Image: ChillouT Studio & Stellar Stag

I'm not sure what cosmic alignment happened in order to spawn two furry Hotline Miami-likes in such close proximity, but hot on the cyberpunk heels (and tail) of Kusan: City of Wolves comes Scarecrow: 90s Crime Story, out today. Despite the cartoon animal-folk, there are no punches pulled here, and compared to its recent rival, this one seems a significantly grimier, grittier tale. Narrative first and combat second, telling the story of a vulpine gunman involved in a war between rival gangs in a poor, post-Soviet-collapse Russian town.

Slavic crime stories are seldom cheerful at the best of times, and based on what I've seen of the demo (now sadly unavailable), this one is particularly grimy. A story about violence, desperation, and pointless death woven into the lives of regular people just trying to make ends meet. The protagonist, Robert, might be a cold-blooded killer, but he's bringing money back to his elderly mother and trying to maintain a relationship with his girlfriend.

While I've yet to play the full game, the majority of the demo was living his daily life, meeting the people in town, and feeling that creeping, building tension leading to the next battle, with there only being around ten minutes of fighting after nearly half an hour of walking and talking. Classic crime drama stuff - friends hanging out and bullshitting, with rumors of shifting power on the wind.

The Hotline Miami inspirations run deeper than the mechanics and visual style. There's also a driving, melodic synth soundtrack here. Not quite as memorable as its inspirations, but certainly not shabby. The combat is also interestingly a bit more forgiving than its inspirations, with a fairly generous health bar allowing for a bit of attrition and some mistakes. Plus, difficulty settings, if you're here for the story, or want something a bit spicier combat-wise.

One thing that does concern me is the translation, at least judging by the demo. I'm not sure whether it's intentionally trying to sound like it's only halfway translated from Russian, but there's certainly some weird phrasing going on here, with the game flashing up 'GO AWAY' when you complete a room during one of the combat sections. While the phrasing in Kusan (originally in Korean) could be a bit stiff, this is downright wonky.

Scarecrow: 90s Crime Story is out now for £9.69/$12, with a 20% launch discount until November 26th. It is also available in a whole bunch of discount bundles with other interesting indies, including the furry prison-break drama Back to the Dawn. Very fitting.