Mother Russia Bleeds Is Hotline Miami Beats Final Fight

I'm not sure if Mother Russia Bleeds will set the world on fire, but it sure looks cool. It's a beat-'em-up that I can verify with utmost certainty contains Russia and sloshing, spattering gallons of blood. Maybe there are mothers as well, but I can't say for sure just yet. What I do know is that this one looks stylish as all get-out and violent as all something else, because they already used up every last drop of get-out on the style. The Hotline Miami influence is pretty overt, what with all the drug usage, psychedelic imagery, and adoration of the color pink. Impressive (and frighteningly violent) trailer below.

The aesthetic and musical stylings definitely have Hotline Miami's DNA coursing through their veins, but the game itself is an entirely different animal, a modern take on the likes of Final Fight and Streets of Rage.

"Mother Russia Bleeds is an unrelenting, ultra-violent Beat ‘Em Up, brimming with hard-hitting action and game altering psychedelic twists. The game will be playable by up to 4 players.Feelings of anxiety and unease are evoked by a soundscape that dynamically adjusts to match the gameplay, further immersing the player in the final death throes of the USSR."

"Set in an alternate 1980s USSR, the story focuses on an imprisoned antihero with a crippling drug addiction as he breaks free and barrels down a journey of hate-filled vengeance."

Developer The Cartel's goal is to breathe life back into old-school beat-'em-ups, focusing on their flair for surprises and amping up the violence to a degree more befitting of our hardened modern minds.

They certainly seem to be on the right track, at least. It'll be interesting to see if there's a deeper point to all the drugs and ultra-murder, but I doubt we'll be able to tell that until we can play the full game. The setting seems ripe for historical intrigue, though, so we shall see.

Mother Russia Bleeds will be out sometime next year. Will your wallet bleed for it?