Katana Zero

Mostly unrelated, but I had a small breakdown trying to figure out how to classify games, particularly action games, after I finished playing this game. Katana Zero is no doubt an action game, but that's so broad... It's a platformer, because you jump from platform to platform, but that's by no means what the game is about... I guess it's a hack and slash, since that is mainly what the game is about, but then I looked at all the other hack and slash games, and how different they, too, are, and I just don't know anymore. To go into more detail, Katana Zero is a level-based side-scrolling hack and slash, with the catch being a bullet time / time rewind mechanic.
It's a fun game by the gameplay alone, as restarting the level is quite rapid, so it can give you very difficult scenarios to overcome. It starts off easy enough, but the difficulty ramps up alongside your skill, giving a very nice feeling of progression as you look back at levels that used to give you trouble, and notice how easy they are compared to what you can handle towards the end. And yet, were it just the gameplay, I wouldn't mark this game as anything too special...

What really lifts Katana Zero above the rest is the story it tells. It could have just been a nice arcade game, where you have the ability to restart the level because it's a video game, but Katana Zero went further, and wrote a whole story, history, psychological aspects - everything around it. I think the story is very memorable indeed, and it's well-integrated with the gameplay where it's actually interfering with how you play the game, not just something you experience between levels. There are also a lot of choices, which appear to have an impact on the rest of the story, but, minor spoiler, mostly do not. Still, I think it's applaudable that it made me care about the decisions I made, and fooled me to believe that the game may have gone significantly differently based on those choices. (There is actually one important choice as well as a hidden boss fight.)
But that's about all I want to say about the story, lest I spoil something larger. Do experience it for yourself.

Overall, between an amazing story, well-executed, although not incredibly unique, gameplay, and an all around solid experience in every other aspect, Katana Zero is one of best games I've played in a while, as well as a contender for the best arcade game I've ever played. I would highly recommend it to anyone.