Afro Samurai PlayStation 3
Metascore
65 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 52 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 38 out of 52
  3. Negative: 3 out of 52
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  1. My Gamer
    48
    Fans of the show will appreciate this title more, but I cannot even recommend playing past level 1 for even the hardcore.
  2. 1UP
    42
    Ultimately, Afro falls into the same pitfalls as almost every other game based on a movie/television license: It presents an edited down version of a story that's familiar to fans but indecipherable to newcomers, wrapped up in a generic game housing. It looks great. It sounds great. But, otherwise, it's a mashup of characters and situations that makes little sense.
  3. GameSpy
    40
    Afro Samurai is a mess of a game. It's such a shame to see such a beautifully rendered and stylish world ground into the dust by such staggering gameplay foibles and technical glitches.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.3 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. nerrstyBthirsty
    7
    After having my eye on Afro Samurai for a long, long time, I finally took the chance and picked it up. I have to say, I'm happy with it. It's a fun hack 'n slash style brawler, full of gritty violence and style oozing out of every orifice. The game looks absolutely gorgeous for being 4 years old or so. The cel-shaded graphics really add to the game's world and the entire feel of what Afro Samurai should be, and all of the artistic choices in this game hit more times than they miss. The gameplay here has definitely been done before, but it adds just enough new twists to make it interesting to play. You play as Afro Samurai, and your weapon of choice is a Katana, which you can dismember enemy body parts with. The game has pretty amazing looking blood effects scattered throughout, and this is aided by a mechanic called focus mode. As Afro, you can slow down time around you to make precision sword slices to dismember enemies to pieces, and what a bloody show it is. What really makes this mechanic work is the fact that the game goes into a very gorgeous black and white manga effect that works on every level. Every time I enter focus mode, I either notice something new about it or figure out new ways to fiddle around with Afro's swordplay. It's a great time. The only problem I have with the swordplay is that it feels a bit floaty. Your attacks never really feel like they have much weight to them, except when you're in focus mode, and that's a shame since the combat system here is actually quite good. It includes parrying, kicking, light attacks, heavy attacks, pouncing on enemies, etc. It's a blast to play with, but the whole feel of it really could have been tightened up. Level design can be hit or miss. Most levels you play through play wonderfully, but some of the early stages can get downright boring. Some stages are full of enemies to fight, others feel barren and include some odd platforming elements. While the wall running, wall jumping, and platforming in general work most of the time, there are quite a few instances where it feels very wonky. Thankfully these sections never hold you back too much, and even if you fall into a pit, you'll be spawned where you left off. That being said, the platforming is also something that could have been tightened up a bit. The story it tells here is good, it's just not told in the best manner possible. The loading screens when you first start the game can throw you off, since I personally thought they were cutscenes at first that were flowing perfectly with the narrative. They do have relevance in the story, but they seem to be told so out of order that in the end, even though I did understand the story here, I didn't care much for the way it was told. My biggest problem with Afro Samurai is that it feels like everything needs to be just a little bit tighter for this to be one of the greats. After every complaint mentioned that I have with this game, I actually ended up having a really good time with it. The boss fights are great, the music is absolutely wonderful, and the sound design all around is good. The presentation here is great. The gameplay is fun. Hacking dudes to death with your sword, pouncing on them and lopping their heads off never seems to get old, but it all just seems floaty. In the end, I would recommend this game. It's a good time and you'll end up having a ton of fun with it if you can look past its shortcomings.… Full Review »
  2. kublay0880
    7
    I loved the anime and this is one of the things that I liked about this game, it stays very close to the anime. The Samuel L. Jackson voice it's wonderful, the controls are not very easy to master but once you get used to them you are going to have a blast slicing people. A lot of glitches and some areas are really difficult though I love challenges. You are going to have fun with this game.… Full Review »
  3. Exodiac23
    10
    Against the major ratings I'd highly recommend this game to any Hack'n'Slay-Fan. Graphics are simply beautiful and almost art-like, Samuel L. Jackson's Syncro is awesome and the strange story with all its sarcastic humor is brilliant. The combo-system is complex as well as the difficulty is very high, just the right thing to not get bored after 20 minutes. Worst things are the non-adjustable camera-setting as well as there's no online mode, but I guess that's all. For every Fan of samurai-games as well as mature humor give it a try and rent it. I bought it and had lots of laughs and hours of slashing-fun. I just cannot understand the overall-critics and I'm playing Rated-M-games for about 10 years now… Full Review »
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