Developer Vreski’s top-down shooter The Hong Kong Massacre was originally released in January of last year on Playstation 4 and Microsoft Windows after a fairly long gestation period. Now it is finally making its way to the Nintendo Switch with a solid port. It’s still a fun if sometimes repetitive top-down twin-stick shooter that emulates old-school Hong Kong action films with some very big influences from the legendary works of filmmaker John Woo.
The Hong Kong Massacre is equal parts Hotline Line Miami and John Woo’s own Stranglehold. It does a great job of emulating the fast-paced and frenetic energy of the best top-down shooters with the style and flair added by having slow-mo dives and big shootouts. With other games like it, each stage will be a bit of trial and error until you’re able to nail down the placement and movements of each enemy. Luckily there’s an instant restart once you inevitably die in a level that makes having to jump back in less painful without sacrificing any of your momentum. But once you get it down and have the weapon loadout that suits you, you’ll absolutely feel like a badass.
Like any of the best Hong Kong action films that The Hong Kong Massacre is so inspired by, the story takes just as many cues from the genre as the action does. You play as a tough as nails former police officer who seeks revenge against the gangs that took your partner’s life. It is absolutely a cliche of these types of stories, but that’s what it’s going for and nails that whole one-man army vibe. It’s a tried and true narrative setup that has existed for decades and fits extremely well with this style of game.
Progression in The Hong Kong Massacre always feels rewarding as well. At the end of each level, you’re graded on your performance with a one-to-three star rating. Effectively completing challenges based on your speed, use of special abilities like slow-mo, and the accuracy of your shots are all measured to determine your final rating. Then you can use your stars to purchase a variety of weapons as wells as upgrades for each of them. These challenges add a bit of replay value and offer a boost to your arsenal that will prove essential especially in the later more challenging levels.
The Switch version feels smooth and responsive whether you’re running it in handheld or docked mode. For a game that lives and dies on its speed and relies so heavily on player reaction times, that is definitely a godsend. Blasting through a door with a shotgun and diving to quickly dispatch a room full of enemies is endlessly satisfying. Even more so when it’s been a room that has given you some trouble and you finally get the right rhythm to move forward. It truly does make you feel like a super action star at its very best. If you missed out on any of the previous versions, then the Switch version is a great place to jump in for a short but sweet action-packed adventure.
The Hong Kong Massacre dives its way onto the Nintendo Switch on December 26th.
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