Controls
- ADMove
- JSlash; mash for a triple: diagonal, rising, thrust
- WJLauncher: knock enemies into the air
- Air JSpin slash; in the air S+J plunges and sends out a shockwave on landing
- KJump; press again in the air to double jump
- LDash (invincible); J while dashing is the draw cut
- Wall KPush into a wall in the air to slide; jump to wall-jump off it
- USheathe; with the blade sheathed your next cut is the stronger Iai Flash
- OShiftHold for bullet time; kills refill it
- EnterPEscPause / resume
- FFullscreen
- IUltimate "Thousand Cuts" when rage is full
- HEThrow what you're holding (bottle, knife, smoke bomb); hold W to throw upward
Arrow keys + Z slash, X jump, C dash, V ultimate also work. Keys can be rebound in Settings.
Gamepad: left stick or d-pad to move, A jump, X slash, B dash, Y ultimate, RB sheathe, LT bullet time, LB throw, Start pause, Back skip tutorial; in menus left/right to pick, A to confirm.
Left stick to move and aim (push up + Cut for the launcher, down in the air + Cut to plunge); right side: Cut, Jump, Dash (Cut while dashing is the draw cut), Slow (hold for bullet time), Throw.
- A red line means a mage is aiming at you; when it flashes white, the fireball is coming: dash through it, or swing to send it back. Red flames fire one shot, purple flames fire a spread of five
- The draw cut dashes past enemies; they only fall apart when you sheathe. Boss missiles can be cut back too
- Combat zones lock the camera until every wave is cleared
- The masked ronin blocks frontal cuts while in stance; two blocks break his guard. A red glint on his blade means a lunge is coming: hit him first, dash away, or clash. Iai Flash, draw cuts, plunges and hits from behind can't be blocked
- The armored knight can't be hurt from the front and turns slowly; a red glint means a big sweep: dash behind him, or plunge from above
- The blue flame mage's red line is thick and long; once it locks and turns white, a fast bolt follows. Sending it back kills him outright
- Flying cars in Night Street's second zone: a red arrow flashes and a horn blares, then a car tears down the street. Stand on a fire escape, jump, or dash to dodge. Enemies hit by a car die instantly
- Kagemusha (Night Street boss) is your shadow: his stance blocks frontal cuts (three hits break it); a red glint means a triple slash you can clash; a red dotted line on the floor means an iai lunge: jump or dash, and punish the long recovery; his red wave can be deflected back; at low health his "Shadow Cuts" drop red lines on you, keep moving
- Toxic pools and gas vents: gaps in the plant floor are poison, falling in kills you; vents hiss green smoke, then erupt, hurting enemies too
- The Toxic Flame Priest (plant boss) floats in the air: green fireballs, spirals and sniper beams can all be deflected back, that's your main damage; green vertical lines are acid rain, which can't be deflected, only dodged; the side catwalks let you reach him; after a few attacks he tires and lands, rush in; at half health the vents erupt in sequence
- Stealth (Night Docks, Headquarters): guards and cameras cast light cones; inside one, the suspicion bar over their head fills and an alarm brings reinforcements; in the dark you're only seen at half range; sneak up on an unaware guard from behind or from a catwalk above and "J Kill" appears, strike for a silent kill; press S at a locker or empty container to hide; dashing and fighting make noise; red laser gates trigger the alarm, blinking means they're about to switch on
- The Hunter Mech (HQ boss) searches with a spotlight and its front armor shrugs off your blade; when the light finds you it stops and opens fire: hide or step out of the beam, wait for it to turn, then cut the glowing orange vent on its back or plunge from a catwalk. Three hits destroy it
- Collapse: the camera pushes forward on its own; if the collapsing wall on the left catches you, you die. Cracked floors give way half a second after you step on them; falling rocks flash a red line first. Bullet time slows the collapse too
- Highway: jump between car roofs; falling off kills you; down + jump drops to a lower car. The armored truck: cut its three roof turrets, then hit the exposed core four times; when it honks and changes lanes, it's about to ram you, jump to another car
- Throwables: bottles, knives and smoke bombs lie around the levels; walk over one to pick it up (one at a time) and press H to throw. A shattered bottle lures nearby guards and hounds; a knife homes on the nearest enemy ahead and kills in one hit, silently on unaware guards; smoke blinds everyone inside it, and even alert guards can be assassinated in smoke
- Night Docks: searchlight towers and a patrol boat sweep the pier; their beams raise suspicion, containers block them. Hounds don't look, they smell: all around them (a faint orange ring shows the range), faster when you're closer; when they finish smelling you they bark and charge. Drop on them from a container, or lure them with a bottle. The goal is the freighter's hatch
- Data Terminal: entering the control room starts the download; hold for 90 seconds. Half the enemies shoot the terminal, and sappers carrying blinking red charges throw themselves at it, cut them first; shots at the terminal can be deflected or body-blocked, and smoke over the terminal blinds the gunners
- Elevator Shaft: the elevator races upward; laser grids sweep down, stand in the green gap (or dash through); floor lasers must be jumped, full laser walls must be dashed through; at stops, doors open on both sides and you must clear the floor; the top floor has a final wave. Lasers cut enemies standing in the wrong place too
- The Obsidian CEO (final boss): first he fights like Kagemusha with stance, triple slashes, iai lunges and golden waves; at 65% he raises a shield, cut down the three drones circling him; below 35% he uses bullet time himself (the screen turns gold and only he keeps full speed), hold your own bullet time to keep up; at 20% he unleashes "Obsidian Cuts", if your rage is full, use your ultimate for a Thousand Cuts duel
- Boss dialogue (story mode): before each boss there's a short exchange; slash or jump to advance, Esc to skip; lines marked "interrupt" can be cut off mid-sentence; pick one of two replies, some give rage, some unlock lore in the Collection. With all 20 files found, the CEO is followed by the secret chapter "Old Rain" and the true ending (also playable from the chapter screen)
- Strike or sheathe: in the story, the defeated CEO kneels and you choose whether to strike him down or sheathe your sword, for two different endings. The list on each chapter card names everyone who was there that night; each boss you beat is crossed off. At the start of each chapter, your lower-city contact Crow speaks over the radio in the bottom right
- Collection: each chapter hides two purple Obsidian Files (often high up or off the main path; on the highway and in the elevator they float by for a while), each with a piece of backstory; achievements are listed there too. Continue on the title screen resumes the chapter you last reached
- Settings: rebind keys (taking a key used by another action swaps them), turn off screen shake, assist mode (6 health, score ×0.7). Hard mode unlocks on the chapter screen after one clear: double enemies, faster bullets, quicker reactions, 3 health, ranked separately
- Challenges: Daily (one chapter plus mutators each day), Endless waves, Boss rush, Time attack (with a ghost of your best run), Sword trials (10 goals with medals), One Cut (one hit kills, death rewinds, clears replay), Endless shaft. Mutators on the title screen multiply your score
- Ninjas (purple, green mask) throw shuriken from range (deflectable) and up close vanish in smoke to strike from behind; their lunge can be clashed. Kamikaze drones (red) lock on and dive in a straight line, exploding on contact; cut one first and it flies back along your swing to blow up someone else. E-shield troopers block anything thrown or deflected; only close cuts work, three of them
- The shirtless brawler swings his blade back and flashes red before pouncing: dash away, or slash as he lunges to clash and stagger him