Hotline Miami

I've been lately busy and the only free time I get is when I read books or work out. Until I actually adapt enough to fit in hours for my gaming, I'll be posting older games I've played and I'm glad I mentioned those since I have many of them. I won't let 2015 pass without my mentioning of the masterpiece, Hotline Miami. To start off in a nutshell, Hotline Miami is easily a Game of The Year for me. I bought it and it was sitting in my library for quite a while. Little did I know that it would greatly impact me after getting curious one day. Hotline Miami proved to be a life changing experience in every aspect and I hold it up high because it had achieved artistic mastery in a game's every pillar and the most important to me are aesthetics.

Hotline Miami was developed by a team of Swedish indie developers that ultimately created a cast fitting for a proper company from the collected revenue for Hotline Miami. It's a 2D top down action game by name but it is definitely more than that. The game can be played with either a controller or Mouse & Keyboard. I personally prefer using a controller, but each method needs a whole mindset to it. I love games that throw you in the fire and you get back from it beaten up and learn with every death literally despite it actually having a tutorial. You start every level with situated, AI-Controlled guards, dog sentries and the world is yours to take care of them in various ways.

In a narrative way, I consider the game to be genius in the sense that it doesn't ask you to do something specific and if it does, the reason is quite unclear. I recall questioning my presence as well as to why I am there. What am I doing, why am I killing these people? You simply just walk through every level until the story unravels itself to the player, however it may be understood by anyone. The way I see it, it's open to interpretation and I can safely say I didn't completely get it, but it is a trippy experience that I can really appreciate for years to come.

Go to car!! Why? I don't know, just do it!

This game is not for the faint of the heart nor it is for the impatient. You literally spend a while on each level throwing your controller or smashing your keyboard. It takes great reflexes and is purely based on skill. The more you lose, the more you learn and eventually able to master a level. I would easily put it on the same page as the Souls series in terms of punishment. That guard is proving to be difficult? Bash his head with a steel pipe, oh that guard is too strong to die from a knife? Shoot him in the face with a shotgun! Three guards? No problem, throw a rock at them in a straight line and they all die. Worth the achievement and every level, every attempt is an experience on its own since things get out of hand in a matter of seconds. 

Did I mention how bloody it can get? Yeah it gets messy in a matter of seconds even if you aren't a fan of violence in games. You will feel guilty if you disdain it more so because it is quite enjoyable and that all depends on your play style as well as how you approach each level. If you look at it from a different angle, the way the levels are designed are pretty much like a puzzle game. It's only how you deal with the guards that determines your play style (If you like to pull all guards to a single room or get in guns blazing for added combos... etc). When you start your levels, you are given the choice between various masks that offer different abilities to the player such as one hit kills but only with punches or increasing the window to combo and much more that affects your overall score at the end of the level.

Your score is based on these factors. The more points you collect, the more weapons to unlock. You unlock more masks by getting A+ in levels

Never mind the blood. Now, go to the car.

Another integral part of the game is its soundtrack to the point of me listening to a whole new genre of music nowadays. I never expected that I would fall in love with music inspired by the 80s more so because I wasn't born in it and it was completely out of my favored music at the time. I have never been a fan of this kind of music but it just blends so well with the setting. The rush I felt from the upbeat tracks playing in each level not only made me concentrate more but I felt my gameplay improved from my own excitement. I can't say Hotline Miami looks beautiful since it is pixelated and has outdated graphics but I believe that is what the developers went for despite their limited capabilities.

Hotline Miami is a really fun and challenging game. It has a simple concept but mastering it can be difficult which should be held as a great example of game design and an example for proper aesthetics. I would consider it to be more memorable than its sequel despite it being a shorter game.