Kane and Lynch: Dead Men™

About

In "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men," players step into the violent shoes of two condemned criminals, Kane and Lynch, in a gritty and intense third-person shooter. The pair's desperate escape from justice takes them around the world, with graphic gunplay and chaotic action sequences at every turn. As they fight to survive against countless enemies and overwhelming odds, players will delve into the dark backstory of Kane and Lynch, and confront a variety of morally ambiguous choices.

Genres & Tags

Action

Play Modes

58%

Audience ScoreBased on 925 reviews

story186 positive mentions

gameplay74 negative mentions

Engaging story with dark and gritty themes that keeps players hooked.
Interesting character dynamics between Kane and Lynch, providing memorable interactions.
Varied levels and scenarios, including intense action sequences and unique settings.

Poor AI behavior, leading to frustrating gameplay and unnecessary deaths.
Awful shooting mechanics with inaccurate weapons and a clunky cover system.
Technical issues, including crashes and performance problems on modern systems.

story
557 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
58%
8%
The story of "Kane & Lynch: Dead Men" is a mixed bag, with many reviewers praising its gritty, dark themes and character-driven narrative, which evokes a sense of nostalgia and cinematic quality. However, criticisms abound regarding its rushed pacing, lack of depth, and numerous plot holes, particularly in the latter parts of the game, leading to a generally unsatisfying conclusion. While the characters are often described as compelling anti-heroes, the overall execution of the story leaves much to be desired, making it a polarizing experience for players.
- “The story is well crafted and the characters, while not people you would invite to Christmas dinner, are intense, gritty, and multidimensional.”
- “Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is one of those games that has a story to tell and is heavily inspired by the 90s action movies.”
- “The characters and story are brilliant! The pacing, acting, and overall narrative are captivating, making it feel like a movie.”
- “You feel as though whoever wrote this story had a lot in mind for it, but that in making it a video game, it just got slashed down to a bare, and I mean bare minimum narrative.”
- “There's so little explanation as to who you are, what your backstory is, who 'the 7' (the main antagonists of the game) are, and why any of the events of the game are happening.”
- “The story is bland, the characters feel flat (both visually and story-wise), it's basically just a set of locations with a short briefing before it.”
gameplay
295 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
57%
25%
The gameplay of "Kane & Lynch: Dead Men" is widely criticized for its clunky mechanics, poor shooting accuracy, and frustrating AI, leading to a generally mediocre experience. While some players appreciate the story and atmosphere, many find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in depth, with a cover system that often fails and weapons that feel unsatisfying. Overall, the game is seen as a product of its time, with significant room for improvement in its mechanics and design.
- “Minimalistic cinematics with emphasis on telling the story through gameplay.”
- “In the last chapters, you need to make one choice with consequences, and according to your choice and gameplay, you will have different endings.”
- “The gameplay is actually solid except for maybe a few glitches here and there.”
- “The gameplay is poor and the game doesn't save for some reason.”
- “The gameplay itself was lacking.”
- “The gameplay is repetitive and the weapons are largely ineffective.”
graphics
129 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
52%
21%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they are dated and lack visual flair, especially when compared to contemporary titles from the same era. While some appreciate the graphics as decent for a 2007 release, others criticize them for being bland and prone to glitches. Overall, the consensus suggests that while the graphics may not impress by modern standards, they are acceptable given the game's age and context.
- “The graphics aged gracefully.”
- “Quality voice acting and high fidelity graphics for a 2006 game set this apart from anything else at the time of its release.”
- “The graphics are impressive for a dated title, with solid controls.”
- “Graphics are what they are, not good and with no visual style to make the game stand out.”
- “The graphics are dated even for their time; gameplay mechanics are clunky but playable.”
- “The graphics are poor but the game is 13 years old now, so that is acceptable to me and should not be taken as a flaw.”
music
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
46%
7%
The music in the game, primarily composed by Jesper Kyd, receives mixed reviews, with many praising its unique and engaging soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere and storytelling. While some players find the music to be a standout feature that elevates key moments, others criticize it as bland or lacking in certain scenes. Overall, the soundtrack is often highlighted as a significant strength, contributing to the game's gritty and immersive experience.
- “The reason I decided to excavate this prehistoric fossil that I don't even remember how long it has been in my Steam library is that I recently discovered and promptly fell in love with the soundtrack.”
- “Jesper Kyd has created a unique soundtrack that lends itself perfectly to this game.”
- “The soundtrack is really good to listen to with its dark ambient music and energetic beats to really put you in the mood and feel like a badass.”
- “Even the soundtrack is bland, despite the fact that Jesper Kyd worked on it (the composer for Assassin's Creed 2).”
- “Shooting mechanics are trash, AI is stupid, voice acting is god awful, music is garbage.”
- “Even the music (performed by Jesper Kyd, if that rings any bells) isn't good and thrilling anymore.”
stability
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
97%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of glitches, bugs, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. Players often face issues such as freezing, poor AI behavior, and inconsistent shooting mechanics, leading to a frustrating experience. While some users managed to troubleshoot and find temporary fixes, the overall consensus is that the game is a buggy mess, particularly on PC, making it difficult to recommend.
- “My specs are weak, but it still runs great.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any crashes or glitches.”
- “I've experienced consistent performance, even during intense gameplay.”
- “Horrible shooting mechanics, buggy as hell gameplay.”
- “The game is full of horrible glitches, enemies that bounce around and bug out, shooting through walls and cover.”
- “It's a broken, messy, buggy game that throws out its own rules when it feels like it and gives you a distinct disadvantage when pairing you with terrible AI.”
humor
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding the over-the-top dialogue and interactions between the characters Kane and Lynch to be both hilarious and charming. While some moments, like the absurdity of a nightclub shootout and the intentionally bad voice acting, provide genuine laughs, the humor can also stem from the game's flaws, leading to a "so bad it's funny" experience. However, the repetitive nature of the dialogue and the overall chaotic narrative may wear thin for some players.
- “Kane and Lynch as characters are interesting, and the over-the-top, expletive-laden dialogue between the two can be hilarious and charming.”
- “There's a few hilarious moments (especially the Japanese nightclub where people are still dancing when there's a shootout), but the shooting mechanics are more or less accurate.”
- “The funny dialogue and cut scenes are epic.”
optimization
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
42%
46%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting significant stuttering and performance issues, particularly on newer operating systems. Many users have noted the need for various workarounds, such as disabling certain devices and applying patches, to achieve a playable experience. Overall, the game is considered poorly optimized, especially as a console port, leading to frustration among players despite some potential for smooth performance on older PCs.
- “Controls seem to be optimized for gamepad.”
- “When it comes to performance, this game can run well on pretty much any PC, which is nice especially if you have an older PC like me and can't run games too well.”
- “Updating should resolve any performance issues.”
- “To run properly, the game needs a patch to disable GFWL, then also needs all HID devices of your PC to be disabled to fix stuttering, while also requiring a memory patch to avoid many crashes and manual anti-aliasing to improve the otherwise terribly jagged edges.”
- “You are lucky if you can make this game run without stutters and other performance problems.”
- “Not really playable because of god awful horrible stuttering and frame skipping.”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
50%
14%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its intense, gritty, and cinematic qualities, effectively immersing players in a dark criminal underworld filled with flawed characters and engaging storytelling. While the voice acting and soundtrack contribute significantly to this atmosphere, some reviews note that repetitive audio and poor gameplay mechanics detract from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, the game's unique settings and chaotic moments create a memorable and varied atmosphere that resonates with fans of crime and revenge narratives.
- “The atmosphere and some of the mechanical designs are really interesting.”
- “I was impressed by how they managed to create such a violent and depressing atmosphere in a story about characters who are downright insane in a disturbingly twisted way.”
- “The gritty criminal underworld atmosphere, the diverse characters with layers and flaws, and the pursuit of vengeance make for a great tale.”
- “It's a shame because it has a great story, characters, voice actors, sound, atmosphere, etc., but unfortunately falls flat on its actual gameplay.”
- “There is no really good audio or sound effects, taking away most of the atmosphere.”
- “There is no real hero; the atmosphere is far bleaker, not pretending to say you should root for Kane - he is a bad, bad person.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
70%
Reviews highlight that the grinding in the game is excessively tedious, often requiring significant time investment and patience. Players describe the mechanics as cumbersome and the gameplay as a slog, detracting from the overall enjoyment despite some challenging elements. Mastery of the tedious aspects may lead to a rewarding experience, but many find it frustratingly repetitive.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Cumbersome mechanics, horrible shooting, plain graphics and more make it rather tedious.”
- “The gameplay is an absolute slog of tedious shooting galleries.”
- “Had playing the actual game not been so tedious, I'd agree that this is an underrated title.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
11%
67%
Overall, the game's replayability is considered very low, with players noting a lack of secrets, exploration, and engaging mechanics. While cooperative play offers some replay value, it diminishes quickly after initial runs, and the two available endings are deemed unsatisfying. Many reviewers suggest that the game is only worth a brief experience, primarily for those new to the genre.
- “While it's okay for a single-player game, I think they had a bigger focus on multiplayer for its replayability.”
- “The only pluses are that the main protagonists are very memorable, and replayability exists through co-op gameplay.”
- “There's no secrets to find, no environments meant to be explored, no interesting combat mechanics, no interesting dialogue or deep characters, no replay value and no reason to play this aside from if you just want to spray bullets at enemies for a few hours.”
- “Very little replayability aside from playing in higher difficulty and seeing the two different endings which are both bad and anticlimactic.”
- “It only took me about 5 hours to beat, and the replay value is almost nonexistent, which sucks.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of "Kane & Lynch: Dead Men" is polarizing; while the game attempts to create a psychological drama with complex characters, it ultimately falls short due to poor plotting and character development. Players may feel a connection to the flawed protagonists, evoking a desire for their redemption, but the lack of satisfying resolution and emotional engagement leaves many feeling unfulfilled. Overall, the game presents a mix of strong emotional elements and frustrating execution, resulting in a conflicted experience.
- “The story follows a psychological drama emotional vibe, with strong elements that put the player under stress as it destroys the characters' lives. While it may not excel in character development, it satisfies with individual personalities that create a credible duo, avoiding the glamorization of their lifestyle.”
- “The personalities are so well fleshed out that you get a great sense of how emotionally stable each character would be given the situation.”
- “Kane and Lynch are possibly the most abhorrent, frustrating, aggressive, and irresponsible protagonists in a game, yet I wanted them to succeed. I pushed for them to be better people, and that's what emotionally affects you.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Character development in the game is largely criticized, with reviewers noting poor plotting and a lack of emotional engagement. While the characters possess distinct personalities that contribute to the narrative, the overall development fails to captivate players, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction with their journeys.
- “The story follows a psychological drama with an emotional vibe, featuring strong elements that put the player under stress as it explores the characters' lives. While it may not fully engage with character development, it does satisfy with the individual personalities of each character, creating a credible duo that is neither idealized nor glamorized, which is a refreshing change from many games and movies.”
- “So - lousy plotting, poor story and character development; the game misses its limited emotional targets, average gameplay.”
- “The story follows a psychological drama emotional vibe, and while it has certain strong elements that could stress the player, it fails to engage with character development. However, it does provide individual personalities that create a credible duo, which are not precisely role models and do not glamorize the protagonist's lifestyle, unlike many games or movies.”
- “Trash character development, trash graphics, trash dialogue, trash gameplay, and trash all over the maps.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game sparked controversy due to perceived conflicts of interest, particularly highlighted by a negative review that led to the firing of a reviewer at GameSpot, despite the site being heavily advertised with Kane and Lynch promotions.
- “This game caused a bit of controversy when it was released; a guy at GameSpot was fired after giving it a negative review, even though the entire website was plastered with Kane and Lynch ads.”