Hotline Miami (PC) Review

Guns, drugs, and murders.

 Hotline Miami is a colorful, ultraviolent game by indie developer, Dennation Games. Setting itself in 1980's Miami, it has you taking control of an unnamed protagonist as he slaughters hordes of Russian gangs, as ordered by mysterious masked figures on phone. Hotline Miami features excessive amounts of blood, over-the-top violence, and is accompanied by a stellar soundtrack. It packs a ton of charm and style, and is among one of the best indies of recent years.

STORY- 1989, Miami. You follow an unnamed protagonist nicknamed "Jacket" by the Hotline Miami community, whom one day receives a call from a mysterious masked crime syndicate. He is tasked with performing various assassinations on their behalf and "failure is not an option" as they've set their sights on him. Having no option but to comply, Jacket starts a bloody killing spree across the city of Miami. While easy to grasp at first, the story can hard to grasp as it takes bizarre twists and turns later on. However, it does a decent job of hooking you during its eight-hour run. 

The plot's full of mystery and intrigue.

GAMEPLAY- Hotline Miami is top-down action game. Across the game's 13 levels, you'll always have the same objective of killing enemies and sometimes a boss fights at the end. The levels are straightforward, as you navigate through floor after floor killing enemies. However, there are hidden documents, which shed some insight into the game's plot to collect. At the start of each level, you're given a choice of which mask to wear. Each mask offer unique perks such as the ability to run faster, fatal door kicks, extra guns and ammo, and so on. There's a variety of weapons to brutally execute your enemies such as katanas, shotguns, pipes, bats, knifes, assault rifles, and glass bottles. However, some of the weapons such as guns will attract the attention of all enemies due to the loud noise they make. Worse yet, is when grouped together, enemies can instantly kill you since Jacket can die in only one hit. Speaking of death, you'll be seeing the restart prompt more than anything since the game's AI is often random, they can take you by surprise. The game assess your performance on a level towards the end of a stage, scoring high above the required point will earn you new weapons and masks to choose from, adding replay-value. 

"Press R to Restart!"

PRESENTATION- Hotline Miami is among the most vibrant-looking indies out there. Aside from the frequent blood red, Hotline Miami's filled with vivid colors in its presentation that's reminiscent of the 80's era it depicts. Furthermore, the soundtrack features upbeat, retro-tracks that nails the aesthetic of an 80's Miami. Surprisingly, it's composed by nine different artists, which is impressive since the sound consistency is superb throughout the game. 

Hotline Miami carries both style and atmosphere

in its presentation.

OVERALL- Hotline Miami is an addictive and fun action shooter/hack-and-slasher with style and charm. Accompanied by a trippy story that'll have you questioning whether it's all real or not and stellar 80's-inspired soundtrack. While brief and scare in any additional content, it's still an enjoyable ride though consider picking it up on sale if still uncertain. Hotline Miami was a blast and would see myself coming back for more.