First Cut: Samurai Duel
is a side-scrolling 2D Fighting Game made by Night Eyes Interactive and released on January 17, 2024. The game is an expansion of a free, smaller game simply titled 'First Cut', and Samurai Duel features character customization, multiple game modes, and several other extras.
Gameplay consists of sword fights where three different strikes can be performed - horizontally, up, and down - and each one is a One-Hit Kill. However, players have a number of tools to defend themselves, including blocking by matching the opponent's stance, clashing by attacking at the same time, or dodging out of the way against either horizontal or vertical strikes. Combine this with the ability to push and grab and scoring the killing blow can become a test of both reflex and strategy.
This game provides examples of:
- Achievement Mockery: The achievement for killing an enemy before he can draw his sword is called "Scoundrel".
- The achievement "Tsujigiri" is given for killing a defenseless peasant. You monster.
- Developer's Foresight: As blades slice enemies, lots of blood is spilled - and this blood can get in the eyes of other enemies, blinding them temporarily.
- Four Is Death: The achievement for reaching a combo of four or more is called "四".
- Idiosyncratic Difficulty Levels: The difficulties for the Campaign, Last Man Standing, and Survival modes are, in increasing order of difficulty, "Painless", "Easy", "Merciful", "Normal", "Tough", "Hard", "Hell", "YABAI", and "European YABAI". Additionally, as the difficulty level increases, the man depicted next to the mission artwork for the Campaign mode goes from friendly to angry to having his skull on fire. The image for "European YABAI" shows a burnt corpse.
- The difficulties for the game's Duel and Ring Out modes are "Foolish", "Clumsy", "Novice", "Apprentice", "Adept", "Duelist", and "Master".
- Kill It with Fire: The second level of the game's Campaign, "Nightfall", is about waiting at a bandit hideout to kill any bandits who return. The center of the map has a burning campfire that can prove dangerous to both enemies and the player.
- Mission Description: Make them pay - with fire and steel.
- Mook Chivalry: Played With. Enemies will attack a player from both sides if possible. However, enemies cannot move through one another to attack the player, and if an enemy strike hits another enemy, that strike will kill. This will earn the player the achievement "Whoops".
- Old Master: The final enemy of the game's Campaign mode is an old man with tattered rags and a wooden sword.
- Similarly, in the Duel and Ring Out game modes, if the player chooses the 'Master' difficulty, the opponent will always be an unshaven man with tattered rags and a wooden sword.
- One-Hit Kill: Nearly everyone dies in one hit, with the exception of Ferals (who bleed to death rather than instantly dying) and Zombies (who only die from multiple hits or decapitation).
- Title Drop: The achievement for killing an enemy without touching blades is titled "First Cut".
- Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: It's possible to choose a wooden sword in character customization. Gameplay remains largely the same, though the player's strikes won't spill blood or cut apart enemies, instead appearing to knock them unconscious.
