Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is a third-person shooter from 2010, developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It follows the first game, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The story centers on criminals Adam "Kane" Marcus and James Seth Lynch—with Lynch now the primary playable character—who meet up in Shanghai for an arms deal, planning to split the proceeds and retire. The deal goes sour, and the pair end up fighting for their lives as the entire Shanghai underworld turns against them.

The game was announced in November 2009. Its visual style was inspired by documentary films, user-generated content, and the look of camcorder footage, with hand-held cinematography influencing the in-game camera work. Cutscenes use unprofessional editing, jarring jump-cuts, and fast cutting to appear amateurish. The camera sometimes falls when the player dies or during certain cutscenes, and some violence and nudity are intentionally pixelated. The music and visuals reflect on the game’s violence and the psychology of its characters, using survival and psychological thriller techniques to make players feel the same effects as the characters. The team aimed for a postmodernist commentary on commonplace video-game violence, seeking an uncomfortable, tiresome, and oppressive atmosphere that explores themes of violence, urban isolation, and loneliness. This experimental approach faced pushback during development but was kept through to release.

Critics gave the game mixed reviews. They faulted the overuse of shaky cam (which caused discomfort and nausea in some), controls, gunplay, excessive violence, glitches, short length, and level design. Praise went to the voice-acting, music, intensity, general visual aesthetics, and graphics, with some critics appreciating its unconventional approach to the genre. A single-player and multiplayer demo launched on PlayStation Network on July 21, 2010, Xbox Live Marketplace on July 26, 2010, and Steam on July 27, 2010. The game can also be purchased from the Xbox digital store and played on Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles through backward compatibility.

In campaign mode, players control Lynch, with Kane as backup (except in the final mission, where they control Kane). Online co-op lets a second player take Kane.