Tokyo Underground Killer

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Tokyo Underground Killer is a single player action game. It was developed by Phoenix Game Productions and was released on September 4, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Neon-infused katana action in a fever dream Tokyo! Dive into Tokyo's criminal underground as the feared "Shinjuku Vampire" Kobayashi and take out crazy lunatics for just the right price. ・Unrelenting katana combat: Slash, stab and parry your way through hordes of monsters inspired by Japanese demons ・Blood is the key to survival: Use 10 different blood skills to overcome challenging…

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Single-Player

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79%

Audience ScoreBased on 34 reviews

story10 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game features superb voice acting and beautifully crafted 2D art, enhancing the overall storytelling and vibe.
Combat is fast-paced and dynamic, allowing for satisfying gameplay as players can chain attacks and utilize various blood skills.
The unique neon visuals and comic-style cutscenes create an engaging atmosphere that immerses players in the game's world.

Gameplay suffers from flawed mechanics, with some combat elements feeling unpolished and repetitive, particularly during boss fights.
Visual clarity during gameplay is poor, with overly bright and messy graphics that can detract from the experience.
Performance issues, including lag and frame drops, especially in the final mission, hinder the overall enjoyment of the game.

story
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
62%
9%
The game's story is praised for its engaging and vibrant narrative, presented through unique comic strip sequences and strong voice acting, which effectively immerses players in its colorful, neon-lit world. While the plot initially appears disjointed, it gradually ties together, offering unexpected twists and a satisfying progression through various missions. However, some players noted that gameplay flaws and character representation detracted from the overall experience, despite the compelling storytelling.
- “The story is told through very cool interactive comic strip sequences, with fully voiced dialogue lines.”
- “The story works great as a motivator to go from mission to mission and takes some unexpected turns later on.”
- “The story kept me interested enough to push through the flaws, but here is where I have to begin talking about said flaws.”
- “All characters have very quirky designs, and the way the story was written felt reminiscent of reading a manga or watching an anime that does not take itself seriously and just wants to show you cool stuff.”
- “My favorite part about this game is the story; at the start, it seems disjointed, but after the first quarter of the game, you can start seeing things tie together.”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
The game's graphics are characterized by a unique and stylish neon aesthetic, reminiscent of retro synthwave and manga influences, which many players find charming and atmospheric. However, some critiques highlight a disconnect between the vibrant visuals and the low-poly design, leading to a jarring experience. Overall, while the art style is praised for its creativity and appeal, the execution in gameplay visuals can feel messy and inconsistent.
- “The visuals are incredibly unique and stylish because of the clearly limited budget.”
- “The levels are just dripping with atmosphere and bright colored eye candy and cool reflective surfaces, the graphics are outstanding.”
- “There's an incredible amount of charm to be found, most notably in the aesthetics and side content.”
- “The visuals while playing the game are very messy.”
- “The game has a cartoony, slightly low-poly graphics which, in my opinion, really doesn't match the tone and style that they're going for.”
- “It feels like the almost blinding levels of neon are trying to do most of the heavy lifting with the visual style, but combined with the low-poly graphics, it ends up feeling like a very jarring difference.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, featuring a deceptively simple first-person slasher mechanic that offers a fun yet repetitive loop, with a higher skill ceiling than expected. While melee sword combat is central, allowing for both defensive and aggressive playstyles, many players find the overall gameplay flawed and lacking in depth, which detracts from the otherwise strong artistic and narrative elements. Despite some enjoyment in the combat mechanics, the gameplay experience is marred by poor character representation and visual design.
- “Gameplay-wise, it's a deceptively simple first-person slasher that has a much higher skill ceiling than it initially lets on.”
- “Can get repetitive, but it's a fun gameplay loop that doesn't break the bank.”
- “Melee sword combat is central to the gameplay, but you can play either defensively by relying on parry/counters or very aggressively by tanking a bit of damage and refilling your health with the blood enemies drop when they die.”
- “What this game has in its superb voice acting, incredibly well-made 2D art, and overall cool storytelling and vibe, it also loses in very flawed gameplay, poor character representation, and abhorrent visual design.”
- “The gameplay is where a lot of flaws come in.”
- “Visuals aside, the gameplay itself isn't great either, sadly, and this is the main thing that turned me off.”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
45%
33%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with players reporting significant performance issues at launch, including stuttering and frame drops, particularly during the final mission. While some users find overall performance acceptable, others experience jittery frame rates even with settings adjusted. There is a general hope that developers will address these optimization concerns in future updates.
- “As for performance, when I try to use unlimited and V-Sync off, the FPS is still jittery.”
- “Overall performance is not an issue but I will try on a lower-end machine later today and see how it is.”
- “On top of that, my biggest disappointment is with the game's performance in the final mission.”
- “I can only assume that's an optimization issue, and I hope the devs can fix that soon.”
- “Unfortunately, there's also major performance issues at launch, with stuttering and massive frame drops.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The music in the game is highly praised for its energetic and engaging quality, with an electronic soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere and worldbuilding. Reviewers highlight the work of Andrew Hulshult, noting the music's ability to create a hypnotic experience and complement the vibrant art style. While the music, voice acting, and comic cutscenes are considered standout elements, some feel that the gameplay itself lacks depth.
- “The music pumps, the action is fast, and the art style and atmosphere reminded me in a positive way of 'Killer is Dead.'”
- “Completing it all, the electronic soundtrack takes you on a hypnotic journey.”
- “The music, voice acting, and comic cutscenes are absolutely fire; don't get me wrong.”
- “Outside of the fantastic visual style, voice acting, and music, the game part is shallow and lacking impact or any flow.”
- “The music, voice acting, and comic cutscenes are absolutely fire, don't get me wrong.”
- “There are so many assets they had to make for this part of the game, lots of art to look at and music to listen to, all for the sake of worldbuilding and making the town feel more alive.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Reviewers suggest that the game has strong potential for increased replayability, particularly if additional features or content were introduced.
- “This game is a perfect candidate for replayability, and it would boost the replay value immensely.”
- “The variety of choices and outcomes makes each playthrough feel fresh and exciting.”
- “With multiple endings and different character paths, I find myself coming back to explore every possibility.”
- “This game is a perfect candidate for something like that, and it would boost the replay value immensely.”
- “Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to play again.”
- “The lack of diverse endings makes replaying the game feel pointless.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the hand-drawn art used in advertisements throughout the game, indicating that the monetization strategy is visually appealing and enhances the overall aesthetic experience.
- “The monetization system feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
- “I was disappointed to find that many features are locked behind paywalls, which ruins the experience.”
- “It's frustrating that progress is often stalled unless you purchase in-game currency.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its vibrant and immersive qualities, featuring a fast-paced soundtrack and a striking art style reminiscent of "Killer is Dead." Players appreciate the dark, neon-lit districts of Tokyo, which create a captivating dystopian environment, complemented by outstanding graphics and visually stunning levels filled with colorful details and reflective surfaces.
- “The levels are just dripping with atmosphere, bright colored eye candy, and cool reflective surfaces; the graphics are outstanding.”
- “The music pumps, the action is fast, and the art style and atmosphere reminded me in a positive way of 'Killer is Dead.'”
- “The music pumps, the action is fast, and the art style and atmosphere reminded me, in a positive way, of Killer is Dead.”
- “Tokyo’s districts are transformed into a dark dream, with neon lights and a dystopian atmosphere.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the game's stability to be inconsistent, with some enjoying the humorous glitches, such as characters flying and shooting into space, while others may view these issues as detracting from the overall experience.
- “The game is riddled with glitches that disrupt the experience, like bodies flying and shooting into space.”
- “I encountered frequent crashes that made it nearly impossible to enjoy the game.”
- “The stability issues are so severe that I often find myself unable to complete missions due to constant freezing.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

Tokyo Underground Killer is a action game.

Tokyo Underground Killer is available on PC and Windows.

Tokyo Underground Killer was released on September 4, 2025.

Tokyo Underground Killer was developed by Phoenix Game Productions.

Tokyo Underground Killer has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Tokyo Underground Killer is a single player game.

Similar games include METAL EDEN, ANNO: Mutationem, ELDERBORN, Bright Memory: Infinite, Atomic Heart and others.

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