Slave Zero X Review (Steam)

by Jim Smale · February 21, 2024

Slave Zero X Review, a stylish 2.5D character action game set in the biopunk world of Slave Zero (1999). Run & Slash your way through a dystopian future in this character action game which will resonate with fans of Devil May Cry, Strider, and Guilty Gear.

Slave Zero X Review Pros:

Beautiful 90s-era Dreamcast-inspired graphics.
5.73GB download size.
Steam achievements.
Full controller support.
Graphics settings – resolution scale, display mode, v-sync, max frame rate, geometry details, and light quality.
Gameplay settings – flashing effects, violence, and screenshake can all be turned on and off.
Ui settings – subtitles, show speaker, draw Hud, move the Hud around, and subtitles sliders.
Your menu color scheme has sliders and is fully Customizable.
Run and slash gameplay.
Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
Does an amazing thing where it’s 2D sprites on a roasting animated 2D backdrop and coupled with the lighting looks unique.
Combo counter.
A huge focus on combos, attacking, and dashing out of the way.
Big boss encounters.
In-game cutscenes and character interactions.
Controller settings – remap controls and set which button icons to use. (Xbox/Nintendo/PlayStation)
Keyboard support and you can remap.
You can unlock and equip different palettes and shades.
Earn coins from playing and buy upgrades and unlocks in the shop.
The shop can appear on a level, at the end of a stage, and on the main menu.
Chapter select.
You get a breakdown and rank after each stage and wave-based encounters with your best rank shown on the chapter selection.
Full stats screen and online leaderboards with filters.
Training mode.
The soundtrack is awesome with drum and bass, techno, and anything else loud.
Has a Devil May Cry feel to the combat as it has a lot of aerials and comboing.
Fast loading times.
Does boast a wide array of attacks and combos including EX moves that can happen once you have charged up the EX bar.
The game just looks and plays so well.
A flying little bug can have bonus cash and health.
A lot of replay value with a new roguelike mode unlocking after finishing the game.

Slave Zero X Review Cons:

Had the game just stop like it’s waiting to load but no indicators or controls work.
Never sure when the checkpoint/respawn point has been triggered.
Bit grindy for unlocks.
A lot of button mashes.
Combat can get a bit tedious as you don’t have good ground attacks on downed enemies and you can’t break out of grabs or recover quickly from throws.
Boss fights are huge difficulty jumps.
The mouse cursor keeps appearing when using a controller.
Bosses have no health bars, they are cheap and chuck in extra people to just add more difficulty.
The story is broken up a lot and can trigger conversations when you are fighting which you have no chance of hearing.
The combat as cool as it can get very repetitive especially when you just juggle the enemy on the screen edge.
The combo counter ends quickly.
The style of the camera can go against the game as it’s hard to judge platforms and it can be hard to see enemies and if you can hit them.

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