Kusan: City of Wolves shamelessly clones Hotline Miami — and it works surprisingly well

Indie studios inspired by the cult Hotline Miami duology usually try to add something of their own to the genre to avoid looking like blatant plagiarists. Kusan: City of Wolves, however, chose a different path: it is a direct and shameless clone that barely attempts to hide its source of inspiration. And surprisingly, this approach works — the game turned out solid.

All the key elements are in place: pixel art, top-down view, brutal takedowns, and a protagonist who dies from a single hit. The main difference from the original is the story presentation. Instead of cutscenes, the game uses dynamic comics: panels unfold, overlap, animate, and speech bubbles move in different directions. This makes the narrative lively and engaging.

The script itself, unfortunately, does not match the visuals. The story of a mercenary named Chin who must save a psychic girl capable of wiping out an entire city with a mental blast is clichéd and overly serious. The authors also overload it with terms and secondary characters: a special agency isolating psychics, a research institute with the "Origin" project, and an anarchist group called "Diamond Wolves" appear one after another, making it hard to keep track of all the threads. The comics only help partially — their beauty does not compensate for the convoluted plot.