Welcome to “Hotline Miami,” a game based in an alternative ‘80s Miami where everything bleeds neon colors, palm trees rustle in the dangerous wind, and the U.S.S.R. is a thorn in patriotic sides.
Your phone is ringing. When you answer, your boss from a “pest control company” tells you an address and says someone has a “vermin infestation.” You walk outside, hop in your DeLorean, and drive off into Miami. On arrival, you exit the car and walk into a multi-story building filled with the Russian mafia. Your first reaction is to don a rooster mask and trade your innocence for a crowbar lying on the ground.
You play as a silent protagonist nicknamed “Jacket” who becomes a hitman after subscribing to a shady organization. You’ll be ordered to travel to territory containing Russian mobsters and clean house.
That isn’t a cakewalk because “Hotline Miami” is a top-down shooter that isn’t playing around. One hit from anything, and you’re dead. To level the playing field, this goes for most of your enemies as well. To be triumphant, you must match the enemies’ responsiveness before you’re splattered all over the ground, walls, and ceiling.
This is no exaggeration—“Hotline Miami” is extremely violent. Blood will definitely be shed. Typical guns like shotguns and M16s can mow down a whole room, but it’s the melee weapons that are far more varied. You can bash brains out with bats and lob off limbs with axes, but, thanks to the sound design, you’ll wince when you drill into an enemy’s skull or pour boiling water onto their face. This game is M for Mature for a reason.
At the beginning of each level, you’re allowed to choose from a plethora of animal masks with different abilities or starting weapons to match your playstyle. For those who like to run in and decimate whoever is packing serious heat, the rabbit mask “Graham” will make you faster. For a big level with several rooms, the giraffe mask “George” will increase your looking distance. If enemies crowd near an entrance, the wolf mask “Dennis” starts you off with a knife for such an occasion. No mask changes what’s about to happen: Someone’s dying, and you don’t want it to be you.
Complementing the blister-packed gameplay is an overall ‘80s arcade feel. The graphics are beautifully pixelated with hot colors, and outside the level are waves of pinks, blues, and purples that are sweet eye-candy. The dialogue isn’t vocal but is rather text-based cutscenes of written words and talking heads. Topping it off, the energetic synthwave soundtrack is always kicking like a mule.
Being rough, fast, and nostalgic aren’t the only strengths that “Hotline Miami” has. There’s an interesting amount of depth to the story that you’ll be destined to piece together. Due to the game’s outlandish nature, that is a hard task. The game looks trippy, and situations that occur will make you question reality.
In terms of Jacket’s mental health, he is visited by three figures in a rooster, horse, and owl mask. They are neutral and only ask questions that plunge the game into uncanny territory. Thanks to them, “Do you like hurting other people?” will go down as one of the best quotes in gaming history.
After the main story’s completion, you’re able to play as Biker, someone Jacket met during his storyline, and see things from Biker’s perspective. The difference is: Biker is more focused on tracking the organization leading Jacket rather than doing their dirty laundry.
Biker’s story is tougher than Jacket’s because you are unable to pick up weapons. Instead, he has a meat cleaver that swiftly turns mobsters into human sushi and three throwing-knives for long-ranged threats that can’t otherwise be retrieved. Over his few chapters, it becomes a game of moving fast, deciding who to throw knives at, and baiting enemies.
The whole game isn’t necessarily long, but it is easily replayable. There’s something fun about returning for round two in order to play faster and stronger. Every level grades you based on your total score that accumulates based on speed, execution, and variation. For example, knocking someone’s teeth in with a door first might grant you more points than shooting them point-blank.
“Hotline Miami” is inspirational to many indie games today and earned a sequel by showing that high-octane action doesn’t need to be in first or third-person. Nevertheless, you’re guaranteed a fun time down in the pixelated, pulsing heart of Florida, rooster mask in one hand and katana in the other.
