1000 Cuts: Jomaku

About

1000 Cuts: Jomaku is a single player hack and slash game with fantasy, historical and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by Banjo Toad Studio and was released on March 8, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

⛩️ WISHLIST AND FOLLOW THE FULL GAME ⛩️ FOLLOW ON KICKSTARTER About the GameJomaku (除幕) "Curtain-raiser" a short act or monologue to introduce a longer kabuki play. A preview. 1000 Cuts: Jomaku is a 60-90 minute proof of concept experience of One-Thousand Cuts, with a short tutorial, plenty of exploration (over a dozen hidden pettable cats, an optional boss, bonus lore drops, t…

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 89 reviews

story10 positive mentions

stability1 negative mentions

The game offers a unique one-hit-kill combat system that is challenging and rewarding once mastered, providing a tense and thrilling experience.
The pixel art style, atmospheric setting inspired by samurai cinema, and immersive story with meaningful moral choices are highly praised.
The game features interesting mechanics such as using green tea for saving progress and allowing players to choose between lethal and non-lethal routes, adding replay value.

The game suffers from bugs and technical issues including softlocks, crashes, inconsistent hitboxes, sluggish controls, and frustrating camera or transition problems.
Combat can feel unresponsive or unfair at times due to poor parry feedback, slow animations, and enemies having longer attack ranges, leading to player frustration.
The heavy exposition and lengthy dialogue slow down the pacing and may discourage some players, especially since the narrative can feel overwhelming early on.

story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
35%
15%
The story is praised for its depth, rich world-building, and meaningful branching choices that enhance immersion, with many appreciating the detailed backstories of characters and enemies. However, some find the dialogue overly verbose and heavy, which can detract from engagement, while a few consider the narrative boring despite its effort. Overall, it is seen as a strong and compelling aspect of the game, especially for those who enjoy story-driven experiences.
- “The choices you make have far-reaching consequences, adding depth to the rich, immersive story set in the dark fantasy world of Kurogawa, Japan.”
- “Story is also very nice, it is simple but the game has this fun feature of giving little details of every enemy you defeat, offering tons of story for the main character and giving the story much more personality.”
- “While the game is a little dialogue heavy, it gives backstory to many of the characters which helps flesh out the world and will hopefully bring it to life as the game progresses.”
- “The story is annoying with overly verbose characters; could have cut 75% of the dialogues.”
- “Silent and badly animated trash, making it so boring that the story becomes completely unengaging.”
- “Which I find sad because I like stories and the developer went to a lot of trouble to make this story, but in the end it is just boring.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
41%
18%
The gameplay offers a challenging and unique 2D souls-like experience with a one-hit-kill mechanic, tight controls, and a simple yet engaging combat system. While innovative and fun, some mechanics feel inconsistent or clunky, especially in the demo version, impacting precision and fluidity. Overall, the gameplay is promising, intuitive once learned, and complemented by interesting mechanics like the tea save system, though it could benefit from further polish.
- “1000 Cuts: Jomaku is a demo of a brutal 2D souls-like where the core mechanic is that everything dies in a single hit, including you.”
- “The game’s mechanics are challenging, which is exactly what we’re looking for.”
- “It is such a simple mechanic with a good variety of enemies that can trick you; some enemies won't always attack immediately and some will. You just have to pay attention and learn every pattern.”
- “It’s a 7.5 because it still feels a bit 'indie-janky' in the ways that actually affect gameplay.”
- “Warning: according to the devs, this demo is outdated in terms of gameplay mechanics and is clunky compared to the latest version.”
- “Your sword sometimes refuses to draw even as you release, the turning mechanics are inconsistent, and the hitboxes sometimes feel inconsistent.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The graphics feature a retro pixel-art style that some users view as unpolished or lacking compared to modern 3D visuals, while others appreciate its old-school aesthetic and charming artistry. Despite mixed opinions, the pixel art contributes to the game's challenging vibe and nostalgic appeal. Overall, the visuals resonate well with fans of classic 2D action platformers.
- “9 hours in and it's still kicking my ass, but the art style, story line and need to conquer bring out the FromSoft 'git gud' energy in me.”
- “I loved the vibe of an old school 2D action platformer, the art style, and the hardness and challenging nature of this game.”
- “The iajustu quickdraw simulator we've all been waiting for; delivered in a sleek retro pixel-art aesthetic.”
- “This features really godawful pixelcrap "art" instead of real graphics.”
- “It's hard to say if this was because the developer didn't have the skill to do the job of creating 3D visuals, or couldn't afford to hire someone who does, but it also doesn't matter.”
- “Games like Terraria and Stardew Valley succeeded despite the bad graphics, not because of them.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music is praised for being excellent and enhancing the overall experience, complemented by great background tracks and sound effects that fit the game's charming aesthetic.
- “Great background music and sound effects.”
- “Interesting lore, gorgeous pixel art, excellent music, challenging, satisfying combat, and adorable, collectible cats!”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is widely praised as the standout feature, creating an engaging and immersive experience for players.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Stability is somewhat compromised by occasional glitches, which players view as charming quirks rather than major issues, adding character to the gaming experience.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users view the game's monetization as heavily reliant on microtransactions and loot boxes, often feeling like pay-to-win elements. Despite this, they express a determined attitude to resist such practices.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the game enjoyable but note that its replayability is limited compared to titles like Sekiro, making it less suitable for extended or repeated playthroughs.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the humor in the game charming and lighthearted, especially enjoying the quirky feature of petting cats and building an amusing army of cats that accompany the player.
- “Plus, petting cats is such a funny feature, especially since you can create an army of cats that will potentially be around you after you save.”