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1%% NOTE TO EDITORS: Examples for Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number belong on their own page. Please keep them separate.
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3[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hotline_miami_box_art_tvtropes.png]]
4[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} Do you like]] [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall hurting other people?]]'']]
5
6->''[[AC:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-s9LdQPXF4 -*BEEP*-]] You have - one - new message!]]''\
7''Hi, it's Eddie, from Fast TV Triage. We've got a few "[[Administrivia/ConversationInTheMainPage natter problems]]" at the intersection on StreetSmart and StreetUrchin, and the moderators are busy at the moment. Can you please come and "edit" the offending pages? And as always...''\
8 \
9''Please be discreet!''\
10 \
11''[[AC:-*CLICK*-]]''
12
13''Hotline Miami'' (''Горячая Линия Майами'' in the cyrillic alphabet) is a 2012 video game made by Swedish game developers [[Creator/{{cactus}} Jonatan "cactus" Söderström]] and Dennis Wedin (known jointly under the studio name of "[[{{Portmanteau}} Dennaton]] Digital"), and published by Creator/DevolverDigital. Initially released for Windows, it was later ported to OSX, Linux, [=PlayStation=] 3, [=PlayStation=] Vita, [=PlayStation=] 4, and Nintendo Switch.
14
15You wake up in the bathroom of a dingy apartment. The lights are out, and an oppressive atmosphere fills the air. You step out and are greeted by a trio of masked figures who begin to ask questions you don't know the answers to. The woman in the horse mask is concerned for you, and the man in the owl mask hates you — but only the man in the chicken mask knows who you are, and why you're here.
16
17''Pause. Rewind.''
18
19It is the spring of 1989. Tensions between the US and Russia are at an all-time high in the wake of the "Russo-American Coalition," and TheMafiya has cemented itself as the most powerful organized crime ring in Miami. You don't get out much, and your only friend is a guy with a beard who works at the grocery store.[[labelnote:*]]Or was it the bar? The video store? The pizza place? You can't recall.[[/labelnote]] One day, you receive a strange message on your answering machine telling you that your order of baking ingredients has arrived, and that you should follow the recipe carefully.
20
21Problem is, you didn't order anything. The "ingredients" are rubber animal masks, the "recipe" a cryptic note instructing you to perform a hit on some Russian mobsters and await further orders on your answering machine, threatening consequences if you don't follow through. From then on, it's a downward spiral as you continue killing at the behest of the voicemails, struggling to stay sane and survive, all the while hoping that maybe — just maybe — [[MindScrew you'll find out what the hell is going on.]]
22
23Gameplay is simple — it is a top-down 2-D action game with movement by WASD and a few other buttons for killing. All you have to do is kill all enemies and not be killed, although this is easier said than done. Why? You die within one hit. And [[NintendoHard you will die plenty of times.]]
24
25Following its release, the game received widespread acclaim, and was widely considered one of the best indie games of its time. It gained a substantial amount of attention from development company Overkill Software, makers of ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' and ''VideoGame/{{PAYDAY 2}}'', whose love for ''Hotline'' has resulted in numerous [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] to it being inserted into the latter game. This culminated in a series of collaborations between Dennaton and Overkill, including a {{crossover}} heist featuring the Miami [[TheMafiya Mafiya]] and the appearance of [[FanNickname Jacket]] as a GuestFighter.
26
27In 2015, a sequel, ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'', was released, which serves as a pseudo-MindScrewdriver to the first game's JigsawPuzzlePlot.
28
29Dayjob Studios has published a comic series set in the ''Hotline Miami'' universe, titled ''ComicBook/HotlineMiamiWildlife''.
30----
31!!''Hotline Miami'' provides examples of:
32
33[[foldercontrol]]
34
35[[folder:A-C]]
36* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Any sufficiently-long blade can cut mooks in half, lop off their heads, etc. with a single slash. Shorter blades can still eviscerate and disembowel mooks in one slice, and a thrown knife will instantly kill anyone it hits, regardless of its speed, should it land blade-first.
37* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: In the epilogue, [[spoiler:the Biker]] spots [[spoiler:a custodian]] scurrying into the basement of a building. He follows and discovers an underground waterway full of masks, building floor plans, and phones.
38* {{Acrofatic}}: Thugs, Inspectors and the first boss are much fatter than the average mobster or policeman, but run just as fast (if not faster) and can easily corner you. It doesn't help that they have hefty doses of {{Kevlard}} as well, which makes them immune to melee weapons.
39* AintTooProudToBeg: When neutralized, the first and third bosses [[VillainsWantMercy beg for mercy]] in the most pitiful way. The former also displays TearsOfFear in his dialogue icon.
40* TheAllegedCar: After Jacket [[spoiler:wakes up from his coma and goes back home]], his car's been trashed beyond belief.
41* AllThereInTheManual: The first issue of the prequel comics made as tie-ins to the sequel ''Wrong Number'' reveal the names of various characters in this game.
42** The first boss is named Wilson Fisker.
43** The elderly leader of TheMafiya, whose mansion Jacket raids in "Showdown", is named Ivan Lebedev.
44* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: Richter eventually turns up [[spoiler:at Jacket's apartment]]. He [[spoiler:murders Jacket's girlfriend]], then reclines his legs in the living room until Jacket returns, [[spoiler:whereupon he shoots him in the head and puts him into a coma]].
45* AlternateHistory: A subtle one; the point of divergence or even what that divergence was is vague at best. [[spoiler:The [[BigBad Big Bads]] are motivated with breaking up a Russo-American Coalition in 1989, so it can be assumed the UsefulNotes/ColdWar played out differently, at least.]]
46* AnachronicOrder: Subtle, and more as a way to represent Jacket's increasingly obvious psychosis than anything else. The missions in the first three parts appear to take place in chronological order, but the after-mission sequences (during which Jacket drives to a supermarket, pizzeria, video store, etc.) don't line up with that order, with characters in some of these sequences referring to events that don't take place until missions later. For example, after the first mission, Jacket chats with a supermarket clerk who laments [[spoiler:his loss of his girlfriend]]. It turns out that the reason this happens is because [[spoiler:Jacket has been in a coma]] up until the events of Part 4.
47* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: The fifth and final part has you play as [[spoiler:the Biker, the boss you previously fought as Jacket in "Neighbors", who seeks to discover the truth behind the phone calls]].
48* AngryGuardDog: One of the main enemy types, immune to punching (unless you have fists of fury), door-slams, and thrown weapons.
49* AnimalMotifs: The killers wear animal masks. Each unlockable mask, after the default "Richard" one, grants the player a perk: good, bad, or just plain weird.
50* AnotherSideAnotherStory: After beating the game, you get one last set of chapters where you play as [[spoiler:the Biker]].
51* AntiHero: Yeah, most of the people Jacket kills are criminal scumbags, but the manner in which he kills them is so brutal that he's an UnscrupulousHero at the very best and a NominalHero at the very worst. The only thing that keeps him from straight-up VillainProtagonist territory are [[MoralityPet his friends]], who keep him grounded in reality and [[spoiler:give him a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge sympathetic motivation]] once they're axed off]].
52* ArcWords:
53** "[[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Do you like hurting other people?]]"
54** '''"You have *one* new message."'''
55** One that isn't explained until [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber the second game]]: every time you meet Beard, he gives you something from the store he's working at, saying that "it's on the house." In the second game, it's revealed that [[spoiler:those words are what he said to Jacket when he saved Jacket's life during their tour of duty in Hawaii]].
56* ArtificialBrilliance: Enemies sometimes will pursue you if you get close enough, even if they're facing directly away from you.
57* ArtificialStupidity: Enemies sometimes '''don't react at all''' when someone gets killed right next to them. They also won't react to corpses on the floor. If you knock them down and then get out of their sight, they will get back up and continue patrolling like before instead of pursuing you. Finally, they will gladly rush into a situation that is getting their comrades killed en-masse. Lampshaded in one of the level opening screen tips: ''"Enemies are Predictable"''.
58* ArtisticLicenseCars: Jacket's car is heavily based on the [=DeLorean=], but it appears to have pop-up headlights like you would see on a Pontiac Trans Am or a Toyota [=AE86=], a staple of 1980's sports cars that the [=DeLorean=] itself never had. However, it also resembles the Bricklin SV-1, the [=DeLorean's=] SpiritualPredecessor, which did have pop-up headlights (but no louvres over the rear window).
59* ArtworkAndGameGraphicsSegregation: Promotional artwork and tie-in media depict Jacket's signature varsity jacket as brown with beige sleeves, but in-game it appears to be yellow with white sleeves.
60* AwesomeButImpractical: The Carl mask gives you a unique weapon ([[ThisIsADrill a power drill]]) and a cool execution (worth a lot of points), but the drill's animation is lengthy, leaves you vulnerable for a few seconds while using it, and can only kill with the execution.
61* BadassBiker: The Biker, a hired killer like Jacket who ends up clashing with the latter as the second boss, [[spoiler:becoming playable after Jacket's storyline]]. He has a CoolBike that he rides between levels, in contrast to Jacket's CoolCar. He never fights while riding his bike, but he disguises himself with his turquoise motorcycle helmet in lieu of the animal mask he was given. Armed with a meat cleaver and throwing knives, he's determined to [[spoiler:break free from his contract killings and find the people behind the phone calls]].
62* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Jacket's killing sprees won't leave any security dogs alive. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as the dogs wouldn't have spared him anyways. [[spoiler:Some of his hallucinations]] suggest that he even feels remorse for doing so.
63* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:The janitors relied on hitmen who'd be easily recruited — such as the Biker, whose idea of fun is 'violent murder' — and would keep them in line by tricking them into believing there would be consequences if they don't make a hit.]]
64* BatterUp: The very first weapon Jacket gets to try out is a baseball bat.
65* BattleButler: Some of the mooks in "Clean Hit", which takes place at a hotel, are hotel servers (named Waiters in-game) carrying what appears to be food on platters, until they proceed to pull out an uzi when they notice you.
66* TheBerserker: The riskier your playstyle, the higher your score.
67* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: [[spoiler:The underboss of TheMafiya shoots himself rather than be on the receiving end of one of Jacket's finishing moves.]]
68* BiggerIsBetterInBed: The horse mask being named "Literature/DonJuan" is probably a reference to this trope.
69* BlackAndGrayMorality: Jacket's enemies are certainly some nasty characters, shown to have chopped up and mutilated people, kidnapped drug-addicted women, etc., but Jacket himself is not sure he is in the right.
70* BlindIdiotTranslation: Wearing Phil (the fish mask) during a mission will play the dialogue in French. However, the translation features many grammatical mistakes and literal translation being incorrect. This is due to the fact that the (Swedish) developers translated the dialogue [[StealthPun through an application named... Babelfish]]. Because of it, wearing the mask [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign may end up confusing to native French players]], such as the instruction "Get to the bike" resulting in "Allez au vélo", which means "Go to the bicycle".
71* BloodKnight: The Biker's idea of fun and excitement is murdering people.
72* BloodierAndGorier: Wearing the Jones mask makes enemies leave large lakes of blood when killed, no matter which weapon you use.
73* BodyguardBabes: After Jacket kills the panthers in "Showdown," the Bodyguard tells the Father to "Leave him to me," and a fight with her will commence. She uses throwing knives at range, and a katana for melee attacks.
74* BoringButPractical:
75** The basic knife doesn't seem very sexy when things like shotguns, katanas, and machetes are available, but it's probably the most useful weapon in the game. With decent range and the highest swing speed in the game, you can basically just keep clicking attack and simply walk through all your enemies to slice them up. With other melee weapons you have to properly time your swings, or else end up missing and being brained by your opponent's own weapon. Additionally, throwing it will kill a lot of enemies in one hit, whereas other thrown weapons will only knock them down.
76** Some of the masks have to be utilised in the right way in order to work. The George mask lets you see further than the average mask, perfect for strategy building, but doesn't offer any offensive uses. The Zack mask lets you build combos but you need a strategy in advance for it to work properly. The Willem mask lets you disarm opponents and have a unique execution but it requires stealth in order to work effectively. And the Brandon mask offers a ''huge'' [[FragileSpeedster increase in movement speed]], but you still have to be mindful of your surroundings or else be on the wrong end of a shotgun blast to the face.
77* BossArenaIdiocy: The two water fountains in the room provide cover from the final boss' [=MP5s=]. He will periodically reload and will be vulnerable for a few moments while he does. [[spoiler:Upon her death, the mob boss' Bodyguard drops 3 throwing knives that are required to defeat him.]]
78* BullfightBoss: The second boss, the Biker.
79* ButThouMust: When you reach the FinalBoss, Jacket will throw away any weapon he has, even if you chose a mask that gives you a weapon from the start like Dennis or Richter. You have to use the weapons around the area to fight the boss.
80* CampStraight: The biker wears a pink vest [[spoiler:and has interesting choices in furniture]]. However, [[spoiler:he also seems to have female lover(s) at his apartment between missions]].
81* CarFu: The third boss tries to do this to Jacket.
82* ChekhovsGun: A very subtle one: [[spoiler:the pamphlets for the "50 Blessings" organization, that can be found in both the protagonists' apartments]]. Most players won't even notice them, but in the GoldenEnding they turn out to play a pivotal role in the plot.
83* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The three masked people in the cutscenes. "Richard" is enveloped in a yellow hue, "Don Juan" is blue, and "Rasmus" is blood red.
84* CoolCar: Jacket's car closely resembles the [[https://steamcommunity.com/app/219150/discussions/0/828923952075899344/?l#c828923952113771139 Toyota]] A60 Celica Supra with gullwing doors reminiscent of the DMC-12.
85* ContractOnTheHitman: The Biker has the same employers as Jacket; when he wants out and begins to sabotage their plans, Jacket is sent to clean up the mess. [[spoiler:Later on, a rat-masked killer is dispatched to off Jacket. It doesn't stick.]] It later turns out [[spoiler:this technically wasn't the case — they sent Jacket to Phonehom to kill the Biker when he was interfering with his employers' plans, but the Janitors outright admit that nothing but empty threats keep the hitmen in line]].
86* CopKiller: [[spoiler:Jacket kills dozens of cops in an assault on a police station, in order to find Richter and gain information on the people who've been sending him phone calls.]]
87* CreatorCameo: The dialogue from the [[spoiler:janitors]] alludes to indie game development, since the two resemble cactus and Dennis. And yes, you can murder them.
88-->'''Biker:''' Who are you working for?\
89'''Dennis:''' No one, haha!\
90'''cactus''': We're independent, we did it all ourselves!\
91'''Dennis:''' Hard to believe isn't it?
92** The unkillable DJ on the dance floor? It's Music/{{Perturbator}}, who wrote the song "Miami Disco" that's the level's song.
93* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Some of the executions and finishing moves are this, such as pouring a pan full of boiling water down a mook's throat.
94[[/folder]]
95
96[[folder:D-F]]
97* DeathByIrony:
98** The third boss is finished off by being set on fire with one of his own molotov cocktails.
99** The [[spoiler:janitors]] accidentally provide one of their assassins with the clues and the means to track them down and kill them.
100* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: PRESS 'R' TO RESTART. (from the last checkpoint, and the checkpoints are quite abundant)
101* DecoyProtagonist: The story is first centered around Jacket, his madness, and his quest for revenge. However, [[spoiler:the answers for what's going on belong to the Biker's storyline]].
102* DefeatMeansPlayable:
103** The cops confiscate Richter's weapon and mask once he's taken into custody. This rat mask can be found and collected on the top floor of the precinct. If worn, Jacket starts the chapter with a silenced Uzi, the same weapon Richter used to [[spoiler:kill his girlfriend]].
104** Jacket must kill the Biker in the course of the storyline, which results in a series of chapters in which the player plays as the Biker near the end of the game — in one of which the Biker kills Jacket. [[MindScrew Um... what?]]
105*** This is somewhat explained in the sequel; [[spoiler:Biker wins, but Jacket managed to pull a miracle survival]].
106* DegradedBoss: "Decadence" features the Producer, the game's first boss who's a ScaryBlackMan, can only be attacked with a shotgun and is able to take three blasts before going down. A few levels later, mobsters who look and behave almost identically to said boss, named Thugs, start appearing as regular enemies. They, too, can only be killed by gunfire, though this isn't limited to shotgun blasts, as any gun will affect them. They also can be finished off with a single shot if they're left alive bleeding for a while.
107* {{Determinator}}: Jacket, to the point that [[spoiler:even after he wakes up from a coma, he still manages to sneak out of the hospital ''while barely conscious'' and go all the way back home. He jumps straight into his old clothes and gets right back to killing]].
108* DiabolicalMastermind: The individuals behind the phone calls.
109* DirtyCoward: The first boss spends the entirety of "Decadence" hiding behind a door in the Girlfriend's room, where he watches Jacket from a camera screen. When he does come out of hiding to fight, he surrenders and [[VillainsWantMercy begs for mercy]] upon defeat.
110* DisposableWoman: The Girlfriend barely gets any characterization, and can't even be talked to after she's first rescued before dying later in the game.
111* TheDogBitesBack: The Biker is an interesting case, in that [[spoiler:he fights back against the organization because he is ''bored'' with their agenda]].
112* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:The events of the game are orchestrated by two janitors.]]
113* DragonInChief: The Father is TheDragon to the TheMafiya's local head. However, since the head is an old man who isn't in any condition to do much work, the Father is the one who acts as the Mafiya's figurehead.
114* DramaticUnmask:
115** The Biker, after you defeat him in the lobby at Phonehom.
116** [[spoiler:The bald clerk from Jacket's hallucinations is later revealed, upon bursting in on his jail cell, to be Richter, the hitman who shot the Girlfriend.]]
117* TheDreaded: Jacket eventually becomes this, to the point where the local [[DaChief police chief]] barricades himself in with four other cops and ''tries'' to reassure them that they will all survive.
118* DroneOfDread: Once you have completed your objectives in a level, the soundtrack [[RecordScratch cuts out]] and is replaced with a low, buzzing drone as you make your way out of the building, probably intended to symbolize the rush of adrenaline and psychosis wearing off when there's no more killing to be done.
119* {{Eagleland}}: [[spoiler:50 Blessings, which is Type 2, for America. They do not like the thought of America forming a coalition with Russia.]]
120* EarlyGameHell: First-time players will most likely get their ass kicked during the early levels. When they get used to it... it gets harder.
121* EasterEgg: [[Film/Drive2011 The Driver's]] [[{{Pun}} jacket]] can be seen in the Prelude Chapter at the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGTAmhUYPfw apartment]].
122** During [[StealthBasedMission Trauma]], [[spoiler: the loading screen tips take on a much sadder tone, possibly representing Jacket’s regret over his situation]].
123--> [[spoiler: '''TIP:''' ''She's Already Dead'']]
124--> [[spoiler: '''TIP:''' ''Wake Up'']]
125--> [[spoiler: '''TIP:''' ''No More Pain'']]
126--> [[spoiler: '''TIP:''' ''Don’t Do Anything Rash'']]
127* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Biker, despite joining the hotline for violent thrills, is baffled at the senseless killings. [[spoiler:In the GoldenEnding, the Biker's still not impressed: he dismisses the 50 Blessings as a bunch of "nationalist scumbags," and if the player decides to kill them, it's certainly this.]] He also [[spoiler:can choose to spare the workers at Phonehom and leave the people who gave him information on the conspiracy alive]]. Compare Jacket, who spares a grand total of one person and would have shot his way out of [[spoiler:the hospital, if he wasn't half-dead]].
128* EvilIsHammy: In contrast to Jacket's role as TheQuietOne[=/=]SilentProtagonist, Biker is very flamboyant and confrontational, and seems to enjoy shaking the life out of the pig-masked assassin in his apartment, and very dramatically threatens Jacket.
129* EvilVersusEvil: [[spoiler:Russian mobs vs. the two janitors. The former are made of thugs and TheMafiya, who engage in criminal activities and slave rings. The latter are ultra-nationalist thugs who recruit psychotic hitmen — if they don't intimidate them — and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness dispose of them and their loved ones when their job is finished.]]]]
130* ExcusePlot: A critical examination of this concept. The only context the protagonist receives for the murders he has to commit is a series of disjointed messages left on the answering machine on his phone. As the game goes on, it starts to point out how crazy someone would have to be to commit so many murders at the behest of messages on an answering machine, and suggesting that the protagonist doesn't really care about ''why'' he's committing the murders — he just enjoys the violence for its own sake. And yes, these observations are directed just as much at [[YouBastard the player]] as the protagonist. An alternate reading proposed by [[http://www.errantsignal.com/blog/?p=424 Errant Signal]] argues that the ExcusePlot is the entire point of the game, and that the game is built upon stating by implication that narrative is meaningless to gameplay.
131* EvilCripple: The head of the local Mafiya is wheelchair bound.
132* ExecutiveSuiteFight: Against [[spoiler:the Russian Mafiya boss]], the last fight of [[spoiler:Jacket's storyline]]. He unleashes his pet panthers against you, then his [[{{Ninja}} kunoichi]] bodyguard, and then he starts spraying bullets everywhere.
133* ExpositionFairy: A {{hobo|s}} leads you though a series of rooms to outline the game's controls. He later appears at the end of the first level, where Jacket [[HeKnowsTooMuch kills him in a panic]].
134* EyeScream: The finishing move on the first boss is to gouge out his eyes. Using the scissors or dart as a melee weapon gives you the option of knocking an enemy down and jamming them into their skulls through their sockets. [[spoiler:Jacket also starts hallucinating corpses whose eyes are missing.]]
135* FaceDeathWithDignity: A few of the [=NPCs=] certainly do: namely, [[spoiler:the hitman who killed your girlfriend, the two Mafiya leaders, and the janitors]].
136* FissionMailed: "Deadline" concludes with [[spoiler:Jacket returning home to find another killer waiting for him]]. The "R to Restart!" prompt appears here, but it's a scripted event.
137* FlunkyBoss:
138** The third boss, who's defeated after killing all of the mobsters he sends after you.
139** The final boss, who relies on two panthers, a ninja bodyguard, and then dual Uzis.
140* {{Foil}}: The Biker, the game's second boss, to Jacket. Both of them are masked killers with psychotic tendencies, but whereas Jacket is motivated by revenge, Biker kills only because he finds it fun, yet can spare a whole lot of people. Furthermore, Biker openly talks and is rather forward, while Jacket is silent. Most importantly, however, Biker [[spoiler:found out the truth about the phone calls and pulled a ScrewThisImOutOfHere upon getting his answer, while Jacket falsely concluded that the calls came from the Russian Mafyia and slaughters its leadership instead, further advancing 50 Blessings' goals]]. This goes further in the sequel, where [[spoiler:Jacket lets himself get caught by the police without ever learning the truth, dying in custody thanks to a nuking brought by an organization whose goals he advanced. By contrast, Biker may have survived the nuking while hiding in the desert, as he knew the implications of the truth]].
141* {{Foreshadowing}}:
142** The title screen featuring Cyrillic text; the significance of this is revealed in the GoldenEnding.
143** At one point, Beard mentions Jacket being down about losing his girlfriend. [[spoiler:Guess what happens to the Girlfriend just before TheReveal?]]
144** In the sewer where you find the crocodile mask, the dying hitman you find tries to convince himself it's just a dream. [[spoiler:The first three parts of the game are taking place in Jacket's coma dream.]]
145** When confronted by Jacket, the Father remarks, "You must be one of the assholes killing my men." [[spoiler:It sounds like there are ''more'' assassins on the loose.]]
146** After the fight against the Father, the leader of the Mafiya professes his distaste for phones and answering machines just before Jacket confronts him. [[spoiler:Sure enough, he's not behind the messages.]]
147* ForeignLookingFont: Averted. In the title screen, there's a much bigger text in Cyrillic figures above "Hotline Miami", which says "горяая линия маиами". It simply means the game's title, but in Russian.
148* ForTheEvulz: This is how the Biker was recruited: he got his kicks killing.
149* FragileSpeedster: Invoked with the Graham and Brandon masks, which increase Jacket's overall movement speed, but still leave him a OneHitPointWonder otherwise.
150[[/folder]]
151
152[[folder:G-L]]
153* GangstaStyle: Everyone holds [=SMGs=] and pistols this way. Likely justified due to the game's display of the characters from a top view, so the aforementioned types of firearms would be undistinguishable if the characters held them in a normal way.
154* TheGenericGuy: Richard the Rooster, who is the only animal mask to have no special abilities. [[spoiler:He probably represents Jacket's true self.]]
155* GenreMashup: An [[TheEighties '80s]]-style GenreThrowback with frequent GenreShift into PsychologicalThriller territory and even some optional elements of a PuzzleGame.
156* GenreThrowback: To violent 80's action films like ''Film/{{Thief}}'', as well as to films such as ''Film/Drive2011'' (to the point where Creator/NicolasWindingRefn is specially-thanked in the credits).
157* GoldenEnding: Finding all puzzle pieces in each level will unlock an ending, where it turns out [[spoiler:the two Janitors are part of a conspiracy to break up a Russo-American alliance]]. [[WMG/HotlineMiami Player interpretations of the ending differ.]] %%Save interpretations of the ending for WMG page, please.
158* GolfClubbing: Complete with a finishing move where Jacket tees off a boss's head.
159* GoodOldFisticuffs: Always an option, especially if you can get the drop on a lone enemy. The Tony mask makes your unarmed attacks lethal, even allowing you to take on dogs bare-handed.
160* {{Gorn}}: '''So very much.''' Especially notable is the several different ways an enemy can get mutilated with your weapons depending on what you use and what angle you attack them at.
161* GratuitousFrench: Wearing Phil (the fish mask) during a mission will play the dialogues in French.
162* GuideDangIt: Getting Jones the alligator. [[spoiler:That crowbar in the first room of Full House? You use it to open up the manhole outside of the building after finishing the level.]] There isn't any indication of this unless [[spoiler:you pick up the crowbar and go back there to see the red arrow]].
163* GunsAkimbo: [[spoiler:The police chief dual-wields [=SMGs=] GangstaStyle. As does the final boss, the Mafiya kingpin.]]
164* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: The enemies primarily pick up on noise, scent, direct visual contact, etc. and will not care about mysteriously-opened doors, the sight of other dead mooks, or broken windows.
165* HeroicMime: Jacket. [[spoiler:The Biker can talk, [[SilentAntagonist though Jacket still remains silent]].]]
166* HeroicResolve: Right after he seems to be almost on the verge of death and wakes up in a hospital, delirious and tired, [[spoiler:Jacket escapes from the hospital, dons his old jacket, and shoots out an entire police station and Mafia headquarters to massacre everyone he believes is responsible for the death of his female companion]]. HeroicResolve indeed.
167* HitmanWithAHeart: Jacket has a soft spot for a drug-addicted woman he rescues.
168* HollywoodSilencer: The silenced handgun, which is quieter than most melee attacks, at the cost of a fifty-fifty chance of only wounding the target. Using Peter the Unicorn makes ''all'' your weapons silent.
169* HowWeGotHere: "Does April the 3rd mean anything to you?" [[spoiler:The story ''apparently'' begins in the eleventh chapter, after Jacket has been hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head.]]
170* HumanSacrifice: One of these is being performed in the center of the first bonus mission.
171* ImprobableWeaponUser: Jacket's arsenal includes [[PipePain lead pipes]], [[CrowbarCombatant crowbars]], [[GrievousBottleyHarm glass bottles]], beer cans, bricks, pool cues, and [[FryingPanOfDoom pans of boiling hot water]]. The Don Juan mask allows you to kill enemies by slamming doors into them.
172* IneffectualDeathThreat: As the Janitors reveal, they never actually planned to go through with any of their implied threats on the people they intimidate into carrying out the murders. [[BatmanGambit They just know that the possibility of consequences for not complying with their orders is enough to make people do what they want.]]
173* InformedAbility: The Biker is apparently some sort of DJ or musician, or at least dabbles in music judging by the keytar and turntables in his apartment.
174* InjuredSelfDrag: Enemies will randomly, instead of dying from an otherwise fatal injury, survive and crawl away from the scene. They'll stop moving a few seconds later, but you can finish them off with a NeckSnap or stomp to the head for extra points.
175* InterfaceScrew:
176** Nigel the Bat reverses the controls. Oscar the Mole turns the screen dark and red.
177** [[spoiler:As Jacket gets closer to remembering his girlfriend's death, quick flashes of static start appearing. Then there's the hospital level.]]
178** The game also likes to do whatever it can to disorient you, from making the stage sway back and forth as you move to causing TV-style flickering on your monitor.
179** The hospital level throws in even more screen sway, static interference, and occasionally has your character lock up and be unable to move for a few seconds while a shrill squeal blares over everything, simulating the effects of his head wound.
180* InvincibleMinorMinion: SWAT officers appear unexpectedly at the end of one of the missions, and you have to escape from them. Thanks to their body armor, they're immune to most attacks, and the few attacks that do work on them will only knock them down for a couple seconds.
181* ISeeDeadPeople: Following the battle with the biker, [[spoiler:Jacket's version of events becomes increasingly distorted, with zombies of the men he's killed beginning to show up around his home and in public]].
182* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier: In fact, Jacket starts to suffer mentally as a result of his work. His first mission results in him puking his guts out. Halfway through, he begins hallucinating his victims, mutilated corpses, and has no idea what reality is. Unless [[spoiler:he's not hallucinating because of guilt, but rather because his dreamscape is starting to fall apart]].
183* JumpScare:
184** The van that screeches straight through the entrance at the end of Deadline.
185** Walking into the hostage room in Tension [[FailedASpotCheck without knowing there's a bomb in there]].
186* JustFollowingOrders: Jacket confronts [[spoiler:Richter in a jail cell]] during Chapter 13, Assault. [[spoiler:Richter]] reveals he himself does not understand the events at play, and is receiving the phone calls as well. The player can then either strangle him to death or spare him.
187* JustYouAndMeAndMyGUARDS: [[spoiler:Before you get to lay hands on the Russian mob boss, you'll have to contend with his pet panthers and female bodyguard.]]
188* KaizoTrap:
189** The Chapter Clear banner is no promise of safety. [[spoiler:SWAT shows up in one level, while a van tries to run you over and deploys a molotov-throwing boss and several goons.]]
190** [[spoiler:The final boss shoots himself with a revolver, whose bullets pierce multiple targets. And you can't move while he does it. Position yourself carefully.]]
191* KatanasAreJustBetter: The samurai sword, which has both reach and lethality.
192* {{Kevlard}}:
193** The game's main example of this is the Thugs, a type of mobsters who are notably fatter than normal ones. They're immune to melee weapons and take a while to die from gunfire.
194** The Thugs [[DegradedBoss succeed the game's first boss]], the Producer, from a few levels earlier before their introduction; said boss behaves almost the same way as them, the difference being that he can only be damaged with a shotgun.
195* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The masked men and [[spoiler:the janitors]] talk as much to the player character as to the player themselves.
196* LeaveNoSurvivors: Jacket ''must'' kill all enemies. He can never just go straight to his objective.
197* LeeroyJenkins: The game actually ''encourages'' this behavior, as being reckless will net you a better score. Given how unhinged your character seems to be, this is likely the approach they'd take.
198* LongSongShortScene: The music that plays in the main menu, apartments, and after the "chapter complete" sign all last a very long time. Of note is the main menu theme, "Horse Steppin'", which lasts ''10 whole minutes.''
199* LosingYourHead:
200** The headless corpse of [[spoiler:the Biker]] is still fully-conscious… at least in Jacket's hallucinations.
201** Once Jacket [[spoiler:glimpses himself lying in a hospital bed]], he [[spoiler:falls to his knees and pulls his own head off]].
202** [[spoiler:In the Biker's playthrough]], during the fight at [[spoiler:Phonehom]], he ensures [[spoiler:Jacket]] is dead by stomping it into a red puddle.
203** A few of the executions result in Jacket decapitating or just obliterating the mobster's heads. You can also end up completely shooting off the head of an enemy with a lucky shotgun blast (which results in their still-living body slumping into the ground).
204* LuckBasedMission: The weapons that spawn on a level are randomized, so if you rely on a single play-style, then the game will be very luck-based. Additionally, mooks occasionally deviate from their usual patrol routes, which can ruin a run if you're not very quick on your reactions.
205* LudicrousGibs:
206** The people you kill are torn apart with blades, blown to pieces with gunfire, or bashed into paste with blunt weapons.
207** The Jones mask takes this further by making the kills and executions BloodierAndGorier. An image comparing blood and gore with the mask versus without the mask can be found [[https://hotlinemiami.fandom.com/wiki/Jones_Mask?file=Jonesmask_comparison.png here]].
208[[/folder]]
209
210[[folder:M-N]]
211* MacheteMayhem: On par with the katana!
212* MadeOfIron: All of the bosses are able to take quite a bit of damage before Jacket can finish them off. Even the Van Driver, who surrenders without getting into a straight-up fight, takes a ''very long'' beating during his defeat cutscene. Justified for the Producer, at least, since he wears a bulletproof vest.
213* MadeOfPlasticine: Just about everyone else in the game can be messily killed.
214* TheMafiya: Most of the mooks you kill, as well as the people you fight in the FinalBoss level, are Russian mafiya mobsters, as confirmed by the NPC dialogue.
215* MalevolentMaskedMen: There ''are'' many masked hitmen on the loose, as evidenced by the masks you find in levels being next to dead bodies. [[spoiler:Then you have Richter sent to kill Jacket via phone message. Both Biker and Jacket have newsletters for 50 Blessings; if the GoldenEnding is canon, then everyone who signed up for that newsletter agreed to "die for their country" and anyone who thought about about backing out were given -- empty -- threats. Even without the canon ending, the janitors still imply there being many more operatives than the handful we saw during the course of the game, not to mention the box of masks in their sewer lair.]]
216* TheManyDeathsOfYou: As well as the many possible deaths of the enemies.
217* MaskOfPower: Jacket gets a variety of animal masks, each of which has a different ability. For example, Tony the Tiger increases his unarmed power, while Don Juan the Horse upgrades the door-slam takedown into a lethal move.
218* MenacingMask: The 50 Blessings operatives are provided with rubber animal masks before receiving coded instructions over the answering machine to embark on assassination missions against [[TheMafiya Russian Mob targets]]. The reasoning for these specific kinds of masks is revealed in ''Videogame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'' when The Colonel who (likely) started the 50 Blessings organization skins the face of a panther and wears it over his face as a mask before he delivers this speech to his unit (MotiveRant, SanitySlippage).
219--> '''The Colonel''': "Do you see this? ... Can you see my face? This is my true nature! You see, don't you? This is who I am! This is who we all are. We're animals! ... There's no denying it! A bunch of goddamn animals! They're sending us out to slaughter or be slaughtered... And here we sit until they tell us what to do, and how to do it! No will of our own, just mindless obedience! We don't even know why we're fighting now, do we? All we know is that deep down, somewhere in there, we enjoy it. Destruction and violence... it's just part of our nature."
220* MindScrew: Things get ''weird'' the farther you get in the game.
221* MindScrewdriver: [[spoiler:The GoldenEnding brings the plot back down to reality.]]
222* MoodWhiplash:
223** In the course of the game, we go from a slightly weird but twistedly fun scenario involving a nameless anti-hero who kills nameless mobsters, to said main character [[spoiler:slowly going insane from a bizarre combination of Schizophrenia and PTSD]] and [[spoiler:finding his female companion's dead body in his apartment]]. We then go to the main character determinedly [[spoiler:hunting down his girlfriend's assassin by taking out an entire police station and destroying every last one of the mobsters]]. This is all followed by [[spoiler:The Biker's psychotically upbeat and energetic attitude]], followed in turn by his [[spoiler:ultimate disappointment at finding out that the entire set up was a game created by janitors, who were basically trolling]]. So yeah… we go from exciting action to mind-bendy weirdness and back again.
224** Invoked at the end of every level, where the music abruptly stops after you've completed the objectives. [[spoiler:On some levels, after this has happened, an additional objective can occur. Which result in another dose of Mood Whiplash as a new song starts playing as you're thrown into the mayhem again.]]
225* MookChivalry: Downplayed. Sure, the enemies all attack at once, but they all charge straight forward with absolutely no regard to self-preservation.
226* MoralityPet: The hooker Jacket rescues and takes care of, with no apparent motivation other than pity. Watch the game from chapter to chapter and notice how Jacket's apartment gets steadily nicer and more comfortable, more like something a well-adjusted person would live in [[spoiler:up until the point she gets StuffedInTheFridge]].
227* MultipleEndings: Determined by [[spoiler:whether or not you investigate the {{Big Bad Duumvirate}}'s computer before confronting them]].
228* MusicalSpoiler: In a very subtle example, the track "Hydrogen" specifically plays on levels with a boss fight.
229* MysteriousEmployer: Just who is leaving the messages on Jacket's machine? [[spoiler:Turns out it's the janitors, who either hire or intimidate hitmen into killing targets.]]
230* NamelessNarrative: None of the characters are given official names.
231* NoDeadBodyPoops: Averted. Some melee kills result in a beaten, bloody mobster with a urine stain in his pants.
232* NoGearLevel: The hospital. Making matters more difficult: The camera angles are loopier than usual, and the overlay is mimicking poor cable TV reception. [[spoiler:This mirrors the pain and disorientation of Jacket, whose head is still swathed in bandages.]]
233* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Woe betide whoever Jacket has to take down with his bare hands. [[spoiler:Even worse for many of the bosses.]]
234* NoSell:
235** An unintentional example. The silenced Uzi and pistol take two bullets to kill a normal guard. Due to that and silenced guns being silent, a guard shot in the back of the head with one bullet won't even ''flinch''.
236** The ScaryBlackMan type of mook, who needs a shotgun blast or an entire magazine of assault rifle fire to kill him.
237* NonstandardGameOver: [[spoiler:Getting caught in the hospital level results in mundane things like getting put in restraints, and being sent back to your room.]]
238* NoodleIncident:
239** On one night, Beard mentions that there's a chill in the air, briefly alluding to some mysterious event that he never elaborates on.
240--->'''Beard:''' I haven't felt this way since San Francisco...
241** The significance of this line is [[MindScrewdriver revealed]] in [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber the sequel]]. It turns out that [[spoiler:in 1986, Beard died there]].
242* NotSoDifferentRemark: [[spoiler:The rat-masked killer sent to kill Jacket and his girlfriend says this to Jacket later on, when Jacket comes to seek revenge, though it's more of a confession than a taunt.]]
243* NothingIsScarier: The janitors. When encountered for the first time, their initial dialogue comes up [[VisibleSilence as a single ellipsis]].
244* NothingPersonal: When Jacket confronts [[spoiler:Richter in a jail cell]], he reveals that [[spoiler:he's just a pawn following orders just like Jacket]].
245* NoticeThis: Using the [[TheOwlKnowingOne Rasmus]] mask adds a twinkling effect to hidden items, making them easier to find.
246[[/folder]]
247
248[[folder:O-R]]
249* OfficeGolf: The head of the telephone company in "Neighbors" has a golf bag in his office. Jacket has to pick up a golf club to fight against the Biker.
250* OnceAnEpisode:
251** Every mission [[spoiler:until waking up in the hospital]] begins with Jacket getting a message on his answering machine describing his next job, in coded language. He walks downstairs, gets in his car, and heads off.
252** After each mission, Jacket stops by one of the establishments run by Beard. Beard makes one-sided small talk with Jacket, then offers him something "on the house." Jacket silently takes it and leaves. [[spoiler:Then he starts getting replaced.]]
253* OnceMoreWithClarity: [[spoiler:Playing as the Biker and killing Jacket can be viewed as this sort of scene.]]
254* OneHitPointWonder:
255** Jacket and most mooks are effectively this whenever weapons are involved. There is a very small bit of leeway when it comes to ranged weapons, though — [[RandomNumberGenerator occasionally]], bullets will only graze Jacket or the mooks, allowing them to continue as if nothing happened.
256** Averted by the Thugs and their police variants, the Inspectors, who can take several bullets before going down.
257** This is also averted with certain masks. For example, wearing the Rufus mask always lets Jacket survive one bullet, and the Earl mask lets him survive two.
258* OneManArmy: Hoooooo boy... An Achievement requires you to kill 1,989 enemies, and even a conservative count that takes your many, many deaths into account still leaves you with a few hundred bodies. The fact that you're a OneHitPointWonder like every last mook only makes your ability to scythe through them by the dozen all the more impressive.
259* OnlyInMiami: Taken to an extreme! Protagonists and antagonists embody this, as does the sinister, neon-lit setting.
260* OnlySixFaces: Let's just say that the similarities in character appearances have resulted in more than a fair share of WildMassGuessing amongst fans of the game.
261* TheOwlKnowingOne: Sure enough, Rasmus the Owl is better at finding secrets.
262* PaintTheTownRed: Equipping the Jones mask makes blood puddles triple in size and adds some guts in them too. This seems to be the default setting in the sequel.
263* PantheraAwesome: The Father certainly thinks so. He has a pair of panthers guarding his penthouse office.
264* ThePatientHasLeftTheBuilding: The level "Trauma", where Jacket [[spoiler:(who had just awoken from a coma)]] must sneak out of a hospital. It's the game's only StealthBasedMission, and Jacket will freeze up every so often as a wave of dizziness takes over him.
265* PetTheDog:
266** Jacket rescues an abused working girl, The Hooker, who he then shares his apartment with. [[spoiler:It doesn't end well for her.]]
267** As the [[spoiler:Biker]], he spares his interrogation targets, and unlike the main game, it's possible to [[spoiler:just ignore all the Phonehom workers instead of chopping them up]].
268* PixelHunting: Each password piece appears as a small purple square which can be very hard to see unless one is specifically looking for them. The Rasmus mask will add a small glow around the pieces making them more noticable.
269* PsychoForHire: Jacket's motivations are unknown, [[spoiler:save for revenge in the ending]], but [[spoiler:the Biker is ''definitely'' this]].
270* PsychoKnifeNut:
271** Jacket can be this if you mostly play with the BoringButPractical knife. The Dennis mask lets you start each level already armed with a knife.
272** [[spoiler:The Biker can only use a meat cleaver and a trio of throwing knives.]]
273* PsychoticSmirk: [[spoiler:The two janitors]] never stop grinning when [[spoiler:Biker confronts them]]. They do, however, stop smirking when [[spoiler:Biker tells them he bypassed their computer]].
274* PunchClockVillain: A few of the major antagonists in the game, such as [[spoiler:the rat-masked man who shot Jacket and his girlfriend. He's apologetic, but knows as little about the men who ordered the hit as Jacket does]].
275* PurpleIsTheNewBlack: Panthers (as well as the panther mask, Brandon) are represented as purple in this game, though they are black in real life.
276* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The first boss, a snuff film producer, kept The Girlfriend constantly drugged and beat her heavily, presumably while raping her. Jacket is apparently disgusted enough to save the poor girl.
277* RashomonStyle: From different character perspectives. In "Neighbors", Jacket finds all the Phonehom employees dead, and has the Biker immediately and violently fly at him, roaring his intent to tear him apart. [[spoiler:In the Biker's perspective, killing them is optional, and the Biker warns Jacket ''twice'' to leave. Jacket, instead, charges him [[SilentAntagonist without a word]]. When Jacket is defeated in the Biker's storyline, the Biker mutters that "[he] had [his] chance."]]
278* RealMenWearPink: The Biker definitely shows himself to be just as badass as Jacket. He also wears a pink vest, has presumably dyed his hair cyan, and wears a cyan biker helmet, as well as a bright green headband.
279* RedOniBlueOni:
280** Jacket is TheQuietOne, who lives in a dingy, poorly-kept apartment. The Biker is a BloodKnight with a fiery attitude who is obsessed with bright neon colors.
281** Don Juan is soft and compassionate, being very permissive of whatever Jacket wants to do. Rasmus, on the other hand, is angry and rebuking, and shows a hatred towards Jacket.
282* RescueRomance: Jacket is implied to start one with the Girlfriend, whom he rescued and brought to his apartment in "Decadence", letting her crash on his sofa at first, until she moves into a bed next to him. She surprisingly stays with him despite knowing he's a killer, and all goes well until [[spoiler:she dies in Chapter Twelve]].
283* {{Retraux}}: Pixel art and some 80s-inspired music. It's [[SarcasmMode slightly more violent than actual games from that time period, though.]]
284* RevolversAreJustBetter: They can pierce multiple enemies.
285* RewatchBonus: Completing this game a second time after finishing the sequel clears up a lot of details and makes several plot points a lot more apparent. One of the biggest is [[spoiler:the knowledge that Jacket knows exactly who is calling him and for what purpose, and is doing it willingly instead of being coerced]].
286* RightHandAttackDog: [[spoiler:The local head of TheMafiya has two purple panthers.]]
287* RightHandVersusLeftHand: Jacket and the Biker are both pawns of the same mastermind. The latter is marked for death when he starts tracing the calls, and Jacket is summoned to stop him. [[spoiler:Who survived the battle at Phonehom, however, is up to interpretation.]]
288* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler:Jacket fights his way through an army of police in order to kill the imprisoned murderer of his girlfriend, then fights his way all the way to the local head honcho of TheMafiya.]]
289* RoleReversalBoss: In the level "Neighbors", the Jacket fights and kills Biker, a cleaver-wielding BullfightBoss. [[spoiler:Near the end of the game, this fight gets revisited, except now ''you'' are the Biker and have to kill Jacket. Ironically, the proper way to complete this fight is ''not'' to follow a BullfightBoss strategy, but simply run up to Jacket and kill him with one swipe.]]
290* RuleOfThree: Richard, Don Juan, and Rasmus, the three mysterious masked people who question Jacket's motives between each Part.
291* RunOrDie: The Part 3 level "Crackdown", which begins as a typical one of the game, is eventually interrupted by a SWATTeam whose members can only be stunned. The objective then becomes to sneak out past them while they're distracted.
292[[/folder]]
293
294[[folder:S-U]]
295* SanitySlippage: The shop visits between missions eventually become disjointed and surreal, with corpses appearing everywhere, the SensoryAbuse of the mind-trippiness increasing, and the dialogue becoming increasingly [[MindScrew Mind Screw-y]]. [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] even wrote that he thought it was the best portrayal of what it would feel like to be insane he'd ever seen in video games.
296* ScaryBlackMan: The first boss, who pushes the trope to a next level thanks to the game's [[{{Gonk}} "gonkish" art]]. The Thugs who eventually replace him as a DegradedBoss also count.
297* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: A variation. Since Jacket and Biker meet and fight to the death at one point, only one of their plotlines can be canon. The sequel suggests that Jacket's ending is the canon one, but [[spoiler:a bonus level reveals that Biker had survived this encounter, and Jacket only hallucinated his brutal beating]].
298* SensoryAbuse: The bright colours, the flashing, the way the view sways as you move... yep, this disorienting combination of visual elements merges pretty well with the rest of this game's aesthetic.
299** One of the levels has a bomb-strapped hostage, who has to be shot to progress. The resulting explosion is ''ear-piercingly'' loud and incredibly disorienting to players not expecting it.
300** [[spoiler:3/4ths past the game, your screen will fill with static, and as you try to escape the hospital, your vision fills with blurry, white noise to indicate Jacket's about to double over in pain. It's a stealth mission, so you'll need to time your episodes right.]]
301* SequentialBoss: As opposed to the other bosses, which soak up a lot of hits, the final boss is three opponents strung together that go each down quickly. [[spoiler:First two panthers who you face in melee, then a bodyguard who you throw your weapon at to take down, and finally the head of TheMafiya, who uses dual uzis.]]
302* ShaggyDogStory: Jacket's rampage against the Russian mob after he [[spoiler:destroys the police station]]. In the non-linear PlayableEpilogue, it is shown that the evidence folder turns out to be [[spoiler:a RedHerring to draw suspicion away from the actual organization]] who organized the hits on him and his girlfriend. In the final dream sequence, the Rooster Mask straight up tells Jacket [[spoiler:that nothing he does from that point on will make any real difference]].
303* ShootTheHostage: The objective of Mission 04: Tension, although it's more like ''blow up'' the hostage.
304* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler:Attempting the final level ''without'' discovering the hidden password dumps you in the basement of a nondescript building, whereupon the Biker confronts the two janitors who were behind all the killings.]] They don't respond to interrogation and taunt you into killing them, leaving all the questions unanswered. It's lampshaded by the Chicken-mask-wearing man at the start: "You will never see the whole picture."
305* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: They can kill from a whole screen away, and are the only weapons that can kill the [[ScaryBlackMan Thugs]] in a single shot.
306* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/HotlineMiami Has its own subpage.]]
307* SmugSnake:
308** The rat-masked assassin who [[spoiler:murders Jacket's girlfriend]].
309** [[spoiler:The Two Janitors]] only wear a smug, condescending smirk, happily taunting the player over their ignorance. Only in the GoldenEnding do you get to wipe it off their ugly faces.
310* SinisterSurveillance: The creepy janitors who watch Jacket in his apartment and during his hit for one of the chapters. [[spoiler:With good reason, as they're behind the underlying conspiracy.]]
311* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:The Biker, who, bored of his job and fearing retaliation, goes after those behind the conspiracy.]]
312* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Hotline Miami'' has a ''{{VideoGame/Hitman}}''-like premise for the fact that you have to restart a lot, learn the levels, learn enemy patterns, and so on. If you enjoyed ''Hitman'', you won't have any problems.
313* SplitPersonality: Jacket "visits" the room with the three masked personas at the start of each Act. "Richard" wears Jacket's IconicOutfit, "Don Juan" wears the Girlfriend's clothes, and "Ramsus" is wearing a mobster suit.
314* SpySpeak: Lots of Type-2 speak when it comes to the orders sent to Jacket. More ambiguously, the bearded clerk who appears in different stores to give Jacket something for free just for showing up while making idle conversation. He ''might'' be slyly paying Jacket for jobs finished, but it's never made explicitly clear.
315* StaticStunGun: The inspectors have these, but Jacket can't steal them from their corpses strangely enough. They did became usable on the second game though.
316* StationaryBoss: The Father remains seated at his desk at all times.
317* StealthBasedGame: Not strictly required, but practicing stealth is much more likely to lead to winning the game than just rushing in guns blazing.
318* StealthBasedMission: The only instance in the game where the player is forced to be stealthy is a sequence in which Jacket [[spoiler:has to escape from a hospital]]. It's fair to say this was the least well-received part of the game.
319* StealthPun:
320** The Rooster is named Richard. Or if you prefer... the "Cock" named "Dick".
321** [[spoiler:The real bad guys are ultra-nationalists fighting against a Russo-American conspiracy to make "America strong" once more. Their name? 50 Blessings, as in fifty states of America.]]
322* SteelEardrums: Averted, being one room away when a massive bomb goes off leaves your character temporarily hearing nothing but the screech of tinnitus.
323* StressVomit: In the first mission, your character vomits next to the body of a man he just killed. (That is, assuming you didn't immediately rush to Jacket's car.)
324* StuffedInTheFridge: [[spoiler:Sure enough, Jacket's new girlfriend doesn't last long.]]
325* SunshineNoir: The bright neon colors and upbeat music of the setting combined with the exploration of the game's criminal underworld qualify it as this. Especially in Biker's arc.
326* SuperReflexes: The second boss can dodge anything and will also instantly-kill Jacket at close range [[spoiler:unless he is busy getting his cleaver unstuck from the wall]].
327* SuperStrength: Possessed by just about everyone in the game. For example, one of the bosses can punch Jacket's brains right out.
328* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: All the violence eventually [[spoiler:gives Jacket PTSD hallucinations]].
329* TacticalSuicideBoss: Played with. The Biker is a cleaver-wielding man who kills you instantly if you get close, but mostly keeps his distance. He occasionally lunges at you, which is easy to dodge, and eventually tosses his cleaver at you — it gets stuck in a wall, and he tries to pull it out while you're free to bash his skull open. But [[spoiler:in the final chapter, you get to relive the battle from the boss's perspective. When the protagonist comes in, you can kill him simply by walking up to him and ending his life with a single cleaver slash, as opposed to engaging in overtly complex and suicidal tactics]].
330* TakeThatAudience: If your play style involves a lot of hiding and sneaking, the game will refer to your play style as "COWARD" when the score screen appears at the end of the level. The game calls you a coward for being careful in a game where [[OneHitPointWonder one minor, even negligible, mistake can end your life]], as if it was daring you to [[DareToBeBadass take more risks for better rewards]].
331* TalkingYourWayOut: Subverted during the outro of "Tension". When entering the grocery shop, you can see an already wounded man wearing a Dennis Mask outside, trying to hold at arm's length a group of Russian mobsters cornering him, possibly bargaining, or [[AintTooProudToBeg begging for his life]]. He manages to hold them off [[BattleDiscretionShot until you start talking with Beard inside the store]]. Once you walk back outside, [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown the poor guy is now but a bloody corpse]], and the mobsters are nowhere to be seen.
332* TermsOfEndangerment: One particular phone call refers to your targets as "[=VIPs=]". During your second visit to Jacket's watering hole, the barkeep kicks you out after announcing tonight is "[=VIPs=] only," so naturally, the only guests are corpses.
333* ThisIsADrill: Carl the Grasshopper gives you an electric drill as your starting weapon. Using it as a finisher on downed enemies gives you a large point bonus every time, [[AwesomeButImpractical but the longer-than-usual animation leaves you vulnerable.]]
334* ThrowAwayGuns: Since you are incapable of reloading guns, it's bound to happen.
335* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Throwing a bladed weapon normally has an equal chance of either landing handle first and stunning the enemy or landing blade first and killing them. The ''Jake the Snake'' mask combines this with MadeOfPlasticine by making it so ''any'' thrown bludgeon, blade, or gun will mow through multiple enemies like a hot blade through butter, even if it's lost some of its momentum and can be perceived as ''sliding across the floor''.
336* TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain: [[spoiler:Even a headshot can't keep Jacket down. However, he is still woozy from surgery, and only escapes the hospital through sheer luck and pluck.]]
337* TitleDrop: In the third chapter intro. The phone call is from the "dating service" Hotline Miami.
338* TomatoInTheMirror: Much of the game is told in flashback. Jacket is actually [[spoiler:lying comatose in the hospital, still alive]] but replaying his own bloodbaths over and over in his head. He might also be [[spoiler:DeadAllAlong]], having been [[spoiler:killed by the Biker]], though this is up to your interpretation.
339* TroubleEntendre: Unlike Jacket, who follows his assignments without question, [[spoiler:the Biker's phone messages get increasingly agitated as he ignores them. The last call is from a "funeral home", announcing that his tombstone is engraved and ready to be delivered. "With a little luck you should be getting it before the weekend!"]]
340* {{Tuckerization}}: Several masks are named after real people, such as Dennis (co-creator Dennis Wedin), Rami (Rami Ismail, fellow IndieGame creator and friend of the devs), and Nigel (Nigel Lowrie, Devolver Digital employee).
341* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The hospital, oft-cited as ThatOneLevel due to its reliance on stealth.
342* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: The third boss's molotov cocktails don't stop burning after a while. If you're careless, you can end up trapping yourself with fire "puddles".
343* UnusableEnemyEquipment: Playing as [[spoiler:the Biker]] restricts you to only using a meat cleaver for melee attacks and three unique throwing knives for ranged attacks. You cannot pick up and use any weaponry from the environment or dead enemies.
344* UnstableEquilibrium: Higher scores earn the player new weapons and masks (which grant the player bonuses when worn). Better players will find the game substantially easier later on as a consequence.
345* UnwittingPawn:
346** Hell-bent on avenging [[spoiler:the murder of his girlfriend]], Jacket storms the police precinct looking for her killer. He then backtraces the calls to the Mafiya stronghold. What he doesn't realize is that [[spoiler:his girlfriend's killer was ''not'' in the Russians' employ. Wiping out the mobsters only furthers the real antagonists' goals]].
347** The Phonehom company, which [[spoiler:places out the recorded messages for each Hitman. Apparently, their system is bugged, and they don't realize it's happening]].
348[[/folder]]
349
350[[folder:V-Z]]
351* VillainousFashionSense: The Biker in particular, The Father's female bodyguard also qualifies — though both may be viewed as a FashionVictimVillain if you find their style too gaudy.
352* VillainsWantMercy: Upon their defeat, the first and third bosses beg for Jacket to spare them. Neither attempt works, as Jacket pulls a finishing move that ends their lives.
353* VirileStallion: Implied, the horse mask is called "Don Juan" and is in reference to the Spanish nobleman who was famous for his high sex drive and seduction of women. The mask is also worn by The Girl in Jacket's meetings, who was a sex slave of The Director.
354* WeHaveReserves: [[spoiler:The janitors of 50 Blessings don't care that they'll be killed — there's many more like them. All they need are five more years.]]
355* WeSellEverything: Beard, the [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippie dude]] with square-rimmed glasses, is always manning any store Jacket heads to, be it a bar, pizza parlor, VCR store...
356* WesternTerrorists: [[spoiler:The organization of the animal-masked people, unknowingly under the employ of an ultra-nationalist organization breaking to disrupt US/Russian relations.]]
357* WhamEpisode: The fifth part, titled "Answers". In it, [[spoiler:the game unexpectedly rewinds by a couple of months and has you play as the Biker whom Jacket killed at Phonehom]].
358* YouALLLookFamiliar: After each job, Jacket heads over to a bar, eatery, or video store to unwind. Beard is working at the counter in each establishment (though thinly disguised behind [[PaperThinDisguise hats]]), and always offers his wares "on the house." After Jacket escapes from the police, [[spoiler:he's found dead in every store he worked in, replaced by Richter, who gives Jacket nothing and wants him to leave]].
359* YouBastard:
360** If you make heavy use of silenced weapons, sneak attacks, and hiding, your play style will be listed as "coward" for that level.
361** Subtly done with the ''gameplay and atmosphere'' themselves. The game plays deliberately like an adrenalin-fueled haze until you kill everyone — then, the music stops, leaving the player to ponder their carnage.
362** Outright thrown into the [[spoiler:Biker's face at the end of his playthrough by the janitors]], if you haven't found the puzzle pieces. They mock his blind need for violent fun. Given that his primary reason for hunting down the conspirators was because he was bored and sick of his job...
363** They also insult Jacket's blind following of orders — there would be no real consequence if they refused, besides threats, and never once in Jacket's playthrough do you find out who you're killing or why — nor do you slow down to do so. The three animal-masked people that predate each chapter also question the violence that the protagonist partakes in, "Do you like hurting other people?"
364** The Biker rebels against the evil conspiracy — not because of any sense of morality, or guilt, but because ''he's bored'', and wants to kill some more. Given that the last levels of the game will most likely become repetitive, due to the OneHitKill nature of the game, this may be a potshot at gamers who are frustrated with the gameplay and care nothing for the virtual mayhem they cause — only that when it stops being fun, they want it to go away.
365** It's also been theorized that the [[spoiler:secret ending]] is a mockery of gamers who want story to their gameplay, by [[spoiler:suddenly tacking on an international conspiracy plot that's out-of-genre and doesn't really answer any more beyond that]].
366* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Jacket ends up blowing up another masked killer who was captured and interrogated by the Mob. Later in the game, the forces behind the killers [[spoiler:send someone to Jacket's apartment to kill him and his girlfriend... not for anything that he did, but simply because they no longer need him. While it's not shown until later, it turns out Jacket was sent to Phonehom to kill the Biker, who had decided to find out who was behind the conspiracy]].
367* ZeroEffortBoss: At the end of the final level in each part, you confront a boss who could easily be a tough and intimidating final opponent, but dies after being shot or beaten in one or two hits, without fighting back. This pattern continues with certain levels in ''Hotline Miami 2''.
368[[/folder]]
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370'''''PRESS [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami R]] TO RESTART'''''

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