There's a Game Hidden in This Creepy Hotline Miami Trailer

That was... Interesting? =/

Uhm...

That was really disturbing. It reminded me of Manhunt.

You probably want to read Rock, Paper, Shotgun's preview.

Disturbing. Not that I have anything against people making this game, but I don't think I can bring myself to play it and feel good about it. Good trailer though.

Im not impressed in the slightest

They've been really talking this up on Midnight Resistance.

Looks great.

Already pre-ordered. Everything I've heard from people who have played it has been positive.

I was hoping you guys would post this trailer! =)

Awsome! I have that same Hammer!

I am very excited. It will probably be a disturbing game. Pretty excited Cactus finally put out a retail game and I really hope it garners an audience. Looks super fun to play and the tone and style of the plot has be intrigued. Anyone who hasn't before and is interested in this should check out Cactus's free stuff like Psychosomnium and Shotgun Ninja.

I got some Dreamweb vibes.

Hey...what's that game on the PS1? Top-down shooter will serial killer, monster, cyborg in a dungeon?

This video just triggered the memory about that game...

@darpa said:

Hey...what's that game on the PS1? Top-down shooter will serial killer, monster, cyborg in a dungeon?

This video just triggered the memory about that game...

Loaded?

@darpa: Loaded?

I saw this on GOG and wondered what the hell it was. Now it's a day one purchase.

Professor Pyg?

Dark.

I liked the trailer, but it reeked of exploitation. It seems a gruesome game designed for gruesomeness and nothing else. You'll play as a serial killer not because it makes the gameplay any good, but because that's edgy and controversial.

I'm guessing they're going to mail hard copies soaked in beef blood to Fox News.

@Terrents said:

I'm not impressed in the slightest

So close to release! <3 
Cactus has been working his ass off to fix bugs, it wasn't content complete until a few days ago. 
Devolver is also working on making the (amazing) soundtrack available as well!

16 year old me would have loved this.

40 year old me finds it reprehensible and exploitative.

YAY! I finally made it to "Crotchety old jerk"!

Where is the line to start complaining about things and trying to ruin other people's fun?

Looks like a game I'd hate myself for playing. You get to kill the family dog? So edgy.

We repping Piggsy in this one? Yeah Manhunt as said, wonder if a chainsaw will show.

I'm an extremely mature person. I enjoy fine literature, philosophy, art, and quiet, solitary, contemplative walks in the woods.

I'm also pretty sure this is going to be one of my favorite games of the year. Everything about it looks absolutely insane in all the most proper ways, and that Cactus guy knows how to make a damn video game. I think people should read up on the gameplay before comparing it to other things--It's as much like Manhunt as Super Meat Boy is like Super Mario Brothers. Which is to say, hardly at all. These are both examples of puzzle games dressed up and influenced by the conventions of other genres.

Dismiss it as "edgy," "immature," "stupidly provocative," whatever. Frequently, to properly make a point about a given theme, it's necessary to make something that embodies and then comments on that theme. Want to say something about ambiguity in perception? You could just say something like "ambiguity is always present in a person's perception," or you could write The Ambassadors and have the reader experience the ambiguity of perception him or herself. Want to say something about violence in video games? You could just say something like "people love violence in video games but they hardly ever think about why, and maybe they should think about why" or you could be Cactus and be crazy enough to create Hotline: Miami and try to force cognitive dissonance on an unsuspecting public by making killing people simultaneously more fun than ever, more cartoony than ever, and more viscerally disturbing than ever. Even if this game represents a disturbing vision, it's still unique, uncompromised, and, based on impressions from many people who have played it, just plain a ton of fun.

So yes. Fuck yes. I'm so damn ready for this game.

Wat. The. Heck.

Well, that sure is a trailer.

I'm reminded of Dreamweb, though that was more of an adventure game than an action title.

Is it bad that I can watch this trailer and just shrug? Pretty sure the age of manufactured controversy has been and gone.

Now that a trailer!

Heard a lot of positive buzz about this game but I dunno this trailer didn't make me wanna play it. Not for me I guess.

Oh. Gross.

kinda makes one wish there were more good horror movies out

@bvilleneuve said:

I'm an extremely mature person. I enjoy fine literature, philosophy, art, and quiet, solitary, contemplative walks in the woods.

I'm also pretty sure this is going to be one of my favorite games of the year. Everything about it looks absolutely insane in all the most proper ways, and that Cactus guy knows how to make a damn video game. I think people should read up on the gameplay before comparing it to other things--It's as much like Manhunt as Super Meat Boy is like Super Mario Brothers. Which is to say, hardly at all. These are both examples of puzzle games dressed up and influenced by the conventions of other genres.

Dismiss it as "edgy," "immature," "stupidly provocative," whatever. Frequently, to properly make a point about a given theme, it's necessary to make something that embodies and then comments on that theme. Want to say something about ambiguity in perception? You could just say something like "ambiguity is always present in a person's perception," or you could write The Ambassadors and have the reader experience the ambiguity of perception him or herself. Want to say something about violence in ? You could just say something like "people love violence in video games but they hardly ever think about why, and maybe they should think about why" or you could be Cactus and be crazy enough to create Hotline: Miami and try to force cognitive dissonance on an unsuspecting public by making killing people simultaneously more fun than ever, more cartoony than ever, and more viscerally disturbing than ever. Even if this game represents a disturbing vision, it's still unique, uncompromised, and, based on impressions from many people who have played it, just plain a ton of fun.

So yes. Fuck yes. I'm so damn ready for this game.

Okay, so you make a game that is the thing it's commentating on. That's nothing new, and I honestly think that you're giving this game too much credit where credit is not due.

I think they're trying to be shocking and exploitative because it generates controversy and hype, not to try to make some sort of statement about the nature of violence in video games. Look at the title card in this trailer, it's obviously trying to sell itself as some sort of exploitation flick in video-game format.

Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" this is not, and we've already had a video game that commentated on video game violence in a much less abrasive and exploitative way this year.

they gave pigsy from manhunt a game?

A lot of these retro 80s games coming out lately. I don't know if I'm cool enough to handle all the post modernity.

@SecondPersonShooter said:

Okay, so you make a game that is the thing it's commentating on. That's nothing new, and I honestly think that you're giving this game too much credit where credit is not due.

I think they're trying to be shocking and exploitative because it generates controversy and hype, not to try to make some sort of statement about the nature of violence in video games. Look at the title card in this trailer, it's obviously trying to sell itself as some sort of exploitation flick in video-game format.

Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" this is not, and we've already had a video game that commentated on video game violence in a much less abrasive and exploitative way this year.

You're focusing too much on authorial intent. What I get from this game isn't that it's just randomly assembled provocative imagery--in its aesthetic, it's trying in a very focused way to emulate the experience of seeing the world through the eyes of a complete psychopath. And in its gameplay, it's trying in a very focused way to, like I said, make violence more challenging, more disturbing, and more fun, all at the same time.

That trailer is only one of the many ways it's been presented thus far, and yeah, that's obviously presenting it as a 70s-style horror movie, but again: it's just aesthetic. It's just to suggest a tone, and to suggest that, hey, this is like a horror movie, except you play as the villain, and if anyone thinks that's unambiguously awesome they're probably pretty fucked up.

For the record, Spec Ops doesn't comment on video game violence in general. It's very specifically about military violence being fetishized in video games, when military violence in real life destroys human beings physically and mentally. Hotline: Miami (and again, here I'm talking more about the aesthetic and less about the gameplay) is less about the effects of video game violence and more about what type of person would actually perpetrate such heinous acts. Turns out it's the craziest person in the world, and he wears a variety of animal masks.

I think more people should familiarise themselves with Cactus' previous work before being so dismissive of this game.

Cactus has always made games that are designed specifically to get inside your head and mess with you a little. He even did a presentation entitled Abusing your players just for funwhere he talked about designing games that aren't hand-holdy and take care of the player, but force them to play in a particular way to elicit a certain response. I think this, coupled with the promise of "a storyline as bizarre as it is emotional" should make for a pretty damn interesting experience (if not slightly pretentious at the same time).

At the end of the day, cactus has been making 'shocking' games for years, so I don't think this game in particular is aiming to be a statement about videogame violence or being edgy just for attention, its part of his schtick. He previously made a game where you rape the corpse of a deer as part of a minigame; so this may be considered somewhat pedestrian in comparison (that game also happened to have one of the most satisfying reload mechanics ever conceived). It's certainly exploitative, but its thematically linked to 80's action movie violence, so it sort of has to be.

Im looking forward to this, as I have enjoyed most of cactus' previous work so I can't see this being an exception.

Well...okay? Doesn't seem that interesting, looks kinda boring to me.

This trailer is legit creepy.

@LarryDavis@TeflonBilly

Yes...I just checked out the wiki and the forum page. Lively...I guess it is the product of its time.

@Steparnicus: This guy has it for serious Cactus is an amazing game designer and this is his first real commercial release. I can't wait. I guess you could count the racing game where you played as a naked man who thought he was a car. Cactus is doing some really crazy things and from what I have seen the way this game makes you plan out every move and map out how you are going to kill all the mobsters sounds both super fun and interesting and also it technically puts you into the head of a murderer directly. Everyone keeps saying serial killer also, but I have only seen him kill mobsters in the game. He may be psychopathic but not a ritualistic killer.

People seem to be having very strong feelings about this. I don't understand!

It seems interesting. The trailer wasn't that shocking. But it was a good trailer.

Either that or I just can't feel any more OHHHH GOOOOOOOOOD

Tone and content don't even matter. This is a cactus game, and a retail one at that.

brb preordering

@movac said:

You probably want to read Rock, Paper, Shotgun's preview.

It's as effective a summation of what I've read about the game as anything else. The speed at which it moves in the video I watched was the thing that got me, it's jumpy. Wait, then crazy frenetic action, then wait again until you get the things you need to keep the bloodshed going.

People, please do not deny yourself this game. I know there has been a massive backlash against violence and sexism in videogames since the most recent E3, and I think that's good and healthy for the industry, I really do, but don't all do a massive 180 turn on your collective moral compasses on any and all games that seem "too violent".

This game is directly inspired by tense, intense horrific thrillers like Drive. Sure, the violence is a thrill and allows you to explore that dark side of you but its intention is to be ultimately uncomfortable. Just like The Last of Us has the most uncomfortable violence I've ever seen in a videogame (and is done so well and I can't wait to pick it up), Hotline: Miami is going for the same thing. It's very dark, atmospheric and artful - it's certainly not a throwaway "add violence for sales" move, no more than it is in something like The Last of Us.

Seeing as this is the first ever game Cactus has actually put up for sale, and is just about the most indie person in existence, should tell you that he doesn't make shit just so it sells.

The problem is, everyone's jumped on this "we are moral now" bandwagon without actually knowing what that means. We want maturity of storytelling, we want videogames with thought put into them, but that doesn't mean they can't be hyperviolent; far from it.

That's like saying videogames aren't allowed to tackle subject matter or have themes that movies or literature do, which is the sort of stance someone who is against videogames would take.

Oh, and there's the small matter of it being an utterly amazing game to play. It will leave you breathless. Imagine one hit kill Alien Breed mixed with Hitman on fast forward. That's what this is. It's immense.

@jonnyboy said:

Is it bad that I can watch this trailer and just shrug? Pretty sure the age of manufactured controversy has been and gone.

I think it just means that you see a piece of entertainment and not reality. Some of us separate the two, which is good!

It doesn't get anymore fancy then pig mask.

Why do movie and now game trailers even bother to use the whole "based on a true story" tag line? We all know it's not true and it just comes off as an obvious ploy for shock value.