Midnight Fight Express is comparable to the films Adrenaline and  John Wick, as well as the crazy games Sifu and Hotline Miami. With  "Adrenaline"  - because of the frantic dynamics and madness on the screen. With  "John Wick"  - because of how famously the hero cracks down on everyone, using his arms, legs, melee weapons and firearms. Well, with  Hotline Miami and  Sifu  - because of the hardcore gameplay. Although in terms of the complexity of the battles and sophistication, the Midnight Fight Express mechanic is still inferior to them.  

The authors are not in vain talking about the cinematography of the plot and the production as a whole. And it was not in vain that I remembered the dulogy with Jason Statham. The protagonist of the game is a young man named Malaya. He sits under interrogation and recalls how and why he smashed the bandits in his hometown. But the story only at first seems like a classic action movie about criminal showdowns.

Our hero really does not remember anything about himself. Gradually it turns out that he, too, was related to the bandits who unleashed a war in the city, and that he had a child. But who is this child, where is he, what happened? Much helps to remember the talking drone that accompanies Maly. But he is clearly not telling the whole truth. In general, the story can be described in three words - dynamic, crazy and intriguing.

Why crazy? As you progress through the story (which is 40 levels!) you have to fight not only with ordinary criminals and special forces. Maly is also opposed by cannibal pirates, the Russian mafia, who organize fistfights for the right to enter the restaurant, kamikaze cultists, rat-catchers, and even ... game developers who fight with pillows. Bosses are appropriate - for example, a flamethrower cook and a part-time cannibal.

All this unfolds at top speed, as if Small, like the hero of Statham , is afraid to stop and die. However, it is possible to die. Missions are not just dynamic - many of them can be called extreme.

Either we fight on the roof of a rushing train (and even a helicopter is chasing us!), then right during the battle we dodge grenades or falling building boxes, then we fight bandits on the rails, trying not to get under trains rushing from different directions. And we also participate in a motorcycle chase, where you need to shoot at the pursuers and dodge cars.

Comparisons with the hero of Keanu Reeves (Keanu Reeves) are also not accidental. The protagonist of Midnight Fight Express is exactly the same skillful and relentless killer, at the sight of which the enemies scream in fright. He is also capable of killing in different ways - even with a shot from a pistol, even with a bat, even with a knife, even with a pencil. The character can pick up and use or kick at the enemy almost any object of the environment - frying pans, construction rollers, bottles or chairs.

Plus, there are a lot of hand-to-hand combat techniques in the arsenal - Malay can parry and effectively counterattack, grab and throw opponents, finish off, knock down, and so on. As a result, the average fight looks something like this. The hero quickly parries the attack of the first one, after a couple of blows he stuns and finishes him off. He presses the second one against the wall and smashes the poor fellow's head against it, picks up the pistol that fell out of his hands, turns around and discharges the clip into the third. And then he throws a weapon at the head of the fourth.

And when reinforcements appear from the doors, Malay throws a chair or a barrel at him, grabs a plunger, a brick, a machete - whatever comes to hand, breaks into the crowd and repeats the exercises until the last body settles on the floor in a pool of blood. Well, why don't you have another scene from  John Wick?

It becomes even more interesting when the opportunity opens up to use a gun with a rope to pull up, bind, disarm opponents, or even shock villains. Also, over time, a second weapon appears, a revolver with special bullets: some allow you to shock again, others - to throw enemies back or even temporarily lure them to their side.

All this should be used because most opponents are also good and refuse to play the role of extras - they block, counterattack, knock down, throw environmental objects at the hero and are generally able to lay him down with a couple of blows. Therefore, after completing the level, having received a skill point, it is better to immediately invest it in a new technique. Moreover, the most advanced skills will become available only after we complete a certain number of missions.

Of course, such a leveling system looks more standard than what we saw in the same Sifu . In addition, some skills in  Midnight Fight Express are actually duplicates of each other, while others seem to be more in demand. For example, in the later stages, when it gets really hot, in many fights I survived only thanks to a shot from the second weapon with a hypnotic bullet, which temporarily lured one of the opponents to my side.

I didn’t really understand why the focusing mechanics are needed - few techniques use it, and I almost didn’t use the ability to use it to inspect the environment and enemies (at the same time, time slows down slightly). However, at a high level of difficulty (there is also a realistic one, where health does not regenerate), the focusing possibilities are already limited.

You can, of course, grumble about all this. Or remember that in  Hotline Miami they killed most often with one hit, and in  Sifu, after each death and rebirth, the character grew old. Midnight Fight Express , with its traditional checkpoint system and more "forgiving" enemies, looks simpler.

On the other hand, for many it is even good. In addition, there are enough situations in  Midnight Fight Express where no hypnotic bullet and frequent saves will help - in the same chases, everything is decided by the reaction.

So, on a swing, the game goes on. It happens that you famously crack down on enemies, smiling and getting high from the madness that is happening. Blow them with pillows or smash the heads of cannibal pirates on the railing in the form of a banana (skins are unlocked by re-passing levels and completing challenges).

And it happens that you freak out, trying for the tenth time to go through a particularly difficult section. Sometimes it even seems that the authors go too far. I remember the situation when several mini-bosses were lowered onto Maly in a row, and then they were forced to fight with the crowd, dodging bikers on motorcycles. But when you still find a way to defeat them, and even improve your rating in comparison with other players, you realize that you are a really cool guy.

Midnight Fight Express  is one of the most stylish, driving, crazy, diverse and hardcore action crazy games of recent times. He may be missing some things, but my nit-picking from the "There is no limit to perfection" series will hardly deprive you of the pleasure of passing. And the fact that the game in some places is a little easier and more comfortable than Hotline Miami and  Sifu is even good for many. And there's plenty of hardcore too.

Pros: crazy plot in the spirit of "Adrenaline" ; hurricane and rather hardcore battles, allowing the use of melee and firearms, as well as environmental items; various missions; rich character customization system; stylish graphics; driving soundtrack.

Cons: some skills are noticeably more important than others, and some mechanics seem almost useless.