I’ve always appreciated Samuel L. Jackson. Without him playing Jules Winnfield in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, John Travolta never would have had the support he needed. Put Vince alone in a room for any more than five minutes and you’ll turn the movie off and go get a royale with cheese. While Vince is a great character on his own, he becomes so much more enjoyable with Jules there to preach around him. Jackson’s presence in Afro Samurai makes it fun and makes you want to play along with him. That’s what kept me going.

Afro Samurai had an initial draw that I haven’t felt for a game in quite a while. It could partially be that I’ve generally stayed away from hack-and-slash games for the past several years, or it could be that cel-shaded games haven’t made their way to my shelf in quite some time, or maybe that it’s a concept that is simply different from most I’ve experienced. Most games will tell you within the first 30 minutes of play whether you want to continue. However, Afro Samurai’s simplicity tricked me. It’s HUD-less, features simple but arguably intuitive controls, and cel-shading that is very fitting. Even the story is simple enough to grasp — I’m here to avenge my Father, but there are certain rules that force me to encounter others as I go. Afro Samurai maintains the ideal of being simple because it works best. Drowning this game with too many extras would defeat the point.

While it only took eight hours to beat the game, it started to feel redundant about two thirds of the way in. I understand that, while it’s following the show, some of the game seemed like filler, just adding five extra enemies here or looping battles. I guess this is the downside to almost any hack-and-slash. You want to fight as many dudes as possible, hone your skills, and bring forth as much carnage as you’re capable of. The whole idea seems doomed to me, though. I can fight an extra 500 guys just so I get the last move, which only adds an extra flip before I slice that mofo into a mighty fine rump roast.

There really isn’t much strategy to fighting bosses. Look for an opening and don’t get hit. I tend to go into boss battles in games thinking that they’re the climax — the intense bit that gets my heart going a little more than normal. It turns out that you’ll have a better time just hanging out with the regular dudes in Afro Samurai. The bosses are pretty much the same, but obviously have more health and some different moves. I just consider them roadblocks to where more fun is to be had.

And I’m not going to lie. There definitely were some boobs. I think I even saw some jiggle. The whole game is plastered with comical and satirical moments. Death is just another thing to be made fun of, and killing topless women is the norm in this world. The best part is when having sex with a woman and her dying shortly after is resumé-worthy. This kind of stuff is where Jackson shines. The voice work, delivery, and everything else he brought with him was actually quite good! There isn’t one point in the game that really tries to take itself seriously, which is what makes it so much easier to digest.

In the end, I was glad it was over. The initial flare it possessed had faded away long ago, and the whole experience began to dull and repeat itself. I do commend Jackson for working on projects such as this. It’s very similar to to his reason for playing in Snakes on a Plane. He used to watch crappy movies like that when he was a young punk, and so he wanted to give back. Afro Samurai isn’t about being the next high caliber video game, it’s just a decently good time, or at least an attempt at one. But without my beloved Samuel L. Jackson, I doubt I would have even rented the damn thing.