Katana Zero: Borrowed Seconds

Rei carries stolen technology through a neon city in Katana Zero: Borrowed Seconds, a 2D sword-action story built around dangerous rooms and brief opportunities to act. The device can bend time, but the story ties those borrowed seconds to lost memories. In combat, your immediate decisions concern movement, slashing, bullet reflection and finding a safe route through the next threat.

Turn a fast encounter into a readable sequence

Use the slow-time input when you need a clearer moment to judge an approaching attack. It does not replace movement or a well-timed slash: think about where Rei needs to be when the encounter speeds up again. A dash gives you another way to cross danger, while jumping changes how you approach the space around an enemy.

The slash also serves as the bullet-reflection action. Practise recognising an incoming shot and matching the attack to its arrival instead of swinging continuously. When an attempt fails, the retry control lets you return to the encounter and test a more deliberate sequence. Change one decision at a time, such as your first movement or the moment you use the time-slowing ability, so you can understand why the new approach works better.

Controls for Rei

• A/D or the arrow keys: move.
• Space, W or Up Arrow: jump.
• J or left-click: slash and reflect.
• K or right-click: dash.
• Hold L or Q: slow time.
• R: retry. Esc: pause. M: mute.

Touch play uses the on-screen Left, Right, Time, Dash, Jump and Slash buttons. The game also provides checkpoint retries and saved progress, helping you return to the story without treating every mistake as the end of the entire journey.

For another neon-city action game with a different combat rhythm, try Streets of Rage: Neon District. Borrowed Seconds is the choice here when you want sword encounters that combine timing, projectile awareness and the ability to slow the action.