Sanabi

Cyberpunk revenge Spiderman

Why

Why Not

Impressions

I came into this expecting a fun action platformer, and for the first ~6 hours that's exactly what I got, with a bonus serving of amazingly detailed pixel art. The core mechanic of grappling feels amazing once you get used to it, thought that took me quite a while. You'll get there eventually though and once there you'll truly feel like the invincible soldier the General is hyped up to be; tearing through any obstacle in your path with ease.

Boss fights are sparse but uniformly memorable, with their own creative and thematic gimmicks. A highlight is one particularly enormous enemy which temporarily triggers a genre-change to horror; existing as a terrifying 3D object in Sanabi's 2D pixel art world. All as expected from a game spoken of so highly, with Overwhelmingly Positive Steam reviews. What I wasn't expecting was a story to rival a well-written book, culminating in an emotional finale which sticks the landing.

The game opens on the General spending some quality time with his daughter, whose childish whims function as an extremely cute tutorial level. Sadly this is not 'Play with Your Cute Daughter Simulator', and an attack by the mysterious Sanabi puts the General on the hunt for revenge. After aura-farming some unfortunate weapons dealers, his old military unit brings him in to tell him Sanabi's been spotted in Mago City and send him in. Naturally he's shot down on route, and shortly after meets up with a hacker named Mari. She has her own business in Mago City, and eventually the General grudgingly accepts her company (less so her expertly illustrated plans).

The first few levels are spent getting to grips with your kit while introducing new mechanics and enemies at an expertly managed pace which keeps up over your ~10 hour playthrough. As you get closer to your goal the pile of strange details grows ever larger. Where did the inhabitants of Mago City go? Why's there no trace of struggle or panic? Why does the city have a self-destruct button, and who pushed it? The buddy-cop relationship between the General & Mari is also a highlight; both are strong characters and their dynamic ensured I was always happy to see a cutscene after a tough platforming section or boss fight.

The story really starts to pick up the closer you get to Sanabi; eventually leading to a choice which can end the game right there or allow you to fight on for the truth. I strongly recommend taking the harder road, as hidden behind a brutal boss fight is heart string tugging explanation for all the mysteries you've been surrounded by until now. I'm glad I made it here after work so I had a chance to play through the last chapter uninterrupted; the increased pace of gameplay and cutscenes meld together into a spectacular ending for a spectacular game.

I heartily recommend Sanabi to anyone and everyone for the story and beautifully rendered world alone.