First Cut: Samurai Duel

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First Cut: Samurai Duel is a single player and multiplayer action game. It was developed by Night Eyes Interactive and was released on January 17, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

"First Cut: Samurai Duel" is an arcade-style sword-fighting game set in feudal Japan, where every strike is lethal. Master the refined combat system, customize your character's appearance, and engage in intense battles against friends or AI opponents. Experience the thrill of decapitations and dismemberment, or opt for a wooden sword to spare your foes. Survive waves of enemies in Survival mode and explore additional game modes.

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88%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,776 reviews

gameplay106 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The game features satisfying and fluid swordplay, making each kill feel rewarding.
The pixel art and attention to detail, especially in the blood effects, are visually stunning.
The game offers various modes, including local multiplayer, which enhances the fun when playing with friends.

The AI can feel unfair, often reading player inputs and reacting faster, leading to frustrating encounters.
The game can become overly difficult, especially in later levels where enemies swarm the player, making it feel less about skill and more about luck.
There is currently no online multiplayer option, limiting the ability to play with friends remotely.

gameplay
274 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
57%
4%
The gameplay of "First Cut: Samurai Duel" is characterized by its simple yet challenging mechanics, reminiscent of classic fighting games, where players engage in intense one-hit-kill combat. While the controls are easy to learn, mastering the game can be difficult due to aggressive AI and some frustrating mechanics, such as the shove mechanic that can disrupt combat flow. Overall, the game offers a rewarding experience with beautiful pixel art and a satisfying combat system, though some players feel it lacks depth and variety in gameplay modes.
- “It just feels raw and the gameplay is awesome in a challenging, moreish way.”
- “The mechanics are easy to learn, you only need a, d, and a mouse, or even just a keyboard if you choose that control setup!”
- “And honestly, I love this so much, the gameplay is extremely simple, but that's good in this case; it makes the combat very tight and satisfying. You'd think a game where everyone dies in one hit would get boring fast, but no matter how many times I fight, it's always intense and fun.”
- “The gameplay feels kinda static, like I don't feel like a competent swordsman but some schmuck who picked up a sword and is now killing people.”
- “The issues I had with this experience was that it often felt like the enemies were reading my attacks almost instantly, blocking seemed somewhat haphazardly accurate, the parry system felt off, your speed was too slow in comparison to the enemies, and the shove mechanic is awful.”
- “Even using the counter mechanics is utterly useless as enemies, even on normal difficulty, will be able to block them as easily as a regular attack.”
graphics
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
76%
21%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning pixel art style, showcasing incredible attention to detail and a perfect blend of stylized and realistic elements. Players appreciate the beautiful visuals, impressive blood effects, and the overall aesthetic that enhances the gaming experience, making it a standout feature of the game. Many reviews highlight the art style as a significant draw, contributing to both the enjoyment of combat and the immersive atmosphere.
- “The game’s art style strikes a perfect balance between stylized and realistic, enhancing the overall experience without overwhelming the senses.”
- “One other thing that deserves immense praise is the art; the pixel artwork in this game is absolutely beautiful, from the cloth physics on the clothes to the lighting, to the little details like the straw hats being cut if you barely miss someone or the water splashing everywhere when you swing on it. The blood physics are just so cool to look at, splashing everywhere, staining your clothes and sword, and the death animations are numerous and all so cool, showcasing the love put into all of it.”
- “Beautiful pixel art, and lots of extra settings to customize all the little things about the graphics or gameplay to your liking if you so desire.”
- “70% of this game's budget went into creating the most realistic gore system a 2D low graphical fidelity game can possibly achieve, the other 29% went into making the game itself.”
- “Brutal visuals for a pixel game, but if you're looking for an easy game, I can't recommend it.”
- “I will say, if they ever get online multiplayer going (how is that not already a thing? Again... shallow, what are they spending dev time on? Not the visuals I can assure you that), then I would definitely give it another shot.”
story
106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
61%
11%
The game's story is described as minimal and lacking depth, with many players expressing a desire for more narrative elements or dialogue to enhance the experience. While some missions are noted for their engaging design and beautiful visuals, the overall storytelling is criticized for being sparse and sometimes confusing, leading to a disconnect between gameplay and narrative motivation. Despite these shortcomings, the campaign mode does provide a basic storyline that adds some adventure to the gameplay, though it often feels overshadowed by the challenging combat mechanics.
- “The campaign mode, by adding a storytelling dimension, brings more adventure and makes the experience even more powerful.”
- “I like the campaign and the small story it tells and the level designs are beautiful.”
- “This game basically turns the first one into a demo in comparison; it has all the bells and whistles with customization, the swordplay is phenomenal, and it has a surprisingly good story mode with boss fights and a good number of enemy types while still maintaining the 1-hit kill rule (most of the time).”
- “I think they should include some sort of 'story'.”
- “I wish we could have at least got some text box dialog because the lack of story doesn't give me any motivation to finish this game.”
- “No story that I could tell, just 3 modes: survival, duel, and something else.”
music
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
34%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its groovy and varied soundtrack, which complements the stunning pixel art and enhances the overall atmosphere. Reviewers appreciate the mix of ambient and lo-fi tracks that fit well with the gameplay, creating a satisfying experience that encourages players to immerse themselves in the action. While some players noted a preference for external soundtracks, the game's original music is still considered a strong point, contributing to its unique charm.
- “The soundtrack of this game is absolutely incredible, as is the scenery and aesthetic.”
- “Bloody, satisfying, fun, just a good game overall; the combat system is unique and challenging, the art is fantastic, and the music is very nice and varied.”
- “The pixel art and soundtrack are beautiful and complement each other nicely.”
- “I really suck at this game, I recommend playing the Samurai Champloo soundtrack to maximize performance.”
- “However, this does not take away from the main game, which holds stunning visuals, amazing effects, and a calm and relaxing soundtrack to settle down with.”
- “It reminds me very much of OlliOlli in terms of both aesthetic, synthwave soundtrack, and general vibe: punishing, but infinitely rewarding as you learn its mechanics.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
90%
10%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beauty, attention to detail, and immersive qualities, featuring richly detailed backgrounds and a fitting soundtrack that enhance the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the combination of charm and intensity, noting that while the atmosphere is captivating, it can be overshadowed by gameplay challenges. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout aspect, contributing significantly to the game's enjoyment.
- “So first cut: samurai duel has a lot of beauty, atmosphere, and charm... no doubt about it, and the fighting mechanics seem fairly easy to grasp albeit hard to master.”
- “Nicely detailed backgrounds, a fitting soundtrack, and an overall cool atmosphere.”
- “Lavishly violent, beautiful atmosphere, and reflective sound and ambience.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a humorous tone, highlighted by amusing achievements and entertaining extras in the options menu, such as zombies and lightsabers. Players find the multiplayer modes to be both hectic and enjoyable, contributing to the overall comedic experience.
- “The extras in the options menu are funny and cool (zombies, blood physics, lightsabers, etc) and the multiplayer is hectic but fun in scenario missions, and very, very quick in duel mode.”
- “Funny katana.”
- “Achievement which is funny.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
While some players find the game highly replayable due to the challenge presented at higher difficulty levels, which requires mastery of combat mechanics, others feel that overall replayability is limited.
- “At higher difficulty levels, you need an instinctive proficiency and a deep understanding of the combat to break through, making it very replayable.”
- “But seriously, the game doesn't have that much replayability.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be frustrating, as the AI can feel unfair and the difficulty levels either lack challenge or become tedious. Many express that the grinding required feels excessive, suggesting it may detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “However, from how I felt playing the game, the AI enemies did not only feel 'unfair' at times, but after playing a couple of matches, the easy difficulty was barely a challenge at all, and any other difficulty just felt tedious.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers suggest that the game's monetization strategy could benefit from improved advertising, particularly by updating the Steam thumbnail to better reflect the game's quality, as the current design is perceived as crude and may hinder its visibility and appeal.
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews suggest that players find the game's optimization lacking, as they feel that external factors, like listening to the Samurai Champloo soundtrack, may enhance their performance. This indicates a perceived need for improvements in the game's optimization to better support player experience.
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is generally enjoyable and features many fun extras, but players have noted the presence of some bugs and oddities that affect stability.
- “The game has a lot of fun extras, but there are some buggy and weird features that affect stability.”
- “While the game is enjoyable, it suffers from several stability issues that can disrupt the experience.”