This game is good. Undoubtedly good. It does have some flaws with some bugs regarding how doors work and difficulty spikes in levels. Granted, that last point might just be due to my skill level.
Hotline Miama encourages the player to rush in guns blazing and to get a feel for the environment. To die again and again and again until you know exactly how the level's going to play out. The MC can feel a little slippery at first due to how quick you move around the rooms but it's ultimately snappy and that quickness can even leave you wishing for more speed (conveniently granted through select masks!). It takes a while to completely understand but once it clicks, it's like magic. It's as if you're playing Super Hot but without the need for any time-slow mechanic, you're just that good. There is one flaw with the levels though which is that as much as you try to learn a layout, some enemies will walk a seemingly random path on respawn. This can lead to your perfect plan being stopped short. At the very least, respawn times are virtually non-existent, which helps stave off the discouragement from a failed run.
The soundtrack is definitely a highlight of this game. The high energy music as you do your work, keeping the adrenaline pumping as you swiftly maneuver around the level like a fish in water. It keeps you excited and keeps you going, until it doesn't want you to anymore. The music does such a good job of pumping you up, you forget the mindless violence and havoc that you've wrecked upon dozens of lives. None of it sinks in until everything is said and done. The fast tempo cuts out and all your left with is a quiet droning while surrounded by bodies on top of bodies, all your own handiwork. I don't know if a game has ever made me question my actions more.
One hand, the killing is a fun puzzle that you spend painstaking amounts of attempts to figure out. On the other, you are left to sit with the destruction you've caused and reflect on the gruesome massacre that you didn't even give a second thought to.
The secret ending leaves much to be desired, it's built up to be cathartic, the ultimate reveal. Only to be something initially insignificant. I've heard this is built upon in the second game, but the second game doesn't seem to follow the same design philosophies as this one, so perhaps I'll pass on it for now. Overall, a great game, 8/10
Hotline Miama encourages the player to rush in guns blazing and to get a feel for the environment. To die again and again and again until you know exactly how the level's going to play out. The MC can feel a little slippery at first due to how quick you move around the rooms but it's ultimately snappy and that quickness can even leave you wishing for more speed (conveniently granted through select masks!). It takes a while to completely understand but once it clicks, it's like magic. It's as if you're playing Super Hot but without the need for any time-slow mechanic, you're just that good. There is one flaw with the levels though which is that as much as you try to learn a layout, some enemies will walk a seemingly random path on respawn. This can lead to your perfect plan being stopped short. At the very least, respawn times are virtually non-existent, which helps stave off the discouragement from a failed run.
The soundtrack is definitely a highlight of this game. The high energy music as you do your work, keeping the adrenaline pumping as you swiftly maneuver around the level like a fish in water. It keeps you excited and keeps you going, until it doesn't want you to anymore. The music does such a good job of pumping you up, you forget the mindless violence and havoc that you've wrecked upon dozens of lives. None of it sinks in until everything is said and done. The fast tempo cuts out and all your left with is a quiet droning while surrounded by bodies on top of bodies, all your own handiwork. I don't know if a game has ever made me question my actions more.
One hand, the killing is a fun puzzle that you spend painstaking amounts of attempts to figure out. On the other, you are left to sit with the destruction you've caused and reflect on the gruesome massacre that you didn't even give a second thought to.
The secret ending leaves much to be desired, it's built up to be cathartic, the ultimate reveal. Only to be something initially insignificant. I've heard this is built upon in the second game, but the second game doesn't seem to follow the same design philosophies as this one, so perhaps I'll pass on it for now. Overall, a great game, 8/10