Hotline Miami Download PC

In each stage, the player navigates a building from a top-down perspective, where the goal is almost always to kill every opponent therein. Occasionally, they must also defeat a boss at the end of the chapter or find key items as they explore. Some levels also include hidden animal masks for the player to find along the way, often in the bodies of other killers who failed the assignment now being undertaken by "Jacket".

By default, the player starts each assignment unarmed, just outside the target location. Most enemies carry a wide variety of melee and ranged weapons which can be collected both from their bodies and the environment. Far outnumbered, the player must rely on their increased awareness (being able to see inside every room within a large radius) and either stealth, overwhelming force or a combination of both to overcome challenges. However, because the player character is no more resilient than enemies, mistakes are often instantly fatal. Despite the game's high lethality, attacks such as punches, weapon throws and door slams merely knock enemies down, prompting the player to gruesomely execute them on the ground. In addition to the more common white suit-wearing mobsters, the player is later pitched against guard dogs, police officers and other opponents that require different strategies to defeat.

Enemy artificial intelligence varies slightly, causing them to occasionally move unpredictably and making it difficult to plan a perfect approach. To make up for this, Hotline Miami allows the player to restart each stage as soon as they die, allowing them to quickly fine-tune their approach over several attempts. At the end of each chapter, the game grades the player's performance based on factors such a speed, variation and recklessness, with high scores unlocking new weapons and additional masks.

Synopsis

Plot

Hotline Miami takes place in 1989 Miami, where the player takes the role of an unnamed man dubbed "Jacket" by fans for his distinctive letterman jacket. One day, he receives an answering machine message about a supposed delivery of "cookies" to his home. Jacket finds a package outside containing a rooster mask and instructions to perform a hit on the Russian mafia and steal a briefcase in their possession, threatening that he is being watched and that "failure is not an option." After Jacket completes this mission, he receives further messages on his answering machine, each asking him to take care of an innocuous "problem" at a specific address; these locations invariably contain a criminal operation, usually run by the Russian mob, that he must eliminate. Throughout the game, Jacket has visions where he is confronted over his actions by three masked figures: the cryptic rooster-masked Richard, the hostile owl-masked Rasmus, and the sympathetic horse-masked Don Juan.

The personality of the masked figures is seen by who wears them. The owl, Rasmus, is being worn by a member of the Russian mafia. The horse, Don Juan, is worn by a girl that Jacket saves later in the game. The chicken, Richard, is worn by the player, Jacket.

During a raid on the estate of a movie producer, Jacket rescues a woman and brings her home, nursing her back to health and later, building up a relationship with her. In another mission, Jacket is called to a phone company where he finds everyone dead except for a lone biker, whom he fights and subsequently kills. Jacket finds other animal-masked killers dead (or dying) during some of his assignments; after most of them, he visits a store or restaurant where the same bearded clerk greets him. "Beard", as he is dubbed by fans, gives Jacket encouragement and free samples of merchandise.