Sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who truly loves Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. Sure, the old third-person shooter isn’t exactly the most fun to play, but that’s totally the point.
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It’s the bloody swan song of two disgusting men, presented entirely through the low-resolution lens of a handheld camcorder that leaves you intentionally disoriented as you navigate Shanghai’s towering concrete skyscrapers. The game does everything it can to overwhelm you, with its fragmented plot told almost entirely in a language you can’t even understand.
The whole experience is about being as miserable as possible, and that’s exactly what makes it so alluring. Like a grimy slasher film, you just can’t look away. In my eyes, there has never been an experience like this. That is until now.
Pure rage
When an ad for Better than dead I came across my Instagram feed, I immediately knew it was exactly what I was looking for. The camcorder perspective is the most obvious similarity, although unlike Kane and Lynch 2, the camera in Better than dead is owned by the protagonist, so everything takes place in the first person.
The storytelling is just as raw. The game opens with a visual of a bright blue sky, distorted by the fisheye lens and film grain effects. This serene scene is nothing other than a clever visual trick, a poster plastered on the wall of the cell where our young protagonist is locked up.
You look around to find a blood-covered mattress, gross remains of thrown food, a dirty squat toilet, and an attractive side table bathed in the light of a small lamp.
On it, you find a gun, accompanied by an unknown message in Chinese and a drawing of a bird fleeing a cage. You don’t need a translation to know what’s at stake: something horrible is happening here, and this weapon is your only way to escape.
From there, your rampage begins, sprinting through the halls of what turns out to be a dodgy porn studio, gunning down triad members before finally bursting into the street.
After that, each level requires you to infiltrate other triad-affiliated locations, like seedy restaurants or sneaky alleyways, to take out every gang member in sight. It’s almost like first person Hotline Miamiwith dense layouts and tricky enemy placements that require at least a few attempts to learn the ropes, and an emphasis on speed and brutality.
You have a nifty slide that helps you dodge incoming shots and provides some bullet time, which is essential for success when you die in just two hits.
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However, the shooting game isn’t exactly simple. Although our protagonist is fueled by pure rage, she is still untrained in the use of firearms, with wobbling hands that make hitting the target difficult. Luckily, ammo is unlimited, so it’s best to throw an entire magazine in the general direction of enemies.
How frustrating can it be? Incredibly, but that only increases the satisfaction of having pulled off the perfect massacre. Add to that the fact that the game isn’t afraid to tackle some pretty dark topics, and I feel the same rush that endeared me so much. Kane and Lynch 2.
I have no complaints about the presentation either. If you can look past the rudimentary menu UI, the game’s complete lack of on-screen icons gives the action a cinematic, realistic feel. The powerful camcorder effects and wise decision to pixelate character faces (facial animation is usually a sticking point for low-budget games) do a great job of smoothing out the visuals. Squint, and you might even mistake what’s on screen for real video footage.
Better than dead | Launch Trailer | Available now in Early Access on Steam – YouTube 
Look on it
The sound design is also impeccable. The shots are meaty and enemies scream in pain when shot, often falling to the ground and twitching a bit before you finish them off. Considering this all comes from a solo developer and only costs $14.99 / £13.75 / AU$20.95, that’s a pretty impressive achievement.
Better than dead is currently in Early Access via Steam and receives frequent updates. There are only a handful of levels now, but in the time I’ve owned the game, the developer has already added the start of a hub world with a handy training range and is constantly adjusting things based on player feedback.
Kayne and Lynch 2 fans (I know there are potentially dozens of us), it’s one to watch.
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