Clid The Snail
Clid The Snail
Game
Game2019
The Hong Kong Massacre
Developer VRESKI
The Hong Kong Massacre is a top-down shooter video game developed and published by Swedish studio Vreski for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 in January 2019, and for Nintendo Switch in December 2020. It is the first game to be developed by the studio. Set in 1990s Hong Kong during the British colonial era before the Handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997, the game follows a former police detective… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
207 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 29, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
61
Fresh
114 positive · 73 negative
95% range 54–68%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 114 | 73 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
842 of 1,183 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
62% recommend · 112 yes, 69 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 181 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (1,476 of 2,049 positive).
Players praise the game's satisfying gunplay and John Woo-inspired action, but note it can get repetitive. [1][2][3] Many reviewers compare it to Hotline Miami, calling it a solid but flawed homage. [1][4][5] Some players criticize the progression system and technical issues, such as broken keyboard controls. [6][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
It looks and feels cool sometimes, but this thing just drowns in absolutely baffling design decisions. The first one is the most self-defeating, idiotic progression system I’ve ever seen. Levels in this game have a rating system; each has 3 stars you can earn—one for speed, one for 100% accuracy, and one for not using slo-mo. And those are not just for useless, who-cares achievements—you upgrade your guns that way. …
- [8]
As fun as this game is, I cannot recommend it due to an unfortunate technical issue. Several of the game's controls on Keyboard simply do not work correctly, such as changing between chapters and entering the upgrade menu. This issue can be bypassed if you use a controller to navigate menus, however those without a controller are likely unable to progress or upgrade their weapons. This issue aside, it's a decently …
- [1]
"I like doves. They look so beautiful, like a woman. For me they represent peace and love and purity". There's no need for this game to be as good as Hotline Miami. It's a great addition to the genre. Hotline Miami is indeed a masterpiece and has a depth that The Hong Kong Massacre lacks. But it is a great game nonetheless. The slow motion is a great gimmick that almost kills the gameplay. Once you get the hang of …
- [4]
Here is the most basic and honest review you are going to get. The game is just as cool and fun as it looks. Its just as basic as it looks. its worth it if it looks like your kind of game. anyone who is complaining about the game is just straight up whining because its hard. its supposed to be hard. if you are going to want a game where you don't die a lot there are all sorts of games on steam you can find. just …
- [12]
A fun little game! It's basically a John Woo Hotline Miami with a slow motion mechanic. The story is baaarely there, but you don't really need it anyway cause the 80's Chinese Cop Movie vibes are immaculate. There's not much iteration within the gameplay loop, the only thing they really add is an enemy that takes 2 shots to kill near the end of the game, but it's short enough that it doesn't really get too …
Summarised from 34 of the 203 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
62% of the 181 Steam reviewers we collected recommend The Hong Kong Massacre. The complaint that keeps coming up: repetitive level design and gameplay. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
According to the review aggregation website Metacritic, The Hong Kong Massacre has received "mixed or average reviews". Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received weak approval, being recommended by 27% of critics. Although the game was praised for its intense action and for its emulation of classic action movies, it was criticized for the lack of variety in gameplay and challenges and for quickly becoming repetitive. In an interview with SlashFilm, director Chad Stahelski said a climactic shootout scene in John Wick: Chapter 4 was directly inspired by The Hong Kong Massacre gameplay.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 207 · most liked firstIt looks and feels cool sometimes, but this thing just drowns in absolutely baffling design decisions. The first one is the most self-defeating, idiotic progression system I’ve ever seen. Levels in this game have a rating system; each has 3 stars you can earn—one for speed, one for 100% accuracy, and one for not using slo-mo. And those are not just for useless, who-cares achievements—you upgrade your guns that way. The ability to dual-wield Uzis costs 10 stars. So, this John Woo wannabe has a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"I like doves. They look so beautiful, like a woman. For me they represent peace and love and purity". There's no need for this game to be as good as Hotline Miami. It's a great addition to the genre. Hotline Miami is indeed a masterpiece and has a depth that The Hong Kong Massacre lacks. But it is a great game nonetheless. The slow motion is a great gimmick that almost kills the gameplay. Once you get the hang of it the game gets too easy. So much that the middle part of the game feels…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hotline Miami if it had: - a dodge roll, slow-mo and terrain destruction - a progression system that doesn't want you to use the slow-mo or terrain destruction - enemies that react so fast that dodge rolling is the only viable way to attack - bland music - 4 guns - no melee - boring levels yeah i don't like this game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It can get repetitive, but is good for some mindless fun. Don't expect any complex story or mechanism.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My Playtime: 15.4h (100% achievement, finished the game) Grindy Achievement(s): No. Optional Achievement(s): Yes (15 achievements). Difficult Achievement(s): No. Intro The Hong Kong Massacre is a top-down shooter game where you need to quickly kill enemies while dodging their bullets. In doing so, you are armed with a slow-motion ability to help you dodge those bullets with ease. You and enemies die in 1-2 hits, meaning that you need to act quickly. Pros: - Challenge to increase the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game from a mystery key bundle on fanatical. It's an alright game that is filled with bugs that completely ruin the experience. took 13 hours to 100%
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Here is the most basic and honest review you are going to get. The game is just as cool and fun as it looks. Its just as basic as it looks. its worth it if it looks like your kind of game. anyone who is complaining about the game is just straight up whining because its hard. its supposed to be hard. if you are going to want a game where you don't die a lot there are all sorts of games on steam you can find. just search baby games and you'll find plenty. This game is like better looking Miami…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"The Hong Kong Massacre" must be a game straight off the streets of Hong Kong, right? Nope, it's from Sweden. This is a 6 year old console (Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch) top down shooter inspired by watching way too many John Woo films with Swedish subtitles, and you do get some of that feeling from the extremely poor translated (text only) dialogue that frames the top down shooting. Being John Woo inspired, the game plays like a top down version of Max Payne only quite a lot worse, with a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While the gameplay is great, the UI sucks ass. Firstly, the UI seems to be intended to be used with a mouse, but you can't use it to navigate the menus, which cause the vast majority of problems, which include: -You can't navigate between chapters, because whatever inputs are supposed to navigate between chapters don't work at all (your best hope is to beat final levels of each chapter repeatedly to even access the following chapters); -You can't upgrade weapons, because after purchasing an…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent premise and addicting mechanics. And that's about it. Way too hard for the janky controls. Even after a looong time calibrating the controller I had a hard time hitting anything. Challenges (that you need to get to upgrade guns) can eat ♥♥♥♥. They kill the flow of the game dead. Artificial difficulty that handicaps the player is a sign of a bad game design. Such a shame. The concept is great.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This does not spark joy. Sluggish. Feels like shots don't always register. I can't shoot through obstacles, but enemies can? Bosses get to have a health bar the length of a bus. Overall just feels more punishing than necessary and motivation to keep playing is low.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →just play hotline miami
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As fun as this game is, I cannot recommend it due to an unfortunate technical issue. Several of the game's controls on Keyboard simply do not work correctly, such as changing between chapters and entering the upgrade menu. This issue can be bypassed if you use a controller to navigate menus, however those without a controller are likely unable to progress or upgrade their weapons. This issue aside, it's a decently fun game with fun levels and a great, stylish aesthetic. As much as it pains me,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Deku Deals is great. Love the site! Using it since it launched. I got couple of games in previous sale, that was in start of April, got [AI: Somnium Files](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/ai-the-somnium-files-switch/) and [The Hong Kong Massacre](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/the-hong-kong-massacre-switch/) (about $4 or so), won't be getting anything until I am done with them (which won't happen until I finish Xenoblade Chronicles X in a few months). Portal is great,…
neutral · AI labelView post →Fun game. Its fast, its raw, its brutal. Classic hong kong scenario. And it can get quite hard, if you challenge yourselfs a little. Also reminds me a lot of max payne 1/2 except for the top down view obv. Nothing beats bullet time and jump dives plus rolling all over the floor I had some issues at 1st. Seemed like a rather hard than chill and relax game, and im not much of a fan of that anymore. But after i figured a few things out, the game instantly became enjoyable. Knowing how to use…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just play Hotline Miami Finished the first day/boss and it doesn't feel worth continuing. Mediocre cutscenes, penalization for using the main mechanic of the game, no melee weapons, only 4 weapons and tryhard challenges which makes the progression of weapons tedious. Kind of fun but feels like an unpolished 3D Hotline Miami. The slow motion mechanic was great tho
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty fun game, I enjoy it for being easy to learn but a challenge to play. What I would like to see done better is challenges, who wants to every level with the same challenge? Weak! Needs more varied challenges, collections, and a much better story. Would like to see survival mode, power ups, more weapons, more destructible environments, etc. But hey, the core game is fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is right on the fence. Its hotline miami but with John Woo diving and slow mo. Theres 4 total guns, none of them that exciting. You unlock increased ammo, clip size, and fire rate, again nothing exciting. There is the annoyance of being shot off screen from the limited view window but its much less so. The story is also non existent and theres just a bunch of awkward cutscenes of you driving. Every boss fight is the exact same. Also every level feels similar and repetitive with no…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Look man I'm not one to shut a game down after 10 or so minutes, but once I realized just how slow this game moves. It is a top-down action shooter inspired by films like Hardboiled. And you cannot sprint. You will be stuck moving at walking pace. I don't wanna dislike this game, it looks neat, it feels good, but I moving that slow kills the pace, especially when some of the intros to level start taking a while to see an enemy. Maybe I missed some controls, if I did let me know I'm a dumbass. I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recommended if you're sold on the idea of a Hard Boiled Hotline Miami, but just know it's not great. Pros - I only really grabbed this because I could get a discount with Hotline Miami and Ruiner, not expecting much. Like those games, it's a top down shooter. - Good looking game, there's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of cool effects when you're shooting and firing through glass, enviroments are total chaos during firefights. Just like a John Woo movie. - Plays well enough, there's enemy indicators if they're just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The NPC's reaction times are WAY too ♥♥♥♥♥♥' good. Their guns look at me before they do, ♥♥♥♥♥♥' crazy, mostly unplayable; you basically have to abuse the slow-down mechanic. story is ♥♥♥♥♥, not to mention the awkward pre-mission cutscenes of nothing but silence, bad grammar, and ♥♥♥♥♥♥ camera angles.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay feels clunky slow. And story is sort of boring.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's like Hotline Miami but bad.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not sure why this is well reviewed. Instant death game with lots of bad design choices. Enemies are all high speed marksmen, the only way to 'play' is to shoot enemies through walls and doors as if they see you, you're dead. The problem is a lot of objects absorb the first shot, so you shoot and break the door and the enemies fires and kills you because your bullet vanished in the door. I paid virtually nothing for this and I'm still returning it, i'd rather lose 3 dollars in my sock drawer…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You can play the game. but if you wanted to do things like upgrade the 4 guns this game gives you. good luck, it doesn't work. refunded on that principal alone. will also not be purchasing any other game this Developer puts out. 5 bucks for a broken title is 5 bucks too much.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got 100% achievements in this game and honestly I don't know if I should be proud or ask for compensation. The game wants you to feel like John Wick but half the time I felt like John Waiting For Reload. The reload speed is insane. My guy reloads so slow I think he's making the bullets by hand first. Then the sound. Sometimes I shoot and the sound comes 2 business days later. It feels like the audio is playing from another country. Now the achievements. Who made this achievement list? I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →7 hours of gametime. 68% of the achievements. And I'm really bored. I gave it a fair shot (no pun intended.) Rise to Honor, this is not. Sleeping Dogs? Sifu? I was looking for another cool Chinese action game to add to my collection. This was severely underwhelming. It feels like one of those games that should've stayed in the Flash era of the internet, tucked away on Newgrounds never to be played again.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bad UI, bad progression, terrible challenges, bad hit recognition.... Has a high ceiling it just doesnt reach
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →fun game clearly inspired by hotline miami, max payne and john woo movies. thought the setting was cool story was decent even if theres not much to it the bullet time along with sliding/cartwheels gave it something new when comparing it to hotline miami and its also 3D graphics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game wont register my controller, whatever, only problem is the UI is horrific on keyboard and mouse even going into the weapon upgrade and going back out will break the UI forcing a restart, and the devs have the balls to beg for the labor of love award.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just simple fun, combat feels very satisfying as you blast down doors and roll through windows. Cutscenes left a little to be desired but then again you're not playing this game for the cutscenes
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game it's too underrated. Is not an easy game but need to try to see how much is beautiful. The scenography is beautiful, the visual effects are wonderful and the music is great. Therefore, why is not appreciate it? Come on, get it and have fun with it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too bad it's just too buggy. I can't get past the start screen and keeps scrolling down to the options. It's just disappointing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game its self is enjoyable- too bad its sooo broken, the option to upgrade your weapons seams to break the game every time, doesn't allow you to exit, restart or anything else, Once you have beaten the 1st boss and progress IF you then exit the game and restart it you are unable to advance any further than the 1st boss it just gets stuck in a loop and you have to restart the game from scratch every time- Could be a Great game but it looks as if the Devs have abandoned it :(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🔴WE ARE LIVE🔴 Playing The Hong Kong Massacre. A game similar to Hotline Miami. I wonder if I am going to rage at this one too. www.twitch.tv/thebluheartless #Vtuber #VtubersEN #VTuberUprising
neutral · AI labelView post →Game #43: The Hong Kong Massacre, is done A solid blend of Hotline Miami, John Wick and My Friend Pedro, the game thrives on its noir aesthetic and gameplay, tho it suffers from lackluster boss fights and a weak narrative
neutral · AI labelView post →Positives + Good, satisfying gunplay. + Setting is cool. I like the style. + Music is decent Negatives - UI sucks and controls are a little clunky, controller is a no go. - Story is terrible and generic - A little repetitive Overall: 6.8/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty much Max Payne, but its top down and Asian
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolutely action packed, with tons of awesome adrenaline filled moments to be had. This is an outrageously epic time, and I completely recommend it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stranglehold meets Max Payne meets Hotline Miami
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hotline miami if it was mid.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fun little game! It's basically a John Woo Hotline Miami with a slow motion mechanic. The story is baaarely there, but you don't really need it anyway cause the 80's Chinese Cop Movie vibes are immaculate. There's not much iteration within the gameplay loop, the only thing they really add is an enemy that takes 2 shots to kill near the end of the game, but it's short enough that it doesn't really get too repetitive. I ended up beating it on Medium in around 4 hours, not sure if I'll go back…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →NOT RECOMMENDED - it is technically broken to the point it constantly loses game settings every time you come from the game to the main menu AND the continuing from the main menu soft-locks the game by redirecting you to the settings sub-menu for no good reason. The game is clearly under-tested to the point of being incomplete and non-functional. It runs almost like death on tar - unoptimized. Even in 400p in runs super slow, usually meaning that there is some unnecessary CPU processing going…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →John Wick Movies brought me here. Was not disappointed. I Hate Roof Jumping in this game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yeah, no... I'm not finishing this game. It's just not fun, and feels like a chore to play. There's a grammatical error in the first cutscene. Not a good first impression. It's a Hotline Miami clone, but done worse in every single way. I'll admit I was never good at these types of games, but what kept me motivated to keep playing through Hotline Miami was the story, artstyle, and music. In this game, most of the cutscenes include a close-up of the guy's face doing a blank stare, and blurry…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Hong Kong Massacre felt like a game i should have loved, given i've played many games like it and enjoyed them a lot but this one?... its just kind of bad with no real way of putting it nicely the gameplay feels.. fine there's nothing obscenely wrong with it, but it feels weightless and peculiar (note i only played in "meduim" difficulty, and i am unsure if some of these change in hard) bullets seem to dissapear once they leave your screen, the movement of the character feels strange and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →feels like shovelwear
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →John Wick 4 - Top-Down Shootout Scene THE GAME !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've always wanted to be an asian kid who gets scolded by his parents when he doesn't do the homework on time and gets sent to a coal mine (where he can listen to Coal Chamber all the day... pretty Loco if you ask me)... that's how I feel after playing through this game and doing the 100% achievement run. It's like Hotline Miami with more realistic graphics... but with pointless cutscenes, hilarious and broken boss battles (can I even call these boss battles? My ex was less stupid than them..…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →March’s newest pickups! Anima: Gate of Memories 🗡️ The Vanishing of Ethan Carter 🔎 The Hong Kong Massacre 🔫 STRAFE 🔫 Sprawl 🔫 And two game keys graciously provided by the Devs ❤️ Beyond Galaxyland 🪐 Morkull Ragast's Rage 🗡️ Keen to check these out on stream! Twitch.tv/platinumzwei
neutral · AI labelView post →A state-of-the-art action movie with perfect scenes and references to Game of Thrones, westerns, and games like The Hong Kong Massacre. The captivating story picks up where the last film ended and develops perfectly. The characters are charismatic and memorable. It’s an outstanding experience.
neutral · AI labelView post →New gameplay of Vreski's (The Hong Kong Massacre) next untitled shooter game. youtu.be/PDCxAeiUhyE?...
neutral · AI labelView post →If you like hotline miami it's like a worse version of that. Maybe get the game if it's on a super sale and you still want something other than hlm1/2
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some reviews are saying that "its better to play hotline miami" and it might be true for some, I dont necessarily agree. You see, both games have its pros and cons, hotline miami has better story, more worked on combat, great music and much more. What differs this game is the mechanics, the slow-mo, the gun sounds, the effects. Dont get me wrong, I LOVE hotline miami, played and finished both episodes, but you cannot compare these two entirely, they are not that similar. What I didnt like in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →8.75/10 An indie gem if ever there was one.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Restaurant. Rooftop. Office.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very glitchy and buggy Ui. Game in general is very unpolished and I could not beat it because of technical issues.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this is one of my first top down shooter games, i love it ! the here's what i liked: - light game ( i play on the steam deck so battery life is important) - good visual effects, blood splatter, bullet impact etc. - highly repayable for short sessions what i thought could use improvement: - for some reason, the area around the building or mission is not 100% black, my OLED screen could benefit from that - no running - checking or unchecking (slow motion aim) makes no difference, it always…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been playing the HK Massacre alongside Max Payne and Hotline Miami, and it's the first of the three that I've finished. This shouldn't come as a surprise; punchy gunplay, beautiful graphics, and a great homage to the HK action films of the last century. However, the game has a number of intrinsic issues. As someone who loves games where one can slow down time, I actually played this game barely using that mechanic because the upgrade system is in part dictated by how little you use it,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Hong Kong Massacre, developed and published by Vreski, is a fast-paced top-down shooter that channels the spirit of classic Hong Kong action cinema into a brutal and stylish arcade experience. Built around precision shooting, split-second reactions, and cinematic gunfights, the game delivers an intense blend of strategy and chaos that rewards skill above everything else. Inspired by crime thrillers and heroic bloodshed films from the late twentieth century, it transforms explosive action…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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