Slave Zero X review - choose violence

Blood, guts, and grime cover the streets in the dystopian world of the new 2.5D action game from Poppy Works, Slave Zero X. Taking place in the Megacity S1-9, this metropolis has succumbed to the tyrannical rule of the Sovereign Khan (SovKhan) with poverty and death rife in the streets. You play as Shou, a freedom fighter and member of The Guardians, who puts his life on the line to take down the unjust rulers.

Slave Zero X takes place four years before the events of the 1999 game Slave Zero, where we see a similar struggle for power take place as the protagonist steals the most sophisticated biomechanical weapon in existence and uses it to win a brutal civil war. The premise is very similar in Slave Zero X as Shou, a revolutionary, merges with a stolen Slave unit prototype (a biomecha weapon) to take the fight to the ruling class and start his journey to killing a false god and his top followers. 

Traversing the world of S1-9 is thrilling. You’ll find bad guys and grunts lying in wait for you around every corner as you progress through the various layers of this dingy city in your pursuit of the five commanders and the Sovereign Khan. There are holy communes, dimly lit streets, and even fights atop speeding trains for you to experience and - hopefully - survive. 

The atmosphere in Slave Zero X is incredibly cool. The 90s-style sprites and visuals, coupled with an advanced lighting system and stylized 3D environments, opens up the abandoned city streets as you watch the world shift on its axis when you turn corners.  

Taking matters into your own hands 

Sweeping through enemies masked as a red devil armed with a simple sword and explosive attacks is great fun as long as you can get a grip on timing and combo attacks. Slave Zero X is best experienced with a controller, but as I was playing on PC and my controller was in the other room, I decided to give the keyboard a go. It quickly became clear that using a keyboard can be finicky if you don’t put some serious elbow grease into rebinding keys, however, so if you do have a controller on hand, it’s best to stick with that. 

After rebinding every key and doing a couple of practice runs to make sure everything was working as it should, I took to the streets of S1-9. At first, juggling the hordes of grunts that blocked your path every couple of seconds was quite tricky. Luckily, after plenty of trial and error, I finally managed to master the timing needed to keep these bad guys airborne almost permanently, juggling them until they were no more. Using these new skills alongside dashes and wall jumps meant that most encounters ended with me as the victor. 

The shifting axis of the 2.5D world can also be used to your advantage during fights; as the world turns, you have a bit more space, meaning you can handle more enemies at once. You can use the shifting axis to your advantage when climbing towering apartment buildings or navigating derelict railroads. 

The various kinds of enemy soldiers and morbidly deformed grunts that you encounter on your journey have a great variety of skills that keep most fights interesting. Some perish in a single hit and do very little damage, while others wield fiery spears dealing damage from afar or occupy armored mech suits that can grab and throw you to the ground. 

These enemies are fun in bite-sized chunks; however, there are a few times, usually before you take on a mini-boss, in which you find yourself swarmed by them. At these moments, it felt almost impossible to locate yourself among the hordes of bad guys, let alone fight back. There were also times in which I got stuck in a cycle of pain as bombs from above, long-distance enemies, and close-combat soldiers attacked me in specific instances, preventing me from getting even one hit in. These fights get old quickly, and it’s something that happens often.

On the other hand, the one-on-one encounters with the bosses and the ultimate villain were surprisingly digestible. You probably won’t beat every one of them on your first go. However, it does mean that after some engaging practice runs and a little self-reflection, you can prevail against the immoral followers of the SovKhan. 

One of the said followers, Uriel, was an interesting foe to go up against as you have to destroy infusers and kill off grotesque creatures with enlarged limbs and bulbous sacks of fluid that attack you. Once the final infuser is broken, you must run from a mutated Uriel traversing difficult terrain and killing off smaller enemies on your way. It was a nice change from the usual one-on-one fights in Slave X Zero.  

A tough ride 

Slave Zero X is not for the faint of heart, often demanding pinpoint accuracy, perfect timing, and the patience to replay fights over and over again. There were a couple of encounters with bosses, which did catch me off-guard. Enyo Beloved by the Bullet and Wuguan were both challenging adversaries to go up against, thanks to their rapid attacks and the constant need to stay out of reach during much of the fight. 

If you manage to make it all the way through, even past the impossibly fast and violent Atavaka The Final Triumph, then you'll be up against the final god-defying boss. It will require you to use everything you’ve learned. This could be perfect dashes, restraint so you have time to dodge incoming attacks, or the ability to juggle your enemy so you can get enough hits in before they get back up and take their own turn dishing out attacks. 

Slave Zero X also boasts a fantastic soundtrack that beautifully pairs 90s-inspired drum and bass music with the bloody retro aesthetic. It makes sweeping through the SovKhan’s soldiers even more thrilling. 

Coupled with the fantastic art style and cool 2.5D world, there’s plenty to enjoy here. It's just a shame that the crowded and ruthless group fights and the unforgiving boss battles make getting through Slave Zero X a bit of a slog occasionally.  

If you’re looking for more excellent games, be sure to check out the best roguelike games as well as the best indie games available to play right now.