You've probably noticed that critics often employ flowery language when they're trying to describe hyper-violence, whether it's a "bullet ballet" or a "symphony of destruction." Never one to use my evolved human intellect to mask primal urges, I'm going to try to explain the appeal of Klei's side-scrolling kill-'em-up Shank in the most basic, honest terms possible. If the game's not employing the slightest bit of nuance, I don't see why I should have to.

Shank is a lot of fun because it lets you murder a lot of different people in a lot of different ways, and I think you should buy it.