[Fanbyte] Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days’ is a Brutal, Visionary Masterpiece

[Jawmuncher]

Source: https://www.fanbyte.com/features/kane-lynch-2-dog-days-is-a-brutal-visionary-masterpiece/

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On August 17th, 2010, Square Enix and IO Interactive released cover-based third person shooter Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Critical reception was initially mixed and the game was quickly forgotten, but in the intervening years critics have gone back to explore its tones, its visuals, its politics and its settings, reevaluating it as a cult classic. In retrospect, its aesthetics, urban spaces, and vision of video game violence still differentiate Kane & Lynch 2 from most video games in its genre.

No More Heroes
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men and Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days came out in a period when shooters, and video games in general, began to question the violence that had come to define them. BioShock, Nier, Hotline Miami, The Last of Us, Spec Ops: The Line and, later, Superhot all interrogated the role of violence in games in difference ways. "In a way, the characters and their actions represented the dark side of the players," Kane & Lynch 2's art director Rasmus Poulsen tells me via email. "What if the gamer really just wants to get perfect headshots and kill and destroy, and we remove the veneer of justice and heroism that games normally use as a vehicle to give players this fantasy?"

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I'm always a big fan of when more people go back to Kane & Lynch 2 with a new set of expectations for it. Despite its reception at launch, K&L 2 has sat with me as one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had thanks to its unique aesthetic & tone and how it treats the player playing the game.

In some ways it's the closest experience I could say to something like say Uncut Gems, where the audience/player are just dragged into all these events because they're just a bystander in everything that his happening and the experience isn't actually made for them to come out with any insight. It's just wants you as a witness to terrible people and to remind you how little power you have in the grand scope of things.

It's a shame that the IP is stuck with Square-Enix (Rather than going back to IO like Hitman) as I don't expect they'll do anything with it ever again. But perhaps that's fitting for this kind of experience.

 

[Neophy]

Yes! one of the most fun i had in co op, i loved at the time, i loved again when i played recently, lots of fun

 

[blitzblake]

Not the right game but I had to.

 

[Deleted member 76797]

It is a really unique tone for a videogame. It tooks risks that didn't pay off unfortunately.

 

[More_Badass]

Yes, there's nothing else like it in the medium. Gameplay-wise, it's formulaic but how it contextualizes those mechanics, the aesthetic and crime storytelling, is a seedy grimy one-of-a-kind

 

[chandoog]

Brutal ? Yes.
Visionary ? Sure .. they certainly had a vision.
Masterpiece ? fuck no.

 

[Scottoest]

All I think of when I think of Kane & Lynch, is Gerstmann-gate.

 

[Brass Body Dave]

Goddamn right, and they didn't shoehorn horseshit in there like collectibles and no reason to explore off the beaten path. Goddamn game had focus and vision, and it was better for it.

 

[Pyro]

Idk about that, but it's weird how this game is kinda having a reexamination? Jacob Geller did a great video about it and Max Payne 3 recently and now this.

As for the actual game I beat it a couple months ago for the second time, the first being when it came out in 2010 and while I enjoyed its aesthetic largely by approaching it like a tone piece, it's nothing more beyond a blurry, VHS filtered screed of violence.

That's cool on it's own and I enjoyed the game enough to finish it and there's nothing inherently wrong with that, but I don't think that's worth re-examination.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Your was all right, and it nailed the aesthetic it was going for, from the visuals, camera movement, the frame rate (looked like digital camera footage), the audio (all diegetic sound/music, appropriately loud gun sounds), and art design. Check out the different main menus to see what I mean

and the multiplayer was novel—wish there were more action games with betrayal-focused multi modes

 

[Brass Body Dave]

and the multiplayer was novel—wish there were more action games with betrayal-focused multi modes

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Yes!

 

[Deleted member 16876]

Damn straight it is.

I miss these gritty street criminal games we used to get years ago. They were really cool.

Manhunt, Kane and Lynch, GTA3, Kingpin, Urban Reigns etc etc

 

[Dphex]

The game is a throwback to the days of gritty games, where games had some kind of anarchic attitude. loved it at the time, just like Manhunt.

 

[SixelAlexiS]

It's a short and mediocre game with fantastic visuals.

 

[Kinthey]

I wouldn't mind a modern game trying for the viral video graphics style again. It was surprisingly effective

 

[Hugare]

I much preffer the first game as a game, honestly

I had so much fun with K&L. Story went places that I wasnt expecting.

Mechanically it's as safe as it could get, but the story concept and execution I really dig it

K&L 2 campaign/story wasnt as good, but I loved the presentation

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

I just played this not too long ago. The visual style is unique and really cool in some places. Some levels reminded me of Spec Ops The Line in how they have this really oppressive, doomy atmosphere like you're descending into hell.

I'd stop way short of calling it a masterpiece though.

 

[EntelechyFuff]

Love this game is getting more attention.

My brother and I played through the campaign last year and I saw for myself how in a league of its own this game is.

I've always appreciated "dirty" games though--was a huge Drakengard advocate back when it was the only major Yoko Taro release out there.

 

[Strat]

It was ok. I bought it, carefully unsealed it, played through the co-op with my friend, then resealed it and returned it. That's what I remember about it. That and the ending (?) where there's a plane and a bunch of dogs or some shit? Also, running from every possible encounter because we wanted the game to end.

 

[shoptroll]

I really wish I remember which podcast host used to have a solid appreciation for how the aesthetic and the awfulness of the characters worked well in concert. I want to say it was Rob Zacny but I really can't recall completely.

 

[julia crawford]

I loved this game. It was so much fun. It was such a strong thing from one end to the other.

 

[MythicReclaimer]

Time for a replay.

 

[Deleted member 16876]

This fan made trailer is great.

 

[My Blue Heaven]

If their intention was to create a truly unpleasant game then they totally succeeded. Manhunt has similar vibes as someone else pointed out.

I think there's something to be said for a game that makes you feel disgusted for your participation in its violence.

 

[LordBaztion]

I enjoyed the game because of how different it is but love the hyperbole of calling it masterpiece

 

[Zor]

I'm all for this game getting a reappraisal as I always loved it. Not perfect, but fuck me did I enjoy it.

 

[Emergency & I]

Masterpiece is a bit much but it's an evocative game for sure. I played it back in 2010-11 or so and probably got it for $5. The style, execution and overall atmosphere stuck with me and it's a very focused title too.

Worth tracking down.

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

Fuck yes it is!

That game fucking rules. The most Suda51 game I've ever played haha

 

[SonovaBeach]

I am soooo happy not to be alone. Kane & Lynch 2, Max Payne 3 and Spec Ops are the three most visceral, intense and sometimes disgusting games I've ever played. What a time it was to be a TPS fan.

 

[IDreamOfHime]

I loved it's style and what it was going for, but it was garbage to play and brings up some bad feeling.

 

[liquidmetal14]

Enjoyable co op, best it back in the day with a friend. Visually I accept it despite not liking the style at first. Brutal at times, yes.

 

[Dancrane212]

I just played this whole following along with the Something Rotten podcast. It certainly is an interesting game and worth playing for its short runtime to see it through.

Also worth mentioning:

 

[HardTimesFamilyPride]

I'll always appreciate it as a hyper-violent tone piece. I played it all the way through in multiplayer on every difficulty, I believe, way back when it released. Just nails what it's going for on an artistic level.

 

[Dark Ninja]

I love these games along with Amy of Two. Co-Op is fantastic. Like how they did the naked level that was actually clever and hilarious.

 

[BBboy20]

There was a multiplayer scene that I was a part of for a short while (way more so than in 1's). Always wondering who will be the person to betray all or screw up the job. Wish it had dedicated servers; the scene could have lasted a bit longer.

 

[MythicReclaimer]

Damn, just replayed a bit of this...while I would want the visual style to stay the same I can't help but think how awesome this game would be in Massive's/The Division's Snowdrop engine with the destruction and whatnot and being a cover shooter in some ways.

 

[KDC720]

K&L 2 is a weird one because from a gameplay perspective it's actually way more simple and stripped back from the first game, it's a very basic third person cover shooter.

That being said, I think it absolutely nails what it's going for stylistically, thematically, and narratively, it pretty much carries the game. It's this nasty piece of work and you're either going to appreciate that or not.

 

[MadMod]

Co-op it with a friend. It's like if Max Payne 3 was developed as a coop game within 6 months haha.

 

[EntelechyFuff]

One thing that might go into too much a metacommentary level, but I think about a lot with regards to K&L 2, is how the circumstances surrounding the game were kind specious too.

The first game was meant to be the start of a genre-defining signature TPS series, and is now almost known more for the ratings controversy than anything it actually pulled off as a game.

K&L2 almost feels aware of that legacy. It's as if the game itself is amazed that the characters are even still alive, and and has zero optimism they will live to see another game. It primarily concerns itself with how these characters will eventually meet an inevitable and soon-to-come demise.

 

[Jawmuncher]

I just played this whole following along with the Something Rotten podcast. It certainly is an interesting game and worth playing for its short runtime to see it through.

Also worth mentioning:

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This is a really good video, just finished watching it.

 

[Deleted member 79058]

Good reading. Made me wanna play the game. I'll play the first one first though.

 

[janusff]

I remember not wanting to try this game out because that character looks like Waingro from Heat lol