A slow-motion bullet ballet extravaganza, The Hong Kong Massacre is a lean and mean action gameplay whose core gunplay makes for a satisfying and challenging loop that’ll leave you feeling like a hardboiled action star after every face-off.

Graphically, the game is technically decent, though the frame rate could have been bumped up a bit more. From an artistic perspective, the environments and characters are all a bit ‘samey’, blending together from one level to the next, with little variation. It’s a shame, because Hong Kong is undoubtedly a visually striking city, but the buildings showcased in The Hong Kong Massacre could have been plucked from literally any town in the world.

Listen, aside from having to deal with hardware limitations, The Hong Kong Massacre on the Switch is plenty serviceable. If you’re a fan of the bang-your-head-against-the-wall experience that these games offer, look no further. But I can’t recommend this on the Switch over any other system. And then, at that point, you might as well play something better. If ever a game garnered the title of mediocre, The Hong Kong Massacre is it.

Hong Kong Massacre tries to emulate the adrenaline-fueled romp that was Hotline Miami, but it fails to deliver the same thrilling experience.

Over the last few years, we have seen titles such as My Friend Pedro and Katana ZERO hone in on a similar Woo spirit with enough spin to deem them both quite different and unique experiences. However, there’s a fine line between influence and replication and The Hong Kong Massacre’s over-reliance on capturing the magic of Hotline Miami and Max Payne suffocates it under its own lost identity. If The Hong Kong Massacre had very little to compare itself to, then it would probably be regarded as a classic in the making. Unfortunately, that’s not the case and it’s clear by example that even the Woo formula had to evolve at some point.

It’s getting a middling score, but I implore you: do not play this game. Do not encourage this lack of creativity with your money. At some point, we need to get off of this treadmill of worthless unartistic experiences and demand more. THKM is the perfect example of a treadmill game, a deja vu-inducing experience that means nothing. It’s a pretty love letter to a niche film genre, and that’s all it is. Maybe it’s not meant for us, but in that case, don’t make us play it. It feels like nothing, gives nothing, and doesn’t advance the form in any meaningful way. It rehashes concepts that have been rehashed since 2013.

The Hong Kong Massacre is a challenging game that can often leave you feeling frustrated. Action movie fans may find enjoyment, but issues such as a lacking story let it down overall, and it’s hard to recommend at the current price.