you’re on.
It’s a small irritant, but I fully understand why it’s been put there. As the game progresses, I focused on getting it as upgraded as possible, just to limit the annoyances of forgetting about it at a critical moment.
There’s a rhythm that I found, which didn’t need to be switched up too much in the early stages. As things progress, the game’s difficulty really spikes, which is to be expected.
The genre is built on getting better each time. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I can make it through the first area pretty smoothly, but it still sucks the wind out of me just as much as any other when I realise how hard I wish it would ditch the rogue-like stuff.
Rogue-Lite, Rogue-Like, Go Away
If I were to pull the comparison chart out, Katanaut is very close to Dead Cells — one of the best Metrodvania games on PC — in its loop. There’s a starting room where you decide, after unlocking them, on a randomly selected secondary weapon, ability, and what style of sword you want to take in.
However, each time I wound up back at the start, I was irritated that my exploration was interrupted. It’s not even like most of the levels are, despite their lovely looks, very deep. But the search-action motif of a maze-like design for its levels made me want more time to poke around.
Sometimes I’ll wind up in a portal that lets you travel to an unconnected portal, depositing me somewhere completely unexplored. I want to prod at every corner to see what else I could find. However, Katanaut’s rogue-like tendencies mean that everything old is new as soon as it’s game over.
The cardinal sin of a rogue-like is to make the player wish its loop-like gameplay didn’t exist. I constantly wanted the game to pace itself, let me spend time in the sci-fi horror that the developer spent so long crafting. I imagined where the combat could go if there wasn’t a total reset each run.
But wishing for what isn’t, isn’t helpful. Despite my misgivings around Katanaut, it’s still fun.
The game is ready to kill you, but it will sooner have you back in the fray in just a minute or so. There just isn’t a lot of downtime in Katanaut, which is to its benefit. The core game, combat, and exploration are so good, it’s a critical plus that it loads fast.
Katanaut is Still good, Gross Out Fun
Katanaut isn’t a total success, but it isn’t something you should miss out on if you’re into these things. The game is always at a rapid pace, but one that wants the player to take a measured approach.
However, it stands out from the crowded space of rogue-like titles on PC, such as the newly launched arena-style Hordelord, where it feels like at least one launches per week.
Katanaut’s style and combat are exceptional, and what kept me coming back through its loop, even if I was getting more and more frustrated, realising I’d have to beat a boss for the fourth time.
| Pros | Cons |
| Looks fantastic, with an excellent gross style | Knowing that a slog is ahead can suck the wind out of wanting to try again |
| Incredibly quick to load after a game over | Feels very familiar, even if it sets itself apart |
| Combat and exploration are super tight, making me wish there was more | Yet another rogue-like game that is crying out to be anything but |
Platforms: PC
Developer: Voidmaw
Publisher: Voidmaw
Release date: September 10, 2025
