A short recipe from Dennaton Games: take some old pixel graphics, add a pinch of hardcore complexity, a spoonful of acid and don’t forget to season it with a considerable portion of unprincipled cruelty. Done? Congratulations, you’ve probably got Hotline Miame.
Do you know what madness is??
It’s 1989, Miami. The unnamed main character is a contract killer with a mild mental disorder. At night, either in a dream or in his subconscious, he talks with a group of people in creepy rubber animal masks. The rest of the time, our ward carries out orders, each of which represents a separate mission. There are about 16 of them in the game. The plot between missions is presented through dialogues and phone calls, which act as a kind of pre-mission briefings of strange content.
These elements are intended not only to move the story, but also to reflect how our character is slowly losing his mind. Unfortunately, all of the above does not bring any clarity and rather resembles the ravings of a madman, which even the discovery of a secret ending cannot save. This makes the game look even crazier than it initially seemed.
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And yet, players don’t come here for the plot. If the story of the game looks like a strange cross between schizophrenia, paranoia and drug intoxication, then the gameplay is reminiscent of the best representatives of the action genre. After all, the standard sketch in Hotline Miami looks something like this: we kick down the door, demolishing a huge brute with a shotgun, immediately grab the fallen weapon and with an accurate shot we kill the man on the right, sitting decorously on the sofa and wiping his machine gun. At this moment, an enemy with a knife rushes towards us from the far corner of the room, throwing an already unloaded gun at him, we return to the big man at the door and qualitatively go around him with a boot on the head. Next, all we have to do is raise the knife and open the throat of the prostrate freak, who received a flying shotgun in the face.
Such situations usually happen very quickly and follow almost one after another. Thus, each level turns into a kind of puzzle, where the character’s task is to quickly and clearly neutralize opponents and not get hurt himself. After all, you, like your enemies, are so frail that just one shot is enough to go to the other world. This is where the frantic pace and hardcore character come from, for which the game is praised by world publications.
Of course, over time the monotony of such gameplay can get boring. To do this, the game has a certain set of different opponents: dogs, hefty louts with body armor, bosses. And also the same rubber masks that give various bonuses. And if the variety of opponents can still add interest to the passage, then the abundance of masks rather causes bewilderment: the bonus from many of them is not obvious, and some even have cheating abilities, like immunity from dogs. And at some point this not only breaks the balance, but also kills the entire gameplay.
Vintage and only
Since the plot turns out to be inexpressive and in some ways even strange, and the gameplay is monotonous. So why is the game so famous and good?? Visual style and atmosphere, I tell you. The game has an amazing sense of style. Its pixel graphics and top view are reminiscent of the original GTA, and the worn videotape image, scenery and neon light are reminiscent of GTA Vice City or Scarface. The game is also distinguished by increased cruelty, which in its entirety evokes associations with the film Drive.
All this gives rise to a stylish and at the same time wild atmosphere, it is a bright wrapper that somehow attracts players to unfold it, study it, try it. You know, this is such a forbidden fruit of senseless violence, drugs and lawlessness.
spoon of honey
But the visuals wouldn’t have been able to do it alone if it weren’t for the musical accompaniment, which is what sets the frantic pace necessary for immersion in the gameplay, and also creates a clear mood so that the visuals seem even more pulsating and bright. The game is filled with driving tracks M.O.O.N., Perturbator, Scattle and other masters of electronic music. Soundtracks allow you to clearly outline the style and character of the game. And this is probably its most important highlight.
Hotline Miami contains in the right proportions: simple mechanics, an unusual atmosphere and a high-quality soundtrack, which are only overshadowed by an unclear plot and depressing monotony of gameplay. Taken together, all this brings to our attention an unusual and extremely interesting project created by just two people. Dennaton Games took primitive mechanics as a basis and unsightly artistic execution presented to our attention a fascinating drug trip with an exorbitant level of cruelty and a unique style. And this alone can arouse genuine interest in the game. So I advise everyone to read it.
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