By lucasmorgan 
There are certain indie games that have become renowned well past the year they were released. They remain timeless due to the immaculate game design that both simplifies a formula and makes it undeniably replayable. One such game is ‘Hotline Miami’. From the break-neck speed of its gameplay, iconic synthwave soundtrack and bonkers plotline masked through a fever dream of non-linear set-pieces, Hotline Miami became an iconic force from 2012 onwards. We’ve seen plenty of games remix the formula that Hotline Miami created, and some are lauded as greats while plenty fall below expectations or even out of public view. Kusan: City of Wolves steps into this particular spotlight, boasting a lot of what made its contemporaries great, while attempting some interesting additions that definitely spice up the gameplay. Does Kusan have the bite to match its bark, or do we have a sheep in wolf’s clothing?
Kusan certainly presents itself with style from the outset. We make our ways through gritty neon drenched streets and gang interiors decked out with all the necessary cyberpunk decorations you can think of. The game is gloriously gory as levels get painted with the blood and bodies of enemies, leaving an undeniably gruesome portrait after each level. Nearly all objects are destructible as well, making the environments feel like the ultimate playground (at least at first, more on that later). The art design for our comic book inspired cutscenes are masterfully drawn, with every character having a distinct style and attitude that comes across throughout the runtime. A huge highlight of the game is the soundtrack. It is a fusion of hip-hop sampled with various genres of jazz, rock and even some Asian influences (think Sleeping Dogs soundtrack). It stays fresh and energetic the whole way through the game, matching the pace of the frenetic gameplay.
The story has an intriguing start. We take control of an ex-solider named Jin. All characters in Kusan are designed with anthropomorphic sensibilities, with Jin being represented as a panther. We definitely get a look into Jin’s psyche early on with clear PTSD symptoms and an unresolved past that we look to rectify throughout the game. As events play out in the early game, we’re eventually tasked with rescuing a pivotal character that sets off a chain of events involving all sorts of undesirable gangs and factions across the city of Kusan. It’s at this point that I think the story begins to lose its way. We’re introduced to a plethora of characters throughout, and besides the great comic book art previously mentioned, the vast majority of these characters are very forgettable outside of visual appearance. The writing doesn’t really give a unique voice to anyone involved, including our main character. Characters seem to come and go without much of a resolution, and we are constantly dumped with exposition that doesn’t truly match the drastic motives of our villains. It’s a pity, as there are some promising set pieces here, but the story seems to lose focus pretty early on.
Before we go through the gameplay of Kusan, I think it’s important to point out the comparisons I’m about to make between it and Hotline Miami. There is no doubt that Hotline Miami is a huge influence on Kusan, and many gamers are going to see that from the outset expecting something similar. Even though there are indeed similarities, Kusan definitely does make some twists to the formula that makes it stand on its own, for better or for worse.
Firstly, the speed of the game is on point. You are always one hit from death throughout, and the enemies will relentlessly pursue their goal of eradicating you from existence with the kind of pace you’d expect from a Hotline Miami type. Kusan makes an interesting choice in regards to your combat options. You are always equipped with the War Glove for melee and a throwing knife. You also have a choice of 4 firearms to enter the level with. A pistol, crossbow, shotgun and revolver. Unlike Hotline Miami, you don’t pick up enemy weapons as you move through the levels, your beginning loadout is the be all end all through a whole level. Initially, this seems like a regression as having to improvise with various weapons in a stage was always a high point of Hotline Miami.
The reason why this works for Kusan is that we can upgrade and modulate our loadout before levels. Rather than unlocking skills in a simple skill-tree, the game offers an inventory system similar to the way Resident Evil inventory works. The upgrades you purchase have to be efficiently slotted into a limited space of inventory slots in order to use them. These upgrades involve melee abilities, passive abilities, weapon upgrades and much more. I was really impressed with how diverse you could build Jins loadout from this mechanic. You can emphasise a speed melee build, looking to clear a room as fast as possible, or you can focus on your firearms and knife keeping enemies at range. You can combine so many interesting abilities, but most of all, you can never be so over-powered due to not having all abilities at once. This makes the game more strategic than its indie counterparts, and I appreciated this creative use of abilities throughout the playtime.
It also helps that there are a plethora of enemy types. You’ll be adapting to a variety of attacks coming at you. Some enemies don’t actively try to kill you but instead shoot a trap that slows your character down, leaving you vulnerable to other enemies. There is a lot of strategy when going for an elusive SS rank in a level. You’ll prioritise certain enemies, look for breakable walls to get the jump on powerful foes. You’ll even be able to line up enemies with the War Glove, smashing them together across the room causing collateral damage. It’s a hell of a time, and the game gets you back into the action nice and quickly between the many deaths you’ll have. When levels flow in Kusan, the gameplay feels just as good as Hotline Miami.
However, levels don’t always flow and there are some frustrations that get in the way of it truly being a masterpiece. Sometimes the many destructible objects simply get your character caught on them. I had plenty of runs end because of an inanimate object stopping me in my tracks, leaving the enemies with pin-point path tracing to swarm and destroy me. I also wish the camera was just a little bit more zoomed out. There were certain times the levels felt more claustrophobic than I would have liked. Seeing as Kusan doesn’t have the ability to zoom and scope out Jin’s vision like you can in Hotline Miami, walking into levels blind felt like an inevitable failure due to having no grasp of how many and what type of enemies are about to jump you. To be fair, the trial and error is a big part of what Kusan puts forward, but I would have liked a bit more camera control when planning attacks for the first time in a level.
I also have mixed feelings on boss fights. The first chapter boss felt on point for where the player should be skill wise. But the second and last chapter boss fights felt off for separate reasons. The second boss felt like it stunted the pace in a way that felt at odds with the rest of the game. It doesn’t help that this is also connected to one of the worst gimmick levels involving a vehicle section at blistering pace, where the trial and error felt horrible for the first time in the entire game. The last boss fight just felt incredibly unfair, leaving little opening for attacks and spamming some pretty ridiculous moves that were incredibly fast with a lot of AOE.
I should also mention that there is a parry mechanic in Kusan. While it can be really cool to pull off a parry mid battle with either general or boss enemies, I found it way too inconsistent, and with a game where death is one hit away at all times, I felt a parry was always going to be unreliable to use and master when there are already so many better options at your disposal.
As incredibly tough and frustrating as Kusan can be, completing levels with style or reattempting stages for an SS rank remained incredibly satisfying throughout our Kusan: City of Wolves review. Given how short most levels are, failure wasn’t a deal breaker. If you enjoy a challenge and love the Hotline Miami games, I can’t see why you wouldn’t enjoy Kusan on some level. I don’t think it reaches the heights of the indie giant, but it has enough of its own mechanics to feel fresh. The story isn’t going to have any multi-hour video essays written on it any time soon, but the cool art and great soundtrack does enough to accompany the gameplay with style.
Kusan: City of Wolves has a great foundation for the developers to build off of if they choose to pursue the genre further. I can see this game being a cult-hit amongst indie game lovers who can look past some nagging issues and find the awesome splatter-fest within.
Positives
- Awesome, gruesome gameplay
- Great use of skill upgrades and character build options
- Funky soundtrack throughout
Negatives
- Lacking a compelling plotline and dull character writing
- Boss fights are a mixed bag
- Horrible vehicle section
Fletcher Wilkinson
Jordan Campbell