Kusan: City of Wolves

Man, this may not have the legendary soundtracks of Hotline Miami or Katana Zero, but the gameplay and art's DNA are laced with both in a bloody, crunchy double helix of goodness. Kusan is absolutely a worthy love letter from what I've played so far; it's as snappy as it needs to be with agency given to the player in how they want to clear a level out. It's no knock to the music, it works if a bit unconventional, but KZ especially is one of my all time favorite game OSTs so the bar is super high. Also it's 2026. Furries have become as popular and populous as ever, ragging on a choice of art style that isn't AI garbage is a losing move from at least a decade or two ago. Join the rest of us in just enjoying stuff whether it's specified to your personal tastes or not. Good game is good game.

I was very excited for this game as it looked similar to the Hotline Miami type of gameplay. Once I started playing though I started to feel and see a couple of bumps and hiccups here and there. I should state first off that if you are looking to play this game as you miss the feel of Hotline Miami I do not recommend you buy this game. Though if you like the art style and aren't looking for a game with combat very similar to Hotline Miami then you might end up enjoying this title. The story from what I played seemed interesting and unique and the pixel art to comic panels was a very cool way to portray the game and story. The first thing I noticed was the way the knife throwing works with the lock-on system. I'd try to throw the knife at an enemy right in front of me but if another enemy was closer even if I wasn't looking at it I would have no choice but to throw the knife at the closer enemy. It was very annoying and disrupted the flow of combat for me. The second thing I noticed was the hitboxes and hit detection for a certain enemy. I'm not sure if this is just me but the red robot dogs tend to have smaller hitboxes than the regular enemies while also being able to hit you farther from your melee attack so some melee attacks I do look as though they should of hit but don't end up landing. Aside from those two things its really just personal preference. The character moves a bit too slow even with the movement upgrade. The gun you get isn't too useful in most situations as it takes two bullets to kill someone which this wouldn't bother me if either the gun had higher fire rate( Yes I tried the fire rate upgrades.) Or if I was able to quickly move my focus from one target to the next. But due to the lock-on system and wonky hitboxes/hit detection for the dogs the gameplay doesn't feel as fluid as it could be and I feel like im getting punished for wanting to do more than the game will allow me. Though as I said before if your not looking for combat similar to Hotline Miami this game might be for you. But as of right now I can't recommend this game in wholeheartedness.

This is a very well-made game that punches above its weight both aesthetically and design wise. I did not expect too much going in and I was positively blown away by what is on display here. Kusan City of Wolves is a game that is undeniably inspired by the indie smash hit Hotline Miami. It follows the exact same pacing formula: short, brutal levels that don't technically require, but really-kind-of-want-you-to run through them in the most efficient, score-maximizing way. But it has strong opinions on its own and it's clear the people behind this title did not analyze Hotline Miami on merely a casual level. Almost everything it does differently from Hotline Miami feels like a deliberate, weighed choice. Instead of kicking in doors you turn them into a projectile. Instead of hosing down enemies from a distance you are given either: a non-lethal pistol shot, or a short-range dagger throw. It flows very naturally into the "think on your feet" style of pacing: two enemies with guns in the next room, and three with melee? Smash the door into one of the ranged enemies and throw the knife at the other, let your fists deal with the rest. Aesthetically speaking the game also has teeth. The writing is a bit on-the-nose for me (slightly reminds me of Akira?) but the passion that went into it is once again undeniable. One of the greatest compliments I can give a game. The OST is different. It contrasts in a striking way to the tone of the story and backdrop. I'm not entirely sure if I like it. It's not Hotlini Miami in this regard, where every track felt like an extension of the insanity of the protagonist (arguably one of the best indie game OSTs ever put together, so it's a VERY high bar to compete with). This is an excellent game and it deserves way more recognition that it seems to be getting. Strong recommendation even without a discount.

One of my most anticipated releases- after finishing Hotline Miami, this is exactly the sort of game I was looking for afterwards to get the same sort of satisfying gameplay. The visuals are great, the soundtrack is even better, and the story is fun. Worth the wait!!! I hope it gets the attention it deserves.

Honestly this is more of a halfhearted reccomendation. Kusan is a decent enough game, albeit one that doesn't hold a candle to its inspirations. I don't regret buying it but was still left underwhelmed for sure. Kusan's story feels extremely rushed, as characters get introduced and taken out long before you can begin to care about them, almost as if big scenes are missing. The music would be solid for the intermission scenes between levels... but being used IN the levels it's incredibly out of place, I just turn on some katana zero or hotline music in the background instead. Gameplay is kusan's strongest suit. The charged punch parries are extremely satisfying, and the gameplay does capture a spark of hotline's adrenaline, especially with some awesome set pieces. That being said, the whole package feels like it could have used more time in the oven (the inability to look longer distances is particularly egregious) Kusan's worth picking up on sale if you need your hotline miami fix, but I really expected more from it.

Kusan - City of Wolves is a top-down action shooter, just like hotline Miami but with a few more mechanics. The protagonist weilds a Firearm, A Throwable Knife and A Gauntlet all at the same time, which the player can chain to execute some slick manuvers. The initial levels did give a strong impact but the intensity vanishes in the final two levels, not saying they were bad but they were not as challenging as the mid sections. The game chooses to present story in the similar hand drawn top-down animations along with comic panels. It's good but I still prefer Hotline Miami's uncanny grittiness. The Music of the game is also full of bangers, mixing retro music samples with funky electronic beats, similar to El Huervo's Daisuke. The length of the game felt short (around 6hrs) but I can see the replayability through the ranking system. I hope they add more content to the game in the later updates. Overall, This is the closest we might ever get to see Hotline Miami 3, since Dennaton Games won't do it.

[h1]단 한 번의 실수가 죽음으로 직결되는 감각적인 액션 게임![/h1] 국내 인디 게임사 CIRCLEfromDOT이 개발하여 최근 정식 출시된 탑다운 하드코어 액션 게임 '쿠산: 늑대들의 도시'는 가상의 항구 도시 쿠산을 배경으로 펼쳐지는 처절한 복수극을 다룹니다. 과거의 망령에 쫓기는 전직 군인 출신 주인공 '진'의 이야기를 담은 작품으로 챕터 1을 플레이하며 느낀 장단점을 간단히 정리보았습니다. [b]장점[/b] [list] [*] 긴장감 넘치는 하드코어 액션: '핫라인 마이애미', '미스터 쉬프티' 등이 연상되는 일격필살 전투 구조를 채택하여, 단 한 번의 공격으로 생사가 갈리는 쫄깃한 긴장감을 훌륭하게 구현했다. [*] 도전 욕구를 자극하는 레벨 디자인: 수십 번 죽어가며 적의 배치와 동선을 파악하고 최적화하는 과정이 자연스러운 피지컬 상승과 엄청난 성취감으로 이어지며, 클리어 등급(S, A, B 등) 시스템이 반복 플레이를 강하게 유도한다. [*] 독특한 테트리스형 업그레이드: 단순히 재화를 지불해 능력치를 올리는 방식이 아니라, 6x5 칸의 인벤토리 박스 안에 업그레이드 파츠를 테트리스처럼 배치하는 독창적인 세팅 시스템이 전략적 재미를 더한다. [*] 뛰어난 시청각적 연출: 비스타즈가 연상되는 캐릭터들과 카툰 코믹스 형식으로 전개되는 스토리 컷씬이 매력적이며, 박진감 넘치는 액션과 완벽하게 어우러지는 훌륭한 OST가 게임의 몰입도를 한층 끌어올린다. [/list] [b]단점[/b] [list] [*] 더빙의 부재: 매력적인 카툰 형식의 스토리 연출에도 불구하고, 캐릭터들의 음성 더빙이 지원되지 않아 내러티브 몰입감이 다소 떨어진다. [*] 호불호가 갈리는 세팅 시스템: 한정된 공간에 파츠를 끼워 맞춰야 하는 테트리스형 업그레이드 구조는 퍼즐 요소를 즐기지 않거나 직관적인 성장을 선호하는 유저들에게 다소 번거로운 요소로 작용할 수 있다. [*] 높은 진입 장벽과 피로도: 끊임없는 반복과 암기, 그리고 순간적인 반사 신경을 요구하는 장르적 특성상 잦은 재도전 과정에서 극심한 피로감을 유발할 수 있다. [*] 혼전 속의 가시성 저하: 피가 튀고 탄막이 쏟아지는 빠르고 혼란스러운 전투 상황 속에서, 간헐적으로 적의 위치나 발사체의 피격 판정을 직관적으로 파악하기 어려운 순간들이 존재한다. [/list] [b]총평[/b] 쿠산: 늑대들의 도시는 하드코어 탑다운 액션 장르의 문법을 충실히 따르면서도 고유의 독특한 색깔을 잘 녹여낸 수작입니다. 한 번의 실수가 죽음으로 직결되는 뼈아픈 난이도를 자랑하지만, 실패를 거듭하며 공략을 최적화해 나가는 과정 자체가 핵심적인 재미 요소로 작용합니다. 더빙의 부재나 호불호가 갈릴 수 있는 업그레이드 시스템 등 소소한 아쉬움은 남지만, 강렬한 OST와 함께 아드레날린이 솟구치는 액션의 쾌감은 이를 상쇄하고도 남습니다. 빠른 템포의 하드코어 액션을 선호하는 게이머들에게 추천하는 작품입니다. [b]총점[/b] : 8/10 [quote]리뷰가 맘에 드셨다면 큐레이터 [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45695948/]SAKURA 리뷰[/url]를 팔로우해 주세요.[/quote]

Way WAY too unforgiving. I'm a busy dad, sometimes I need to leave in the middle of your balls-hard infinitely long temple. Not being able to save between screens in these very long scenes suuuucks. And I'm sorry but there's some weird stuff going on with mechanics, hitboxes, tracking, everything just feeling a little random, like they work or don't work at odd times. I often feel like I die because either a punched-off door randomly chose not to hit someone it usually does or the enemies blend into the background and my eyes lose track of them. Sometimes there's flashes of brilliance (I liked the traffic level) but the sloppy difficulty combined with unfair checkpointing means this is going in the bin.

furry gay miami-wannabe it looks very good on screenshots. but developers are simply went in wrong direction. I can't describe it, but you will know what I am talking about if you'll try it