SANABI

SANABI PC is a side-scrolling cyberpunk action-platformer built around a retired veteran, a chain-hook prosthetic arm, and high-speed movement through the dystopian mega-city of MAGO. Steam currently displays the game as SANABI, while the purchase package is labeled SANABI: The Revenant. This is storefront package naming rather than evidence of a separate definitive edition or full rebrand.

Developed by WONDER POTION and published by NEOWIZ, SANABI combines precision platforming, reactive combat, pixel-art environments, and a narrative focused on corporate power, disappearance, and personal loss. It is a linear, single-player experience for players who want movement mastery and story progression rather than open-world exploration or multiplayer systems.

Chain-hook movement defines every encounter

The central tool is the protagonist's giant chain-hook prosthetic arm. It is not simply a grappling hook used to reach distant ledges. The arm controls traversal, positioning, evasion, and attacks, making the same input language apply to both platforming and combat.

You can attach to suitable surfaces, swing across gaps, pull yourself toward targets, and redirect your momentum through vertical sections. The best sequences ask you to read the room quickly, choose a grapple point, and keep moving before bullets, traps, or enemy attacks close off the route.

Combat is deliberately tied to movement. The chain-hook can latch onto enemies and bring the veteran into striking range, while releasing the grapple at the right moment lets you smash or eliminate the target. This creates a continuous traversal-combat loop instead of separate platforming and fighting phases.

SANABI rewards players who maintain momentum. Waiting safely on a platform can work in some situations, but the intended rhythm comes from swinging, dashing, changing direction, and using the environment to reach the next opening. The result feels closer to a precision action game than a conventional run-and-gun platformer.

Precision platforming with tactical room clearing

The game uses a 2D side view with layered cyberpunk backgrounds, compact arenas, vertical climbs, hazards, and carefully placed grapple points. Levels are handcrafted rather than procedurally generated, so improvement comes from learning routes, enemy placement, timing windows, and the behavior of specific obstacles.

Enemy encounters add pressure to the movement system. Robots, traps, projectiles, and fortified positions can force you to decide whether to attack immediately, swing past the threat, or use a dash to pass through a dangerous gap. The prosthetic arm gives the protagonist strong mobility, but it does not remove the need for precise positioning.

Some sequences function almost like action puzzles. You may need to combine a grapple, a jump, a dash, and a release attack in one fluid chain. This is where SANABI separates itself from ordinary pixel-art platformers: aiming and movement are inseparable, and the solution is often a route through the room rather than a simple exchange of attacks.

Boss encounters provide larger tests of this vocabulary. Their patterns are designed around movement, openings, and spatial awareness rather than equipment management or character statistics. Players looking for fast, lethal side-scrolling action may also appreciate neon precision platformers with instant-death combat like Katana ZERO, although SANABI places much more emphasis on grappling and aerial positioning.

MAGO, Mari, and the story structure

The campaign follows a legendary retired veteran returning for one final operation. His target is the mysterious entity known as SANABI, while the immediate setting is MAGO, a high-tech mega-city controlled by a corrupt conglomerate.

MAGO becomes more than a visual backdrop. A sudden blackout leaves the city in chaos and its citizens missing, turning the climb through corporate infrastructure into an investigation. The setting supports the game's contrast between polished technology, authoritarian control, abandoned spaces, and personal memories.

Mari, a hacker prodigy and drone rider, joins the protagonist during the mission. Her role is practical as well as narrative: she can open locked doors, reveal enemy weaknesses, and uncover encrypted information. Her frequent communication also gives the otherwise isolated veteran a contrasting voice during the campaign.

SANABI's story is delivered through dialogue, staged scenes, environmental context, and discoveries made while advancing through the city. The campaign is not structured as a branching role-playing game, and there is no loot-driven build system competing with the main plot. The emphasis is on completing set-piece sections, surviving combat rooms, and understanding the mystery behind the blackout and SANABI.

Content model and current PC edition

The PC product is a paid single-player game distributed through Steam. The standard purchase provides the main SANABI campaign, while the store also lists optional soundtrack content and SANABI: A Haunted Day as a separate free piece of downloadable content.

A Haunted Day expands the setting through a prequel-style side story focused on Major Song, a character connected to the wider SANABI universe. It is not a replacement edition of the main game and does not change the identity of the core campaign. Players buying SANABI for its main story should treat the additional episode as supplementary content.

The current Steam package label, SANABI: The Revenant, can therefore appear in purchase menus, bundle listings, or third-party catalog references even though the store's primary title remains SANABI. Searching both names is useful, but they refer to the same PC game rather than two separate campaigns.

Who should play SANABI on PC?

SANABI is a strong match for players who enjoy precision platforming, fast retries, cyberpunk settings, and mechanics that reward practice more than character grinding. It suits people who want a focused campaign with a clear beginning, escalating traversal challenges, and a story that remains central to the experience.

It is also a good choice for fans of grapple-based movement. The hook is not an occasional utility item; it is the defining verb of the game. Players who enjoy learning complex movement routes, clearing rooms without losing momentum, and finding cleaner solutions will get more from SANABI than players who prefer relaxed platforming.

Players seeking online co-op, competitive multiplayer, open-world exploration, character classes, or extensive equipment customization should look elsewhere. SANABI is officially presented as single-player, and its progression is built around campaign advancement and mechanical mastery rather than persistent builds.

The story also occupies substantial space between action sequences. That pacing works well for players who want narrative context and character development, but it may feel slow to anyone looking for uninterrupted arcade challenges or a pure speedrun platformer.

PC controls, languages, and platform features

The Steam edition supports both mouse-and-keyboard play and controller input, but the store configuration identifies controller support as partial. Because the chain-hook must be aimed quickly and accurately, mouse and keyboard can feel more direct for players who prioritize precise grapple targeting.

Controller play remains viable, particularly for players who prefer analog movement or Steam Deck-style controls, but the input method can change the feel of aiming. The game does not offer online multiplayer, voice chat, dedicated servers, or an anti-cheat ecosystem because its verified feature set is centered on offline single-player progression.

Steam-specific features include Steam Cloud and Family Sharing. The PC release is distributed through the Steam client, and current storefront data does not identify a separate publisher launcher. No mod-support workshop or user-generated level editor is listed as a core platform feature.

Interface and subtitle support covers English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Spanish, and Latin American Spanish. Full audio is not listed across those languages, so players should expect the localization focus to be interface text and subtitles rather than a broad multi-language voice cast.

Related PC games for SANABI players

SANABI's closest kinship comes from games that make timing, positioning, and decisive movement central to survival. Hand-drawn 2D action platformers such as Nine Sols share a demanding combat focus and a science-fiction setting, but Nine Sols is more exploration-driven and built around deflection-heavy melee encounters.

First-person cyberpunk action games like Ghostrunner offer a useful comparison for players attracted to SANABI's speed, lethal mistakes, and traversal pressure. Ghostrunner changes the perspective and movement tools, while SANABI keeps the challenge in a compact 2D space built around the chain-hook arm.

These comparisons should not obscure SANABI's main distinction. Its identity comes from turning a single prosthetic tool into the game's movement system, attack system, and spatial puzzle language at the same time.

SANABI FAQ

Is SANABI: The Revenant a different game from SANABI?

No. Steam's main listing uses the title SANABI, while the purchase package and some bundle references use SANABI: The Revenant. Current storefront data supports treating these as names for the same PC product, not separate editions.

Is SANABI multiplayer or co-op?

No. SANABI is a single-player action-platformer. There is no verified online co-op, local co-op, or competitive multiplayer mode in the PC feature listing.

What is the main gameplay mechanic in SANABI?

The main mechanic is the protagonist's chain-hook prosthetic arm. It grapples across the environment, pulls the veteran toward enemies or surfaces, supports aerial movement, and forms the basis of combat and platforming.

Does SANABI support controllers on PC?

Yes, controller input is supported, but the Steam configuration identifies it as partial rather than full controller support. Mouse and keyboard are especially useful for players who want more direct control over grapple aiming.

What is included in SANABI: A Haunted Day?

SANABI: A Haunted Day is a separate free spin-off episode set before the main story. It focuses on Major Song and expands the game's cyberpunk setting without replacing the main SANABI campaign.

Does SANABI have a build system or character upgrades?

SANABI does not center on classes, loot tiers, or a statistics-heavy build system. Its progression comes primarily from advancing through the campaign, learning new situations, and mastering the chain-hook movement and combat systems.