A Game That Deserves to be Played
Hotline Miami is, to put it bluntly, one hell of a game that is worth every penny. Now for anyone who doesn't know exactly what this game is it's a top down shooter that (once they get the gamepad support running again) resembles a dual joy stick shooter. Calling this game a dual joy stick shooter is doing a major injustice since it's very much a combat puzzle game as well, since death comes swiftly and viciously around every corner. With one wrong move you can be dead and have to restart at the start of each checkpoint which only come up when you move from one floor to the next. So lets get down to how exactly this game plays and what you do in it.
The start of every mission you get a phone call basically saying to go a building and kill everyone with little to no context as to why. Once you get there you pick mask which hides your identity as well as give you some sort of power, whether it's you start each mission with a knife, or you are harder to see. My favorite was the one that made opening doors on enemies an instant kill which is something I took major advantage of. Now from here on how you play is up to you, you can go head first and try to wing it which sometimes works but it's recommended you stop look at your surroundings and see what is around you and how many enemies there are so you can plan your moves. Things to keep in mind is doors disable enemies temporarily, guns give off a loud noise when used, melee weapons are silent among other things that get introduced later on in the game.
Each of these things play a big role as you try to move from room to room. The game does the smart thing of keeping it difficult while keeping it reasonable. There could be a big incentive to just pack a room with an insane amount of dudes and say "here get passed that!" Thankfully they don't do that cheap trick and while some rooms seem hard, as you try a few times they slowly start to unveil a few different ways to beat it. Then after a few more tries you master it. It's the kind of gameplay that makes you feel you actually accomplished something rather than just mindless gore. Even though this game has a lot of gore and it's all really satisfying to see it all take place, even though it's got a cartoon look to it and it all looks amazing.
Even though the combat is fun there are still some issues with it as well, and that are small bugs that don't ruin the experience but do get in the way enough to become noticeable One of the biggest ones is the randomness of the game and I don't mean the enemies moving either. There was one spot in particular that I would always kill an enemy and I did the exact same thing every time but sometimes he would turn around and kill me and others he wouldn't. I tried to see if it was something he was doing like if he randomly would turn around but nothing only when I would enter the room would it become an issue. So in some moments it feels more like luck than skill that you kill some enemies and that's a real shame, since it can ruin a great run you had just because you ran passed that window a dozen times before and now that time the guy shot you. Also sometimes I would shoot guys and they wouldn't even react. Bugs aside the game still plays fine and there were plenty of other times where I felt in control of the flow of combat.
Now to me this means nothing without some sort of story tying it all together since mindless violence is fun at times but can get boring. Thankfully just as you start to feel ok enough why am I doing this... the game get's crazy, you start to wonder what is real and what isn't. Without spoiling much I will same the games story is up for a little interpretation but not in a Limbo sort of way, there definitely is a story here that if you can follow it you can put the pieces together yourself. That's all I can really say about the story without spoiling it but after the end of it all I wanted more but felt satisfied by what they gave me. As far as music is concerned it's incredible simply put. From sitting in your apartment, to fighting your way from floor to floor the music fits the mood and adds a lot to the game. Not to mention the games title screen just has a look that screams the 80s which I just love.
To put it simply this game rocks, its a ton of fun with an interesting story, a great soundtrack that really evokes the entire tone of the game and it's only $10. For a game that took me maybe 3 hours to beat and I still have masks to unlock that is a good deal. Not to mention the ending is both weird but, to me at least, was good and depending on some choices kind of has a bit of a statement to make. If your wondering if you should pick this up the answer is yes bugs aside it's a great.
