When it comes to Hong Kong cinema, one name that instantly comes to mind is the master of hardboiled cinematic action, John Woo. While there may have been many games inspired by his work in the past, the latest title to take inspiration is The Hong Kong Massacre, from Swedish developer Vreski. This top-down twin-stick shooter may initially remind you of games like Hotline Miami, but one hit will kill you, so you need to plan your movement right.
Gameplay
As the game is inspired by John Woo films, there are some unique mechanics derived from the film specifically as well. These include the ability to slow down time, jump past enemy attacks and sidestep weapon attacks. You need to be able to move gracefully and land careful hits on your enemies, and you will need to experiment a bit to get it right. There is a learning curve here and you will die many times at first, but the game does become easier to understand as you go along. There is a decent challenge here, and a nice amount of high-risk high reward gameplay, and a bit of an addictive element once you understand how things work
The game plays well enough on the Switch in both docked and handheld mode, with indistinguishable framerate. What is an issue is that in handheld mode, the dark visuals of the game can make it difficult to distinguish where enemies are at times and where you can or cannot go. This is an action game that requires timing and skill, and the lack of clearness in some areas does create a sense of unfair disadvantage. Still, this does not affect the entire game and the slow-motion effects do help to offset the darker visuals by giving you more of a chance to make your move.
Bosses
I do like that the bosses are all pulse-pounding duel to the death, and they once again require a strategy to beat. After a while though, they do start to blend together and lose the sense of excitement the first ones have. In terms of creativity, they may not be the best boss fights, but they are still enjoyable nonetheless. They definitely do help you feel like you are playing a John Woo film, and that is the goal of the developers after all.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, The Hong Kong Massacre is definitely a unique take on the twin-stick shooter genre. It most definitely accomplishes its goal of invoking the spirit of John Woo films and captures what makes them great. You will find there to be a steep learning curve, but if you get past that, you will enjoy a well-designed game.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided