Hotline Miami

Hotline Miami published on PC, PS4 and etc. is created by a talented Swedish author of untypical independent games – Jonatan Söderström, also known as “Cactus” and a musician called Dennis Wedin from a band called Fuckin Warewolf ASSO. Together, as Dennation Games, they created a game which strongly resembles the first Grand Theft Auto.

Gameplay

The action takes place in Miami during the 80s. The plot revolves around mysterious calls recorded on the protagonist’s answering machine which convince him to committing violent murders. You are in control of a muscular thug who goes through over 20 multi-stage levels. His quests usually limits to murdering every opponent in a given location. The player needs to skilfully choose between stealth actions and open combat with large groups of enemies. As there is a huge number of armed opponents, you can choose from 35 types of weapons, like pistols, rifles, shotguns, knives, baseball bats, crossbars, and – as the last resort the protagonist’s fists. The fast pace of action imposes clever altering between firearms and melee weapons. Apart from that, the game features special animal masks – there are 25 of them, each granting unique abilities, which significantly change the nature of the gameplay. Every act of murder earns you points. Combat is extremely difficult, as the hero dies after just one shot. Therefore, the player needs to stay on high-alert all the time and figure out the way of eliminating enemies and not getting hit. Simple retro visuals strongly resemble those of the first GTA. The camera is set high above the head of the hero and the surroundings are seen from top-down perspective.