Kusan: City of Wolves review – One for Hotline Miami fans

Can you believe it’s been more than a decade since the release of the brilliant Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number? I can’t. I also struggle with the fact that its developer, Dennaton Games, hasn’t released anything since. It’s safe to say that the brutal top-down shooter series has inspired lots of games over the last decade to varying results, but Kusan: City of Wolves is perhaps the most interesting game to copy its formula. Developed by CIRCLEfromDOT, it’s basically Hotline Miami with a more melee-focused angle, though there are plenty of firearms involved too.

With its story unravelling via comic book cells between bouts of gameplay, Kusan: city of Wolves puts you in control of Jin, an ex-soldier turned gun-for-hire who also happens to be an anthropomorphic panther. All of the characters in Kusan: City of Wolves are anthropomorphic, in fact, giving it a somewhat unique visual aesthetic and flavour. In any case, what starts like any normal job for Jin suddenly turns into something much bigger, when he discovers a mysterious young girl who has immense power. With various forces wanting to take control of her for their own machinations, he takes it upon himself to protect her.

From the moment you start playing Kusan: City of Wolves, the similarities to Hotline Miami are clear. It’s similarly bright and colourful, equally fast-paced, rather violent, and of course, very challenging. In each scene you need to move from room to room, eradicating all enemies without taking a single hit, otherwise it’s back to the start you go. And if you do succeed, you’re given a grade that might make you want to go back and work harder to eradicate all your foes with further speed and skill.

The one thing that makes Kusan: City of Wolves stand out a little from Hotline Miami, however, is that it’s more melee-focused. You see, Jin packs a rather mean punch, which you can even charge for more impact. That means you’ll be punching as many enemies as you possible can, or punching objects to send them flying into enemies, taking them out as a result. You can even parry enemy attacks, including armed fire, should you get the timing right, but it proves to be very tricky.

Your abilities aren’t set in stone, either, with you able to upgrade your punch, and more, via spending credits. Each upgrade requires you to place a mod into a grid with limited spaces though, so as you progress through Kusan: City of Wolves you’ll want to balance expanding your grid with the purchase of upgrades, otherwise you won’t be able to make use of them. Numerous ranged weapons become available to you, too, which you can only use if you equip to your grid – you can’t just pick up any old weapon you find on the floor.

The steady stream of upgrades and new weapons available keeps Kusan: City of Wolves interesting as you progress through its scenes, and also encourages you to experiment with various loadouts to see what works best for you. You might find this changes from scene-to-scene, too, with some being easier to tackle with certain weapons or skills. And when everything comes together this certainly provides the same thrill that Hotline Miami evokes, with running though an area eradicating all enemies in one stylish combo being exhilarating.

What brings the experience down a little, though, are the frequent difficulty spikes that occur. Kusan: City of Wolves is challenging from the outset, and you’ll occasionally be thrown into a scene that really ups the ante. Sometimes it simply feels unfair, what with your ammo being limited and being up against so many enemies with ranged weapons that can so easily take you out before you can get close. Needless to say, unless you have lots of patience and perseverance, you might want to steer clear.

Still, those who are game for a stern challenge will find lots to love here. Kusan: City of Wolves is a stylish endeavour, and while it could perhaps do with a little more balancing in places, on the whole it provides an addictive and engaging adventure.