HELLDIVERS™ 2
HELLDIVERS™ 2
Game
Game2020
KUNAI
Developer TurtleBlaze
Kunai is an action-platform video game developed by TurtleBlaze and published by The Arcade Crew. The game was released on February 6, 2020, for Windows and Nintendo Switch. In the game, the player controls Tabby, a robot tasked with defeating Lemonkus, an AI that nearly causes the extinction of humanity. In July 2020, The Arcade Crew partnered with Limited Run Games to release physical copies of the Nintendo Switch… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
200 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Oct 2, 2026 · last updated Oct 13, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
74
Fresh
131 positive · 46 negative
95% range 67–80%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 131 | 46 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 5 | 1 | 13 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
201 of 258 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
75% recommend · 138 yes, 46 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 184 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (478 of 604 positive).
Players praise KUNAI for its fluid movement and grappling hook mechanics. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note the lack of fast travel makes backtracking tedious. [4][5][6] A few players criticize the game for being too linear and not a true metroidvania. [7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [13]
The graphics are crisp, music is solid, combat and movement are super smooth. But while the combat is smooth, it is incredibly basic and unchallenging. The level/world design is also VERY boring and repetitive. Navigating through the game just feels like a chore because there is almost never any threat or challenge and it all pretty much looks the same. To be fair I quit around the hour mark, but according to the …
- [10]
Definitely my most favorite robot game! If you liked Cavestory or Metroid I'd give this game a try! Pros: -Great artwork, from splash screens to the sprites. The limited palettes leaves some to the imagination! The music was lovely and enhanced the atmosphere of the environments. The characters are really cute too, I have a weakness for monitorheads hehe... The dialogue was also charming, I had few chuckles! -The …
- [2]
A solid metroidvana where your face is a tablet that makes funny and cute expressions, while the hookshot mechanic makes you feel like a deadly spiderman, and it all controls extremely well. Took me about 7 hours to complete. Graphics are nice and the soundtrack is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ slammin. Like a traditional metroidvania you'll get new abilities and weapons which were all a treat. Bosses are a lot of fun too as their …
- [9]
i didnt play this for the longest time because it looks like a game boy game. i just wanna say dont get caught sleeping on this title. this game is legit af. the music are all bangers. the sound track is the stand out for me, the controls are buttery smooth like you wouldnt believe. the very first weapon you get is so freaking fun. one of the funnest ways to traverse the game would in any game i can remeber. i love …
- [1]
This review was brought to you on behalf of Abyssal Ascent Reviews in collaboration with its publisher. If you liked it, please [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32607787-Abyssal-Ascent/]Follow the Curator and [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/AbyssalAscent/]Join its group. Thanks! KUNAI is a side-scrolling action-packed 2D platformer with a bit of metroidvania mixed in as well. Some hidden rooms with …
Summarised from 34 of the 206 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked KUNAI talk about smooth and satisfying movement and controls; those who didn't talk about no fast travel, making backtracking a slog. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Kunai's PC version received "generally favorable" reviews, while the Nintendo Switch version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, being recommended by 63% of critics. It received a total score of 32 out of 40 from Famitsu, based on individual reviews of 8, 8, 8, and 8. Shaun Musgrave from TouchArcade praised the gameplay mechanics, believing that the combat was solid. However, Musgrave felt that the exploration could have been improved, and called the game's backtracking "tiresome". Gamespot's Alessandro Barbosa commended the visual style, combat, and…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 200 · most liked firstThis review was brought to you on behalf of Abyssal Ascent Reviews in collaboration with its publisher. If you liked it, please [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32607787-Abyssal-Ascent/]Follow the Curator and [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/AbyssalAscent/]Join its group. Thanks! KUNAI is a side-scrolling action-packed 2D platformer with a bit of metroidvania mixed in as well. Some hidden rooms with treasures, special weapons, H.A.T.S. you can wear, and more! The fluidity…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Shinobi: Art of Vengeance | Review Thread. Game Information -------------------- **Game Title**: SHINOBI: Art Of Vengeance **Platforms**: - PlayStation 5 (Aug 29, 2025) - PlayStation 4 (Aug 29, 2025) - PC (Aug 28, 2025) - Xbox Series X/S (Aug 29, 2025) - Xbox One (Aug 29, 2025) - Nintendo Switch (Aug 29, 2025) **Trailers**: - [SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance – Demo Trailer – Nintendo Switch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0vn1PHoSnM) - [Shinobi: Art…
neutral · AI labelView post →The graphics are crisp, music is solid, combat and movement are super smooth. But while the combat is smooth, it is incredibly basic and unchallenging. The level/world design is also VERY boring and repetitive. Navigating through the game just feels like a chore because there is almost never any threat or challenge and it all pretty much looks the same. To be fair I quit around the hour mark, but according to the other negative reviews the game is only about 5 hours long. And given the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another thingie I forgot to post here lol This is Kunai, a needle felted commission for a friend. She's an anthro nargacuga that he played in dnd The grenade is a magnet, I'll show it in the comment #MHart #monsterhunter #モンハン #felting
neutral · AI labelView post →Definitely my most favorite robot game! If you liked Cavestory or Metroid I'd give this game a try! Pros: -Great artwork, from splash screens to the sprites. The limited palettes leaves some to the imagination! The music was lovely and enhanced the atmosphere of the environments. The characters are really cute too, I have a weakness for monitorheads hehe... The dialogue was also charming, I had few chuckles! -The areas were fun to climb! -Simple combat, kill to heal. Your sword is pretty much…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →devs... hear me please... ADD CHECKPOINTS TO THE ZENSEI FIGHT PLEASE. I'm getting to the dang missile phase, but I get obliterated by the rubber banding on Zensei (because he speeds up but the screen doesn't), so I have to spend 5 minutes for every single attempt
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not saying the promotional material is dishonest, but this game, called Kunai, doesn't really seem designed around the Kunai. It's almost like they realized how versatile and powerful it could be half-way through development and tried to limit it's use as much as possible. There are far too many sections that are packed with blocks the Kunai can't attach too and it makes you realize how boring the core combat is without it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Captain's Hat bug hasn't been solved yet. 5 years have passed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game..............but it's not a metroidvania. I really do not like developers calling their completely linear game a metroidvania. If they had called it an Action Platformer then I wouldn't give it a negative review. I like action platformers, but they are charging 16.99 and calling it a Metroidvania? Why? There is literally nothing to gain from backtracking (except health upgrades, but it's a risk to backtrack knowing you might just get a useless hat instead). There is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →imagine castlevania but no teleports and you have to backtrack multiple times across the map. Also upgrading the sword is completely useless and a waste of coins, missile and missile barrage reign superior
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kunai is a nice looking game but is lackluster in the 'fun' department. Tl:dr the game has cool design elements that are poorly implemented and does not hold up to better 'Metroidvania' titles such as Hollow Knight Honestly, the game is like a 6/10 in my opinion. There were too many points while playing where I had no idea where to go next and backtracking through the various sections of the game world is not fun. The in-game music was nice for the fist few minutes but then the tracks just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finished this metroidvania in 5 hours (minus the last boss as I grew weary) and it had serious backtracking issues.Backtracking happens in metroidvanias but this one is shameless about it. Also the rope mechanic is so unreliable that they couldn't even find a way to make the last boss implement it, their one special gimmick. For a ninja game, the combat is very stunted. Lots of recoil on hit so we always have to hit->walk back to the enemy->hit, also a lot of enemies have poorly communicated…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I loved the game but the bug with the missing heart piece that is nowhere to be found is really really annoying
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kunai without chain! Now this gamecube can run Swiss on boot and play every single game as a backup from the sp2 slot.
neutral · AI labelView post →!!GONE FISHING GAME JAM POST!! Freshwater Kunai does not have a fishing minigame because it is a fishing *game*!! #freshwaterkunai #indiegame #gaming #videogames #fishing #fishingminigame
neutral · AI labelView post →What I don't like about the game: -The fighting system against normal enemies is not that fun -The boss fights are not good either -There is no fast travel which is a bigger problem at the end-game -I changed the controller button from B to right shoulder but it is still saying to press B to fire alt weapon -The text bubble don't show on screen if you are standing too close to the right side of the screen What I like about the game -the alternative weapons are fun and upgrades are fun as…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Below expectations +Unique artstyle; +Smooth animations; -Completely linear, no sidequests, no freedom in choosing which order to get abilities; -Terrible problem with backtracking. There's no fast-travel system, so even by just following the objectives, you end up retracing steps on uninspiring corridor-like mazes; -Collectibles are comprised of only hearts and hats, hidden walls are no different visually from normal ones, there's no ability to detect nearby chests or anything of the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The art style is pretty nice, and the music is decent, but other than those things, there isn't much going for this metroidvania. If you're hoping for a good story, look elsewhere; this tale is your bog-standard rebels fighting against a big bad (the oddly named Lemonkus) in some sort of robot-dominated post-apocalyptic future, and the player character is the Chosen One. There's a few nice gags, but in general, the story isn't anything particularly memorable. Some other reviews have mentioned…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love the idea, the mechanics, the art of this game. But the level design feels boring to me. Each level has different things when you arrive there, but from there on is the same thing again and again for the rest of the level. Sometimes I needed a lot of tries to defeat the bosses, but instead of a feeling of accomplishment, I got a feeling of "Finally I'm free of this boring task!".
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The swinging controls are not precise for you to do some of the unforgiving platforming. I would not recommend this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[@FartsWithAnAccent](https://fedia.io/u/FartsWithAnAccent) [@ylai](https://lemmy.ml/u/ylai) [@Veraxus](https://lemmy.world/u/Veraxus) Asus has been enshitifying for a couple of years now. I used to get their ROG phones year after year, until they sent me the last one without the Kunai cover (I bought the phone with the controller) and when I reached out to them they wanted me to send the whole thing back, phone and all, to determine if they would send it back with the cover to me. Beyond…
neutral · AI labelView post →KUNAI is yet another of literally thousands of 2D retro pixel platformers infesting Steam and lowering the average quality of all video games everywhere. This console ported 2D retro pixel platformer (sigh) is a metroidvania brawler/slasher with a bizarre theme where you're a computer headed person/robot/whatever. Or a tablet headed person/robot/whatever made by computer headed robot/person/whatevers. It doesn't really matter, it's all just lazy pixel blobs anyway. Gameplay itself is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game play, nice sound and animation so satisfied. The reason I don't recommend this game cause it have a bad UX. I want to use WASD to move but it is impossible, this point can be accepted. But why use "Enter" to interact when it should be "Space" this so annoying for me but also acceptable. Here the point that can't be accepted. Map quite large and you need to jump a lot before reach each point but this game not have teleport function. And level was design like this "A > B > C > A > B"…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had wanted to review this game earlier, but I forgot this game existed for a while. In short, KUNAI is half-baked and doesn't provide much more than a pretty basic metroidvania experience. The only thing to do in the game is the main storyline, so your gameplay is very linear. There are collectibles in the game, but they're either heart pieces (collect 4 and you get more HP) or cosmetic hats. Nothing that's incredibly cool to find. Only having extra HP as any kind of collectible seems pretty…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kunai is a beautiful game with some really cool mechanics that's honestly just not fun. The level design is boring for the most part and it's extremely linear for a metroidvania. Like in most metroidvanias there is a lot of backtracking, but it's for the most mundane of things, like a chest with 40 coins in it (The hats are fun though). The backtracking itself is also pretty lame since it's typically limited to walk back to place you've been, use new weapon on blockade, go in get 40 bucks.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was about to recommend this game. It's a mediocre metroidvania but a good platformer, and it's very cheap so why not? But then I reached the combat gauntlet at the end of the game. You see, this game has some amazingly irritating enemy design. They teleport, the float just out of attack range, they fly at you from offscreen, they knock you backwards, they explode if you get too close. The list goes on. In the lead up to the end of the game you fight every single one of these heinous enemies,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very epic indie game. Kind of makes me feel like a assasin spiderman
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →New free asset: Kunai Throwing Knife. Peaceful pixel art ready for your zen game. PNG with transparency. Commercial use OK. Part of our free Japanese Garden collection. #pixelart #gamedev #indiedev #freeassets #zen https://freepixel.art/browse/japanese-garden
neutral · AI labelView post →I couldn't finish this game and don't think I'll come back to it. Kunai has some interesting premise, original art-style and promising platforming machanics. But the story falls short very soon and meets you with some quirky cringe humor. Visuals get tiring, because of the off-color theme where, although environments have different "texture", they still look kinda the same. And finally platforming and fighting feel more frustrating than novel and interesting. Finally, progression feels pretty…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is mostly average, I played through the whole thing and was ready to give it a 5/10 but the end section was so unnecessarily frustrating that I now hate the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A nice compact metroidvania with an appealing art style and grappling hooks! The only con I can think of is lack of fast travel which makes backtracking a real slog.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kunai is one of many newer Metroidvanias to hit the indie market. It may draw comparisons to Hollow Knight, but I believe it's a bit different but still good. Kunai is an extremely well polished game visually. All of the actions feel good and everything that moves is running through a downscaler shader to fit the pixel art style with an interesting physics feel. Some of the character designs indeed seem to be using pixel art, but the objects such as cloth and hand movements appear to be using…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am psychic. Here is the line you'll get stuck on in the game: "The Tablet has reached the stern! He will fall to his doom!" And you know what, he is right. No reason to repeat that cutscene everytime I need to reload though. In short: the dual grapling hook mechanic in the game is needlessly complicated and as such makes platfroming really awkward. Additionally you have to manage momentum to swing over pits but if you time your hooks wrongly then you lose all momentum and are stuck. That…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some recs: Lunistice (👇🏼 her game) Pepper Grinder Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo Kunai Touhou Luna Nights Nine Sols Curse Crackers: For Whom the Belle Toils Gravity Circuit Caravan SandWitch CATO: Buttered Cat Phoenotopia Awakening Neva Cozy Grove Crypt Custodian Donut County
neutral · AI labelView post →Kunai were showing as pretty weak in the game's analytics, plus I realized I had unintentionally given then 1-2 damage scaling instead of 1-3. I don't have any concrete plans yet but I would like to add more thrown weapons soon-ish now that they're in a better place overall.
neutral · AI labelView post →Kunai is the standout of this bunch IMO. I think it's the _only_ weapon in the game with such easy access to headshot homing (do Buzlok and Zymos count?); no need to prep with Scourge alt-fire or Void status. It's carried me through countless headshot Riven challenges. Great on Cyte-09 as well for emergency Evade refreshes. The main drawbacks are its extremely small magazine size and occasional weird tracking against enemies with unconventional weakpoints. Skana is my second favorite (ok fine,…
neutral · AI labelView post →Sweetly coated, but undercooked from within Kunai is well executed aesthetically, but unfortunately it fails to deliver a good experience because of design and production flaws. I want to start with the obvious and the crucial by pointing out that this is NOT a metroidvania game. It is a completely linear, 2D action platformer game. The fact the developers chose to tag their game as a metroidvania means that they are either amateurs that have no idea what they are talking about, or that they…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---see where this game landed on my Metroidvania tier list beneath this review!--- Kunai feels like a bunch of usually open levels put together, with occasional one-way platforming segments. While it may technically be a metroidvania, there is only a little bit of backtracking. The game has surprises, with unexpected platforming segments littered throughout to mix up the gameplay a little bit, which gives it that adventure platformer feel. I can't help but wonder if Haiku's visuals and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This falls into more of a 'meh' category. Not really anything wrong with the run-of-the-numbers game, per se, just nothing really stands out from it, either. Short, and very linear, I never felt motivated to scour each area looking for secrets. I did play it all the way through though, so if that says anything about the game, then there it is.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A solid metroidvana where your face is a tablet that makes funny and cute expressions, while the hookshot mechanic makes you feel like a deadly spiderman, and it all controls extremely well. Took me about 7 hours to complete. Graphics are nice and the soundtrack is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ slammin. Like a traditional metroidvania you'll get new abilities and weapons which were all a treat. Bosses are a lot of fun too as their patterns are really good and not just damage sponges. My only gripes with the game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Underappreciated little Metroidvania game that has never bored me during its 5-7 hour playthrough. Traversal is so smooth, the frequency of finding new abilities is just right, and I also liked its visuals/sound. Nothing to complain about here. If you like Metroidvania games, give this game a try. Don't expect the next Hollow Knight or Ori in terms of general quality. Nevertheless, as a Metroidvania fan, I enjoyed this game more than Bloodstained ROTN, Shantae 5, Metroid 2 remake, or Dandara.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fun, short, metroidvania with some good swinging mechanics. 7/10 would recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Metroidvanias have been around for just about 34 years or so. Majority of people are familiar with it but in case you aren't, A metroidvania is typically an action oriented game that takes place in one large map, usually having you backtrack after obtaining new abilities. Up there with rogue-lites, it's a very popular game genre, especially in the indie scene. So without wasting too much time, lets dive into the recently released Kunai, developed by TurtleBlaze and published by The Arcade Crew.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Okay music and art but poor level design, terrible combat and frustrating movement make for a poor experience. Hard to recommend even on a hefty sale.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →KUNAI, developed by TurtleBlaze and published by The Arcade Crew and Gamirror Games, is a fast-paced 2D action platformer that fuses the acrobatics of ninja combat with the exploratory freedom of a Metroidvania. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has been nearly wiped out by an artificial intelligence uprising, the game casts the player as Tabby—a sentient tablet infused with the soul of a warrior. From this quirky premise unfolds a stylish and energetic adventure that embraces its…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A nation with as rich a military history as Japan’s being constantly boiled down to the same 2, maybe 3 weapons is boring, lazy, and cringe If I see a katana in your book, movie, or video game you better have at least 4 other non katana Japanese weapons or it will be your ass No, Kunai don’t count
neutral · AI labelView post →So to any young person that finds this post. If you're struggling with Silksong...play other games in the genre in between. Play a Super Mario game or one of the many awesome indie platformers that exist. I really like Kunai and Iconoclasts. Also try Ori!
positive · AI labelView post →Fairly average, the movement style take a bit getting used to but is fairly fun but would have been more fun in bigger maps where the swinging around really could have gotten going. The story and the world is there but it feels like at least the story could have been more fleshed out.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I learned some modding "DO NOTS" whipping this together of the game crashing variety But I did get them working On the Tsukuyomi Kunai I have no idea how to disable or edit vfx though, so the moonlight version's has the original vfx on it, which looks weird drive.google.com/file/d/1Q6a_...
neutral · AI labelView post →Is this an Atlus game? Also more Kunai Dogs in media please. I love this. Reminds me of Nanaki.
neutral · AI labelView post →character 4: tabby! I LOVE KUNAI PLEASE PLAY KUNAI ITS SUCH I GOOD GAME TABBY IS SO SILLY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
positive · AI labelView post →Fun to play, smooth, has character, looks good! Give it a go if you're looking for a metroidvania to play during the weekend!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Holy ♥♥♥♥, I just beat this and i gotta say, this is the perfect Metroidvania, 10/10, best game ever.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i didnt play this for the longest time because it looks like a game boy game. i just wanna say dont get caught sleeping on this title. this game is legit af. the music are all bangers. the sound track is the stand out for me, the controls are buttery smooth like you wouldnt believe. the very first weapon you get is so freaking fun. one of the funnest ways to traverse the game would in any game i can remeber. i love this game and i really hope there is a sequel coming. this game on many…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you enjoyed this review, please consider following my Curator Page [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33864135/]Nep's Gaming Paradise (Nepiki Gaming) for more reviews! Nepiki's Stats Overall length 6-8 hours for beating and in-game completion. Overall difficulty Medium difficulty Overall score ★★★☆☆ Summary [url=https://infinitebacklog.nl/users/nepiki/reviews/kunai]Click the link for the full detailed…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Solid metrovania game. Decent character interactions, good weapons, good boss fights, solid game length, the labyrinths aren't too much of a hassle. I hate the tablet's face. No fast-travel (100% OCD people beware). In a less terse manner: This feels like a "joke" game. Like a student's assignment that had a lot of potential, so it was produced into a full game. It never takes it self seriously at all. I mean, you're playing a tablet with a katana and can rocket jump that makes poopy faces…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very buggy but a very good game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Eh, it's fine. Most of my logged hours are from falling asleep and idling. Bad music, terrible writing, controls are often frustrating. But it's cute and fun enough I guess, my 8-year old likes the rocket launcher.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: Really good game, minor issues, would recommend if you liked hollow knight or similar metroidvania style games. 9/10 Really good game, definitely underrated. Reminds me a lot of hollow knight which I greatly enjoyed and I love the weapons. The facial expressions are amazing, and the hats are awesome. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who was a fan of hollow knight or games similar. All that said this game does have it's issues, minor graphical things such as your hat not…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is really fun. It's simple and enjoyable. Plays a lot like a mix of Mega Man Zero and Metroid. I love this kind of pixel-art. And playing as a ninja-hitman iPad is pretty cool. Oh, and you get hats that you can wear for cosmetic effect. They don't add bonuses, they're just something cool thrown in by the devs. Highly recommended.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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