1000 Cuts: Jomaku

Review after 100% ♡♡♡ Softlocks from the heavens above.. "Don't waste your life, I did. Go home," -John Rambo ⣴⣿⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣼⣿⣿⣿⣷⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣤⣤⣶⣶⣿⣿⡗ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠟⠀ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠃ ⣿⣿⡇⠜⠙⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀Got a cat here ⣿⣿⣿⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠋⡹⠙⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀ Friends passing ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣾⣿⣿⠛⠀⠀by can touch her ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⠛⠁⠀⠀and click Like to pet ♡ ⣿⣿⡿⠻⠿⠿⠿⠿⠛⠹⠑⠀⠀ Award for good luck, Take My Points for infinite pets ♡ ⠟⠁⠀

Simple yet feels SO good to play. Really exciting premise and the boss-sparing mechanic could go some REALLY interesting directions with the release of the full game. The game being DESIGNED around a pacifist route seems really fun, and the feeling of dashing through a room and knocking everybody out is awesome. Green tea as a currency to set savepoints is immersive and I like when games do things like that. No unnecessary menus or UI, no gear sets and metagaming, just moment-to-moment skill.

Short and quite rough game. Found many bugs and annoyances. Good concept and since is free I will give it thumbs up.

I had to reload the game 9 or 10 times due to it randomly giving me a blank screen. The parry system feels very slow and unresponsive but I do love the fact that this is a love letter to Akira Kurosawa and other great samurai film directors of the 50s. If you're okay with mid gameplay that has a great story then I recommend this

Jo-maku quit

1000 Cuts: Jomaku is basically a love letter to samurai cinema, and as a free prologue, it’s a hell of a hook. It’s got that gritty, high-stakes "one mistake and you’re dead" energy that makes every room feel like a puzzle you have to solve with a blade. - What works: The atmosphere is easily the best part. Between the pixel art and the "Kurosawa Mode," the game looks and feels moody as hell. The combat is simple but tense—you’re either a god-tier swordsman or a puddle of blood on the floor within three seconds. I also really liked the choice between using a real sword (lethal) or a wooden bokken (non-lethal). It actually gives you a reason to play through it more than once to see how the "Honor" vs. "Loyalty" paths play out. And yes, you can pet the cats. 10/10 for that specific feature. - Easily 7.5+/10: It’s a 7.5 because it still feels a bit "indie-janky" in the ways that actually affect gameplay. Physics are a bit chaotic: Since everything is one-hit-kill, accidentally clipping a lantern and blowing yourself up feels more frustrating than "hard." Technical hiccups: There are some weird transitions where the screen fades to black but your character is still moving in the bac…