Killer is Dead is a hack-n-slash game similar to Devil May Cry or God of War. The game is split up into individual episode, where the main character, Mondo Zappa, must fight through fodder to eventually reach a boss at the end, which is Mondo's assassination target.
Health & Blood
Mondo's current health and blood gauges are located in the upper left of the screen. These gauges can be leveled up by collecting Health Gems and Bloody Rose's throughout the game.
Health is indicated by the blue gems in the upper left and can be replenished through Healing skills or by receiving Wire Synapses from enemies.
Blood is indicated by the red roses below the health bar and can be replensihed by encountering Scarlett, attacking with standard attacks, or receiving Energy Cores from enemies.
Weapons & Attacks
Mondo is equipped with a katana, called GEKKOU, and a cybernetic arm called Musselback. GEKKOU can absorb the blood of his opponents, which in turn can be used by Musselback.
Through attacks Mondo can perform combos by pressing certain button combinations. Combo attacks are indicated in the top right of the screen and can be used to chain attacks together and increase Mondo's attack speed.
Mondo can also guard against enemy attacks and even dodge them at the exact moment the attack would impact Mondo to perform a powerful counterattack.
Musselback
Musselback is Mondo's cybernetic arm. It has its own attacks, such as being able to fire bullets or even able to be equipped with a drill that can deal devastating damage. Note that using Musselback will consume the blood gauge.
- Bullet Shot - Mondo's equipped with this by default. It doesn't use blood, but it does fire very slowly. It can be used to defeat enemies, hit out of reach switches, as well as destroy objects in the environment.
- Charge Cannon - A more powerful shot that can be charged. It increases in power as it levels up, which also increases its range.
- Freeze Shooter - This attachment allows for shots that will slow down enemies if they connect.
- Drill - A very powerful melee attachment that can quickly make short work of enemies, as well as grant access to hidden areas only accessible by using it.
Final Judgement
Final Judgement is a special execution attack that can be used on enemies under special circumstances. Whenever Mondo's combo level is at the maximum when fighting an enemy, Final Judgement is triggered. By pressing one of the buttons that appears on screen, Mondo will execute the enemy in a specific way, which can produce beneficial items.
- Carnage Kill - Mondo will lift up the enemy and then slam it on the ground. This kill produces Health Gems, which can increase Mondo's vitality.
- Assassination Kill - Mondo will slit the enemy's throat from behind. This kill produces a Bloody Rose, which increases Blood Exp, which can level up and increase Mondo's Blood gauge.
- Punishment Kill - Mondo will go into point-blank range and fire shots from Musselback. This kill produces Wire Synapses, which will recover lost health for Mondo.
- Enforcement Kill - Mondo will put a knife into the enemy's throat. This kill will produce Moon Crystals, which can be used to upgrade Mondo's skills.
Results
Each mission ends in a results page that factors in everything from Total Damage to Toughness. The better the player does, the more money Mondo will gain for the mission.
Upgrades
By collecting Moon Crystals, Mondo can upgrade his abilities. There is a total of three categories that can be upgraded:
- Attack Skills
- Sub Weapon Skills
- Special Skills
Some abilities can only be unlocked by receiving a sub weapon for Mondo or by unlocking a previous skill, such as Healing Lvl 1 being required for Healing Lvl 2.
Gigolo Missions
Gigolo Missions are special gameplay sessions where Mondo tries to seduce women in an attempt to get money and upgrades for Mussleback.
There are two meters that must be taken into account when trying to seduce a woman: Guts and Mood. The trick is to try and get the girl's mood maxed out while also maxing out the Guts meter. Both meters go hand-in-hand, with the Guts meter going up when you look at her "assets" and the mood to going down.
In order to complete a mission properly, the player will need to look at the girl when she looks away, which will cause your Guts meter to rise. Once full, Mondo can offer the woman a present. Each woman has a certain kind of present she likes, which you can find out by using the X-ray glasses (which also boosts the Guts meter rapidly).
Successfully complete the mission to get some alone time and earn money and upgrades for Mondo.
