Hotline Miami/Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
Top-down Murder Simulation
1 Player
System: PC
Developer: Dennaton Games
Year of Release: 2012/2015
Beaten: March 15th, 2015
I suppose this game warrants a bit of a warning. While this game speaks to me in ways others games can't, I'm sure the message it's screaming at others is quite the opposite. This is a brutally violent game, it has insane characters committing deranged acts and the entire point of the game is to rapidly and dementedly kill as many people as you can. Needless to say, Hotline Miami is a perfect game.
Oh, also the hover text has been replaced with links to some of my favorite songs from these games, so enjoy!
I hesitate to call anything "perfect" as nothing can truly attain that status, but for what Hotline Miami sets out to do it is simply perfection. The game consists of you running around as a man named Jacket in a top down environment as you run through killing the opposition, you usually start with your bare hands, but you can steal enemy equipment and other weapons strewn about the level, even doors are weaponized as you can kick them into enemies to daze them momentarily. The most interesting mechanic by far is the mask system. As you play you slowly unlock more unique masks, each of these provides a power. Things like increased movement speed, better efficiency with certain weapons, making door hits lethal and all sorts of other game changers are available.
This is one of the few times I think this is an appropriate decision, but honestly the true star of the show here is the music. Yes, the gameplay itself is absolutely superb, but what truly ties this game together is one of the greatest soundtracks I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Seriously, I listen to this soundtrack almost daily just walking around or while riding the bus. Every song fits the tone of the scene perfectly, when the game wants you to be pumped up and full of adrenaline the music is there to push you towards that. When the player should feel uncomfortable the music takes on a strange unnatural sound that amplifies the feeling ten fold. If there is one aspect of the game anyone can appreciate, it's the music, search youtube for some of the songs, you will not regret it.
Aural sensations aside, the level design is so well thought out and shows just how much care and love was put into the game. You can rack up a better score (which leads to new weapon and mask unlocks) by chaining kills together, and almost every level is set up in such a way that, assuming the player is talented enough, can breeze through an area wiping everyone out in a glorious bloodbath. That feeling of dancing your way across a building leaving an audience of death in your wake is indescribably satisfying. The game gets tough, really tough, if you aren't careful you'll wind up just as dead, just as quick, as any of the enemies you encounter. Respawns are quick though, so instead of getting annoyed (actually, alongside getting annoyed) you feel compelled to do better, to be better, to take out all of these god damn sons of bitches who fucked with you.
Did they fuck with you though? The plot of the game can almost be described as a fever dream. Lots of strange events and plot devices push the player towards their goals. Mental illness is definitely at play here, and I can say, with only a bit of shame, that I didn't wholly understand what was going on without looking up some theories online. A large part of that is that I originally hadn't collected all the secrets in the game so I never saw the "true" ending. Needless to say, you play as a deranged man who keeps receiving calls to go out and murder various groups of people, he follows these instructions and ends up pissing off quite a few people. After beating the game you can play through as one of the bosses in the game, a character referred to as Biker due to his biker helmet he doesn't take off. He too has been receiving these phone calls but eventually tries to get out. In the end he does, and depending on if you've found all the secrets you get a vague ending or a pretty blatant ending. The plot really doesn't matter, it's cryptic and clearly inspired by the likes of David Lynch, in its own kooky way its enjoyable but I never really put any emphasis on it myself.
The core of the game is just playing through these excellently designed areas while bobbing your head along to the beat of the music. I can't recommend the first game enough. Even if you think you'll have a hard time dealing with the ultra violence, if you can look past that and realize the roots of the puzzle action game before you, I think you'll enjoy yourself quite a bit.
A sequel was announced and I was excited. Three years after the release of the original and it is finally out. While it doesn't quite reach the same lofty expectations left by the first game it is still excellent in and of itself. Maybe it's because the mask system was all but eradicated as the amount of playable characters has expanded to around thirteen. Several of these characters have a unique thing about them. There is a group of four characters who allow you to wear different masks (really you just choose which character to play as). Two have some standard hold overs from the first game, but two offer some really interesting mechanics. Alex and Ash is a mask that lets you play as two people one of which has a chainsaw, the other a gun. You can pull off some awesome feats with this character needless to say. The other is a bear who dual wields machine guns and can spread his arms apart and shoot in two different directions. I don't really like how this was handled necessarily, as you have to use up all the ammo before you can switch weapons, but when the level is built for it the effect is stunning. Sometimes you'll play as an army guy who only has a gun you choose at the start and a knife, ammo can only be picked up from set points. Another character is a corrupt cop (based on real life Manny Pardo!) who has a shotgun stashed in his trunk you can optionally start with. The most unique playstyle (outside of Alex and Ash) is the writer. He's mostly a pacifist, simply knocking enemies out, and dismantling guns when he picks them up. You can kill enemies through execution moves though, and doing so twice he'll take his jacket off and the screen goes red as he loses touch with reality and allows his bloodlust to consume him. This actually changes his ending! The other characters are mostly standard guys, with only one other having masks (only three at that).
The plot jumps around even more than the first, taking place before, after and during the original game. Jacket's backstory gets fleshed out, though it's really easy to completely miss that fact. The tale of a group of Jacket fans who take up his work after he's arrested is told to their ends. The son of the gang leader Jacket killed is also playable, and his psychotic breakdown is very entertaining. Another character is just like Jacket, getting strange calls to go kill people but instead of just doing so he seems to relish in his "fixing" of America. The writer mentioned above is trying to write a novel about Jacket's killings. And the corrupt cop is trying to build his own murderous reputation, which is kind of neat as he wants to be found out and talked up more so than Jacket, but his reputation just never takes off, eventually he succumbs to his own paranoia and barricades himself in his house. I won't reveal the ending, but it is a pretty absolute ending (hint the title screen gives it away). The story is all over the place, but it's still a fun ride. Not being able to pick your playstyle is my biggest gripe, but once you get out of that mindset and accept the game as it is this limitation doesn't seem as terrible.
Level design is the other area of the game that I feel suffers a bit. It isn't terrible, and the levels are still well designed, but there is a lot more openness in the levels. This can lead to some cheap deaths. For example, huge hallways with enemies just out of sight, or rooms with windows on all sides that, granted, the player should notice, but sometimes you just don't. Basically, there are probably many more cheap deaths in this game, but there isn't anything game breakingly bad. After you beat the game a hard mode unlocks this time, and for some reason the levels are flipped 180 degrees. Tons of enemies are added as well, and while this mode definitely earns the hard moniker it's actually quite the rush. Several of the levels just force you to take the ballsiest approach possible which is honestly where the game shines. Oh, and the soundtrack is just as good, possibly even better, than the original game.
These are games that anyone who considers them a fan of games needs to play. They are fast paced action games that require you to think out your moves, and actually pull them off with precision. Intelligent design with a slick look and excellent sound design with a interesting, if confusing, plot. Like I said above, these games are perfection. The developers have said they won't make a third, hopefully they change their minds, or whatever they make next is just excellent.
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