Think Hotline Miami meets John Wick, but with anthropomorphic animals, and that's pretty much Kusan: City of Wolves in a nutshell. This hardcore top-down shooter from CIRCLEfromDOT and PQube is all about one-hit kills.
Kusan: City of Wolves is a hardcore, uncompromising top-down shooter set in Kusan, a neon-drenched urban jungle consumed by violence and corruption. Players take on the role of Jin, a former soldier turned contract killer. Jin becomes embroiled in a conspiracy and must protect Haru, a girl with immense but uncontrollable powers. In order to save her, Jin must confront his past and face the betrayal of a commander he once trusted. The story is presented in the style of a dark graphic novel, unfolding through animated comic panels. The characters in the game world are depicted as anthropomorphic animals.
Kusan: City of Wolves © CIRCLEfromDOT and PQube
In terms of gameplay, the mechanics are strongly reminiscent of Hotline Miami. From a top-down perspective, players brutally fight their way through 54 hand-crafted levels, occasionally breaking up the footwork with vehicle combat. Nevertheless, the combat is uncompromising. Even a single hit from an enemy results in instant screen death. If the player dies, the entire section must be restarted from the beginning, but in the process, they get to know the level better and hopefully make further progress. The gameplay is presented in a detailed, stylish and high-quality pixel art style. The whole experience is accompanied by a bass-heavy soundtrack by hip-hop artist Loptimist.
Kusan: City of Wolves © CIRCLEfromDOT and PQube
It's all about perfecting gunplay, melee combat, dodging, parrying (important) and movement in the combat arenas, ideally all in one fluid motion. The developers accurately frame these encounters as skill-based puzzles, complete with an rank system for perfectionists. However, due to the sheer number of effects and enemies, it can sometimes be difficult to quickly grasp what is happening. During combat, players collect Bolts, which they can use to upgrade the War Hand (a cybernetic prosthesis), unlock firearms and blades, and customise their loadout to suit their playstyle.
As well as general skill upgrades, there are weapon upgrades (e.g. shotgun, pistol, crossbow and revolver) that must be placed in the limited inventory space, which can be cumbersome at times. But be warned: there are no adjustable difficulty levels or beginner aids, which can quickly lead to frustration, especially since the level of difficulty increases at times. Players need to be able to tolerate some frustration, even during boss fights. In terms of playstyle, players can choose between 'Stylish', which enables smoother attack chains, and 'Free Aiming', which gives players more control over the direction of their attacks - there is also a slider for adjusting the Target Guidance Range.
Kusan: City of Wolves © CIRCLEfromDOT and PQube
Kusan: City of Wolves was developed by CIRCLEfromDOT. This small indie studio from South Korea was founded in 2018. The game is published by PQube, which is based in Letchworth Garden City in the UK. PQube is known for Potion Permit, Discounty, Adorable Adventures and Tormented Souls, as well as new projects including Sniper Dan and They Are Here: Alien Abduction Horror, Aggelos 2, K-pop Idol Stories: Road to Debut, The Detectorist Guild and Spyder: Agent 8.
Kusan: City of Wolves was released on 30 July 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Switch, and Xbox Series X|S. It costs €14.99.
Kusan: City of Wolves is a truly challenging hardcore top-down shooter with a great combat flow once it gets going.
