KUNAI

Tabby, a small robot with an expressive tablet screen for a face, wields a katana in one hand and a grappling-hook kunai in the other, swinging and dashing through a robot uprising to stop the AI responsible, Lemonkus, from finishing off what's left of humanity. KUNAI wears its influences openly, drawing on Cave Story, Metroid and the broader modern metroidvania revival, and reviewers across a review sample of 256 are consistent on exactly where the game succeeds most: the feel of actually moving through it.

Movement reviewers describe as a genuine highlight

The grappling hook is the star of this review sample's praise, and it's praised specifically rather than vaguely. Reviewers describe chaining hookshot swings into dashes and wall jumps as genuinely satisfying, crediting the movement with a sense of momentum and control that elevates the game above many similarly-scoped indie metroidvanias. Art direction earns its own broad credit, with the robot cast's expressive tablet-screen faces singled out repeatedly as a distinctive, charming visual touch that gives the game real personality beyond its mechanics. The soundtrack draws specific, enthusiastic praise as energetic and well matched to the game's fast pace, and several reviewers explicitly frame the whole package as closer in spirit to classic Metroid and Cave Story's combat-forward pacing than to the more exploration-heavy, puzzle-dense style Hollow Knight has come to represent for the genre. One reviewer specifically credits the publisher, The Arcade Crew, with drawing on staff experience from Dotemu's earlier retro-revival titles, arguing that pedigree shows through in how confidently the game commits to a fast, old-school action pace rather than chasing the more methodical, atmosphere-first design several recent genre entries have favored instead.

A linearity complaint that recurs with unusual specificity

What holds this review back from a stronger score is a large, detailed and remarkably consistent structural complaint. Reviewers repeatedly describe the game as far more linear than typical metroidvanias, offering little to no freedom in the order abilities are acquired or the routes available to explore, a meaningful departure from the genre's usual promise of open-ended, player-directed progression. That complaint compounds directly with a second, even more commonly repeated one: the near-total absence of a fast-travel system. Multiple independent reviewers cite this specifically as the single biggest frustration in their playthrough, describing routine backtracking to earlier areas, particularly toward the endgame, as a genuine pacing problem rather than a minor inconvenience.

Progression systems reviewers say don't pull their weight

A related complaint concerns the upgrade systems built around combat. Multiple reviewers report that investing resources into sword upgrades specifically feels largely wasted, describing ranged weapon and missile upgrades as clearly superior in practice and making melee investment feel like a trap for players who don't already know to prioritize differently. That's a specific, actionable design complaint distinct from the broader structural criticism above, and it's repeated often enough across the sample to read as a genuine balance oversight rather than a matter of individual playstyle preference. A related, smaller complaint concerns navigation more generally: at least one reviewer reports specific points in the story where an in-game marker points toward an objective that turns out to require an item or upgrade not yet clearly signposted as necessary, leading to confused wandering before realizing the actual next step lies somewhere else entirely.

A late difficulty spike and a completion-blocking bug worth naming directly

Beyond the structural complaints, several reviewers report a specific, disproportionate difficulty spike at the final boss, with at least one detailed account describing the encounter as effectively unbeatable even with every available upgrade equipped, eventually leading that reviewer to abandon the playthrough rather than continue attempting it. Separately, at least one reviewer reports a specific bug involving a collectible heart piece that could not be located despite an exhaustive search, blocking full completion entirely — a frustrating, concrete technical issue distinct from the more subjective design complaints elsewhere in this review. It's worth noting this specific bug report doesn't appear to be an isolated, one-off configuration issue either, since it's referenced independently by more than one reviewer describing a similar inability to locate a specific late-game collectible despite methodically retracing already- explored areas.

What the achievement data shows about how far players actually get

Global achievement data is broadly consistent with a short, front-loaded metroidvania that a meaningful share of engaged players finish. Early achievements clear a strong majority of the playerbase, and the achievement tied to defeating the final boss clears just under a quarter of players who've unlocked anything, a reasonable completion rate for a genre entry of this length. Full completionist goals fall into the high single digits, consistent with reviewers' accounts of backtracking and collectible-hunting fatigue discouraging 100% runs specifically, even as the core story remains accessible to finish for most players who start it.

Verdict

KUNAI succeeds specifically and consistently at the thing a metroidvania needs to get right first: movement that feels genuinely satisfying to control, backed by charming art direction and an energetic soundtrack. It settles at a middling score here because the structure built around that movement draws real, detailed and widely repeated criticism, a rigidly linear map, a near-total absence of fast travel that turns backtracking into a genuine chore, and progression systems that don't always reward the choices they present. Worth playing for the feel of it on a sale, but go in with expectations calibrated to a shorter, more linear experience than the genre typically promises, and be ready for real patience-testing backtracking by the time the credits are in sight.