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STAFF REVIEW of Akane (Xbox One)


Wednesday, September 28, 2022.
by Ayden Heilman

Akane Box art Akane is a stylish top-down hack and slash game taking place in the brightly lit neon streets of Mega-Tokyo where your main goal is to kill as many enemies in a last stand situation with the main character Akane who utilizes her katana and a gun. In the opening tutorial, you play as a young Akane training with her master. Then time fast forwards to 2119 where Akane throws you straight into a last stand situation with you killing as many Yakuza thugs as possible trying to last as long as you can with an onslaught of enemies always coming to try and kill you.

Akane delivers itself exactly how it wants with the neon street signs in the urban environment. The pixelated art style and its soundtrack all fit together really well. The soundtrack had a quality about it since there are about five to eight songs you will hear while slashing your enemies down. There was a good amount of audio variety but it got annoying after some lengthy play sessions so I had to eventually mute it or put my own music on.


Akane’s combat revolves around a majority of the enemies being one-tap (single hit kills) but this one-tap rule includes you as well, so you'll have to be thoughtful and careful behind your movements. There are five types of enemies that you will encounter: Yakuza Thug, Sharpshooter, Tank, Cyber ninja, and the Boss whos shows up every 100 kills and acts as a difficult challenge. The tanks are the only enemies that you can't kill with a single hit with the exception of the Boss as well.

The HUD is quite simplistic; on the right-hand side you have your combo multiplier and your gun's ammunition, and right below your character is your stamina bar which depletes with every swing of your sword. In order to use your weapons, you have to press 'A' to swing your katana in the direction that your character is facing but unable to continue swinging your katana because of the stamina restrictions.

For the gun you have to stand completely still, which can give the enemy a chance to kill you, so there's a balance of risk versus reward. There are various katanas that you can obtain, each offering different abilities in combat. For example, the first one gives you extra stamina and the second one lets you spin, killing anyone in your proximity when you unleash its ability. There are different guns you can use too, like a magnum and shotgun that all come with their own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your playstyle.


There is no in-depth skill tree for you to specialize into, but you do get items that can be equipped to change the gameplay a bit. For instance, you can equip a bracelet that lets you deflect bullets, a shoe that changes the way you dash, or cigarettes that change the color of trail that you leave behind when dashing. There are a total of six inventory slots for your items; one for shoes, one for cigarettes, two for items, one for your katana, and the last spot for your gun. With all these options you have a good amount of variety and it can be fun to mix up your playstyle if you want to challenge yourself in new ways.


Overall, Ludic Studios made a pretty good game for its low price at under five bucks. Its simplistic style makes all the visuals and soundtrack feel well put together when it comes to its neon aesthetics and audio, adding to the atmosphere and makes Akane stand out and unique. Death will be common for a while the first time you play, but once you get into the flow of combat, Akane eventually becomes very entertaining. Until the repetitiveness kicks in due to the lack of different levels, bosses and not too much variety in enemies, you'll have a hard time putting it down for a while. Akane is a worthwhile try and I could see myself going back to play for a little every once in a while.

**Akane was provided by the publisher and reviewed on an Xbox Series S**




Overall: 8.0 / 10
Gameplay: 7.5 / 10
Visuals: 8.5 / 10
Sound: 7.6 / 10

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