Story and setting: Osaka, yakuza, VHS
You play a detective in early-1990s Osaka, working through a yakuza gang across nightclubs, back streets, apartments and warehouses. One ending, no dialogue choices.
COP BASTARD is set in early-1990s Japan, in Osaka, and it is not subtle about its references: 1990s crime films, John Woo action choreography, and the look of a VHS tape that has been rented too many times.
The premise
You play a detective — the developers describe him as tough and cynical — working through a yakuza gang that has taken over the city's nightlife. The game's own summary of the dynamic is the best line in its marketing: the gangsters shoot on sight, and the detective shoots on suspicion. Nobody in this story is investigating anything.
The setting is the mechanic
| Element | How it shows up in play |
|---|---|
| Osaka nightlife | Neon nightclub floors, short sightlines, hard coloured light |
| Back streets | Sodium lamps, Japanese signage, long lanes for the handgun |
| Apartment interiors | Tight rooms and breakable paintings |
| Industrial waterfront | Warehouse floors that open up the range |
| VHS tape look | Tape grain and a filter over everything, on purpose |
Nothing in the game asks you to be a good cop. The tone is closer to a pulp crime paperback than to a police procedural: the city is corrupt, the protagonist is worse, and the only moral position available is style.
Influences the developers name
The team has been open about the film side of it — 1990s Hong Kong action, the deadpan violent-cop pictures of the era — and the game wears that on its sleeve: executions, slow motion, and a score counter that rewards overkill. If you have seen the films, the game reads as a tribute rather than a pastiche.
What the story is not
It is not a branching narrative, there are no dialogue choices, and no endings to compare. The campaign is a straight line through the city. This site has no "all endings" page for that reason — there is one ending, and its achievement is called The show is over.
Why the VHS framing works
The filter is not nostalgia for its own sake. A tape look flattens the image, hides detail, and makes every room feel like found footage — which is exactly the right grammar for a game about a cop who is not filing reports. The demo notes offered players the option to turn post-processing off and recommended keeping it, which is as close as the developers come to saying the look is the game.
Checked 2026-10-31 against the Steam store description and the official launch announcement.
