This Hotline Miami rival inspired John Wick, where is the devs’ next game?
Throughout the halls of action history, few things can match the iconography of Chow Yun-Fat wielding two Beretta 92 handguns, while grimacing at an imminent threat of gangsters. VRESKI’s The Hong Kong Massacre wears the influences of John Woo, Sammo Hung, and other legendary filmmakers on its sleeve wholeheartedly, adding in Hotline Miami’s brand of top-down chaos too. Despite solidifying itself as a superb addition to anyone’s Nintendo Switch library, and even inspiring Hollywood blockbusters, I’m left pining for VRESKI’s next adventure.
The Hong Kong Massacre originally debuted in 2019, before landing on Nintendo’s humble handheld in December of the following year. Its plot is simple: take revenge on the gangs of Hong Kong for the death of your partner on the police force. Yet, this action game’s simplistic premise is perfect, because VRESKI amps up the game’s maximalist elements through a certified balletic barrage of bullets at every possible moment. Firefights are thrilling games of cat-and-mouse violence, encouraging you to pick off enemies thoughtfully – often in the most grizzly way possible. Just like Hotline Miami, one hit, and it’s back to the start of the level.
VRESKI is a two-person team hailing from Sweden, but the cinematic flair present through its lush production design, authentic art direction, and satisfying gunplay would never let you know that. The Hong Kong Massacre has attained a unique legacy too, with John Wick director Chad Stahelski attributing Chapter Four’s astonishing apartment shootout as a core influence. Aside from the game’s launch on Xbox Series X|S consoles last year, we’re now five years on from The Hong Kong Massacre’s initial debut.
We’re fast approaching 2025, and as the Earth continues to spin on, I’m looking ahead to what games, be them new Switch games or free mobile games, are on the horizon. Will there be a sequel to The Hong Kong Massacre? Is VRESKI making another game?
Although The Hong Kong Massacre 2 isn’t on the cards, we do know that VRESKI is cooking up something new, despite its website biography claiming that it’s still “currently working on our first game called The Hong Kong Massacre.”
There isn’t a week that goes by where I don’t do a periodic check-in on games I’m looking forward to, whether it’s IO Interactive’s Project 007, The Division: Resurgence release date, or VRESKI’s currently untitled FPS game. On May 4, 2021, VRESKI published ‘Untitled FPS – Bridge Explosion’ to YouTube. The footage showcases a work-in-progress shooter with the same penchant for bloodshed, this time on a seemingly much larger scale.
More clips would continue to surface, with the developer’s last upload landing in March 2024. Each clip boasts dazzling particle effects and crunchy sound design, but the real kicker is all that dual-wield spectacle I can’t stop thinking about.
It’s Max Payne bullet-time amped up to the max, and if there’s anything I believe this world needs more of, it’s Max Payne-inspired media. Sadly, further updates on VRESKI’s upcoming shooter have gone radio silent. Understandably, as a two-person team, this kind of project will take time. However, with the Nintendo Switch 2 looming and more of the best Steam Deck alternatives evolving into higher-spec models, I’m hopeful that VRESKI will join in on the fun in the near future.
