Instead of switching between two playable characters like in the first game, the sequel encompassed over a dozen, and while some reviewers felt this made for an ingenious time-shifting narrative, others felt it was confusing and poorly paced. Coupled with the game’s one-hit kill mechanics, this sort of death was perceived as unfair and immensely frustrating by some players. Instead of small spaces where the enemies were usually visible on a single screen, the larger and more open stages meant that players were often shot by off-screen assailants. The increased scale of the game didn’t only impact its length, but also the gameplay itself. Unfortunately, some critics believe this approach was the game’s downfall: instead of a vicious and streamlined shooter, they felt the sequel suffered from a sense of bloat, and a lack of focus. The second Hotline Miami aimed to replicate the original’s formula, but also to expand upon it, delivering more of everything: more length, more levels, larger maps, more characters, and a more convoluted plotline. RELATED: 'Hotline Miami 2' Live Action Short Is a Neon-Soaked Nightmare Its sequel, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number was released in 2015 to a more mixed, but still largely popular, critical response. Hotline Miami has since proved to be an enormously influential title, inspiring a large number of games that have borrowed some combination of its top-down view, its art style, or its punishingly difficult and violent insta-kill gameplay.
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The game was a huge success, with its story, gameplay and soundtrack all receiving stellar reviews, and ports to all major consoles following shortly after release. The game’s retro pixel art style and gaudy, neon color palette contrasts jarringly with its uncompromising violence, further adding to its unique and mind-bending style. Throughout the game his perception of reality deteriorates, with the corpses of his victims appearing and even speaking to him, and other mask-wearing characters appearing in his home to torment him. The casualties of Jacket’s murder spree are seemingly violent thugs, but little other explanation is offered for why he is so willing to massacre them. A rubber chicken mask is delivered to the player character – who fans have dubbed “Jacket” – which he wears while committing the atrocities, although other masks can be unlocked later which provide different boosts and abilities.
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Taking inspiration from the work of David Lynch and also from the 2011 movie Drive, the game puts players in control of an unnamed protagonist who receives mysterious phone calls at his apartment, encouraging him to go to various locations and slaughter the people he finds there. Hotline Miami is a top-down shooter, and combines a retro-futuristic aesthetic, fast-paced gunplay and melee combat, brutal violence, high levels of difficulty, and a psychedelic and cinematic storyline.
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Hotline Miami was developed by the two-man team of Jonatan Soderström and Dennis Wedin, and was initially released for Windows in 2012. How Hotline Miami Became One of the Best Games of 2012 RELATED: Hotline Miami Collection Available Now on Xbox But I’m sure some people will be horrified and others delighted.” If a new Hotline Miami game is genuinely in the pipeline, fans will be keen to see it recapture the brutal magic of the acclaimed original, rather than mirror its more divisive follow-up. For a publisher that has frequently teased a third installment in the Hotline Miami series, Devolver Digital is remarkably insistent that “there is no Hotline Miami 3.” But cryptic, contradictory tweets and joke menu screens have nonetheless fueled fans’ hopes that a sequel to Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number could be in the works, particularly after Devolver attracted a lot of investment via its recent AIM listing, including from the 5% share acquired by Sony.ĭeveloper Dennaton Games stoked the flames further when one of its co-founders tweeted in late 2020 that they were working on a new, unannounced game, and that “It is a passion project so I’m not sure who will enjoy it.