The assassins, physical manifestations of a man named Harman Smith, perform hits on behalf of the United States government.

Killer7 features first-person shooter elements and a unique on rails control scheme, but the core adventure-style gameplay has been compared to Myst and Snatcher.

It initially received mixed reviews due to its unconventional control scheme, linear gameplay, and complex noir plot.

[6][7] After a treaty ends all international conflict, the world powers destroy all nuclear weapons by firing them into the upper atmosphere and intercepting them with other missiles.

[8] In an effort to combat terrorism, pandemic disease, and cyberterrorism, the International Ethics Committee (IEC) shuts down all air travel and public use of the Internet.

[8] The UN Party seized control of the Japanese government through the wisdom of the "Yakumo Cabinet Policy", a secret document which details how to run the "ideal nation".

The group is led by an elderly man in a wheelchair named Harman Smith (Dwight Schultz), who exhibits "Multifoliate Personae Phenomenon".

[10] The killer7 were temporarily incapacitated in an incident 50 years ago, in which the members of the group were systematically tracked and killed while performing a job at the Union Hotel in Pennsylvania.

[7] In this capacity, he receives orders from the frail Harman when his consciousness is "awake" and accepts jobs from Christopher Mills (Bart Flynn), who hires the killer7 on behalf of the US government.

They kill Andrei Ulmeyda (Cam Clarke), a Texan postal worker who established a successful company based on the Yakumo, when he becomes infected with the Heaven Smile virus.

After a volley of 200 intercontinental ballistic missiles are fired at Japan, the US government contracts the killer7 to eliminate Toru Fukushima (Jim Ward), the head of the UN Party.

Shortly thereafter, Kenjiro "Matsuken" Matsuoka (Steve Blum) kills two senior members of the UN Party to become its new leader, under the influence of Kun Lan.

[20] Regardless of the player's choice, Garcian finds that the last Heaven Smile is Iwazaru, whose real identity is Kun Lan, and kills him.

Development for Killer7 began in mid-2002 as part of the Capcom Five, a set of games overseen by Shinji Mikami and intended to be exclusive to the GameCube.

[2] Director Suda51 wrote the scenario based on a plot he conceived together with Mikami, and later decided on the unconventional control scheme as a deconstruction of how gamers play and to "create new expression".

Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi described the controls as "intuitive" and stated that the team wanted players to "think when they are playing" so they can enjoy the mystery in the story.

[25] The long development process culminated in several delays, the last of which was due to an artistic desire to release the game on July 7 (7/7).

About 2/3 of the map size and plot were drastically reduced and according to Suda, the cinematics in total was three hours long as opposed to the now one-hour duration.

He found that despite poor pacing and stilted gameplay, the "quirky scripting and edgy plot" were strong draws, and called Killer7 one of the "most artfully designed footnotes in gaming history".

[45] Edge magazine's reviewers echoed this sentiment and predicted that the game would "[pave the way] for future creative leeway", crediting the director with an unwavering artistic vision.

[48] Kasavin complimented the game's eclectic soundtrack, excellent voice acting, and distinctive sound effects, while the GamePro reviewer panned them as minimalist and irritating.

IGN's Matt Casamassina likened the control scheme to "old-school adventure games like Myst and Snatcher" and commended Suda51 for making a "cult hit", "erupting with style, mood and undiluted craziness".

[53] Charles Herold of The New York Times was less forgiving and commented that the lack of new features beyond the first hour made the remaining experience boring and annoying.

[61] Despite modest sales, Killer7's cult success prompted the development of remakes of Suda51's older Japan-only games, The Silver Case and Flower, Sun, and Rain.

[66] Kinetic Underground, the company that handled the comic book, also released a number of figurines depicting characters from the game.

[71] Carolyn Gudmundson of GamesRadar praised the soundtrack's varied style, a "moody, atmosphereric base punctuated with spikes of manic energy".

[73] In 2006, Devil's Due Publishing released a comic book adaptation of Killer7, written and drawn by Kinetic Underground staff.

[74] Writer Arvid Nelson described the story as a "mutant cross-breeding of John Woo and Quentin Tarantino", and Devil's Due President Josh Blaylock commented that Killer7's style was perfect for the comic book medium.

[79] During a panel at 2016's PAX East, Suda expressed his interest to remaster Killer7 and has begun talks with the game's publisher, Capcom.

5 an event celebrating Grasshopper Manufacture's 20th anniversary, Suda verbally announced to attendees that there are plans to remaster both Killer7 and Flower, Sun, and Rain.