I wanted to talk about the rest of my time with Grounded, but I really wanted to play Sanabi. I played the demo a long time ago, and the game was released into Early Access in June 2022. I think I gave it enough time to simmer, so this week is Sanabi.

Sanabi is an action platformer from Wonder Potion and is published by NEOwiz. The game was released into Early Access on PC in 2022 and is slated to release fully in 2023 for the Switch as well.

The player takes the role of a veteran who is out for blood. Having experienced a tragedy at the hands of a cryptic being who goes by the name of Sanabi, he ventures to the heart of a bustling city to find answers, but to his surprise, the city has been deserted for a whole 24 hours. A little hacker girl by the name of Mari is all that remains in the deserted city and is willing to assist the hero in his search for answers.

Sanabi’s gameplay is based solely on the hero’s prosthetic arm. It is like a grappling hook and a weapon mixed. The player can grapple to pretty much any point, swing, and propel themselves with Shift. The arenas are built with the grappling hook in mind, so platforming and traversal are in the limelight for the majority of the game. I can say that Sanabi’s traversal is some of the best. It is a real treat to swing/grapple and blow through sections of the game. I sat at my computer and was screaming “This is the game, this game is awesome” on more than one occasion because of how well the traversal blends with the combat.

Combat in Sanabi is present to amplify the platforming. As you swing and speed through sections, it is usually interrupted by a combat section, but it is not a burden that bad guys enter the fray. Enemies have guns, whether rockets or standard guns and it is up to you to avoid shots and grapple them. upon grappling, destroying an enemy sends the player in the direction that the mouse is in. The combat makes so much sense as the player bounces from enemy to enemy, grappling to them, shooting off, clinging to a wall, and going in for another kill. The combat adds so much more fun to Sanabi, an already super fun game.

Pixel graphics yet again. Sanabi has a really nice mix of cyberpunk and Neo-Tokyo vibes. As you swing by at Mach speeds, neon signs, and billboards cover the city that refuses to sleep. Everything from the backdrops to the animations, Sanabi is a damn fine-looking video game.

Whatever you do go HERE to listen to the OST because the soundtrack is fire the entire way through. I was screaming about about how good the gameplay is but it is the soundtrack that amplifies the game.

Sanabi is an exhilirating ride. There is action-packed platforming and combat throughout the game broken up by comical conversations between the protagonist and his hacker friend. The game is just a blast to play in its entirety. The regular combat is fun but it is the boss fights is where the combat shines. The story is endearing, the combat and platforming is superb and the soundtrack is in my top ten.

Make sure to not miss this one.