This review contains spoilers
For my annual Hotline Miami replay, I decided to try out the PS5 version that recently released on PS Plus to see if there would be any changes or enhancements.
I found the game to be slightly more difficult with a controller, but the lock-on really helped and added another layer of strategy to the gameplay.
Having the soundtrack blasting from the TV and the gun noises and kill sound effects come directly from the controller, added with the controller light bar continually shifting really enhanced the experience.
After having the privilege to watch Twin Peaks, I now have a much more appreciation for subtle storytelling.
Minor spoilers for Twin Peaks ahead.
I can't help but see a resemblance between the dream sequences in which Jacket talks with the three masked figures, and the Black Lodge. Also, Richard telling Jacket the four premonitions is basically what Giant telling Dale Cooper of the three clues in the pilot for the second season.
I liked how the game descends into madness the further you play. The first couple of chapters are pretty normal, you receive a phone call, kill some guys dressed in white suits, get in the car, go to an establishment in which the same guy works and gives you something free of charge, occasionally have a talk with three masked figures who talk in riddles, repeat. Pretty normal stuff.
But then you hit Crackdown, where the police just interrupts the level and you have to get the hell outta there.
Then the friendly man giving you free stuff is murdered and replaced by a rude and seemingly dangerous man. And then that same man comes into your apartment and murders your girlfriend(?) and attempts to kill you but is unsuccessful.
Then Jacket goes on a revenge quest to kill that, massacring the police in the process.
And finally, after all of that, after killing Biker just because the phonecalls told him to, after all the misery the act of killing has brought to him and his girlfriend(?), he goes to kill more Russians, just to get a sense of closure.
I also liked Biker chapters and how he just seems to break the game. He is supposed to die in his fight with Jacket (from the context of the sequel) but he just refuse to die and have a future. He magically comes up with the password for the 50 Blessings computer, and he acquires the answers that Jacket never does, albeit in a cryptic manner and without getting the whole picture.
Honestly, I'm bad at writing reviews, especially long ones, but I just felt like writing something for this game because it holds a special place for me and it's the reason that I've discovered my love for synthwave.
Onto the sequel.
I found the game to be slightly more difficult with a controller, but the lock-on really helped and added another layer of strategy to the gameplay.
Having the soundtrack blasting from the TV and the gun noises and kill sound effects come directly from the controller, added with the controller light bar continually shifting really enhanced the experience.
After having the privilege to watch Twin Peaks, I now have a much more appreciation for subtle storytelling.
Minor spoilers for Twin Peaks ahead.
I can't help but see a resemblance between the dream sequences in which Jacket talks with the three masked figures, and the Black Lodge. Also, Richard telling Jacket the four premonitions is basically what Giant telling Dale Cooper of the three clues in the pilot for the second season.
I liked how the game descends into madness the further you play. The first couple of chapters are pretty normal, you receive a phone call, kill some guys dressed in white suits, get in the car, go to an establishment in which the same guy works and gives you something free of charge, occasionally have a talk with three masked figures who talk in riddles, repeat. Pretty normal stuff.
But then you hit Crackdown, where the police just interrupts the level and you have to get the hell outta there.
Then the friendly man giving you free stuff is murdered and replaced by a rude and seemingly dangerous man. And then that same man comes into your apartment and murders your girlfriend(?) and attempts to kill you but is unsuccessful.
Then Jacket goes on a revenge quest to kill that, massacring the police in the process.
And finally, after all of that, after killing Biker just because the phonecalls told him to, after all the misery the act of killing has brought to him and his girlfriend(?), he goes to kill more Russians, just to get a sense of closure.
I also liked Biker chapters and how he just seems to break the game. He is supposed to die in his fight with Jacket (from the context of the sequel) but he just refuse to die and have a future. He magically comes up with the password for the 50 Blessings computer, and he acquires the answers that Jacket never does, albeit in a cryptic manner and without getting the whole picture.
Honestly, I'm bad at writing reviews, especially long ones, but I just felt like writing something for this game because it holds a special place for me and it's the reason that I've discovered my love for synthwave.
Onto the sequel.