Gamers now able to play high-profile gaming flop through Steam.

High-profile gaming flop Daikatana is now available on Steam.

Daikatana was originally released for PC in 2000, though was once due to come out in 1997, and was followed by a poorly received N64 port. Critical reception for the game was almost universally negative.

The game was heavily marketed through its high-profile creator, John Romero, who had seen huge success from previous projects Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake at id Software. One particular instance of the game's many advertising campaigns--featuring the text "John Romero's about to make you his bitch" against a blood red background--has remained a point of discussion in the games industry ever since.

Daikatana was set in an alternate future, where the game's villain disrupted history using magical eponymous sword the Daikatana. Levels are set across futuristic Japan, ancient Greece, medieval Norway and near-future San Francisco, and a key part of the game was the relationship between protagonist Hiro Miyamoto and his two sidekicks Superfly Johnson and Mikiko Ebihara.

Poor AI led the sidekick characters to be heavily criticised in particular, with missions failing if either of the AI characters died.

GameSpot awarded the game a score of 4.6 in its review when the game was originally released in 2000.

"There are moments playing Daikatana in which everything comes together--the sidekicks act as they should or simply aren't around, and you're able to enjoy the game as a pure, unadulterated shooter. But these moments are rare and are separated by long stretches of frustration punctuated by tedium. It's true that the game has a lot of content. The levels are large, there are plenty of monsters and weapons, and it will take you some time to finish. Yet a shorter, less disjointed experience with a few memorable set pieces would have been preferable. After years of development and a vast body of negative press, Daikatana is not an unmitigated disaster. But unfortunately, that's not enough to endorse it."

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