Hotline Miami

About

Hotline Miami is a 2D action video game series featuring a top-down perspective and pixel art graphics, created by Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin of Dennaton Games and published by Devolver Digital. The series is known for its fast-paced and violent gameplay, as well as its retro 1980s aesthetic and synthpop soundtrack.

History

In October 2012, Hotline Miami was released, in which the player assumes the role of an unnamed assassin who clears stages by killing enemies with a variety of weapons. Prior to each stage, the player can select an animal mask which provides different bonuses and handicaps. On March 10th, 2015, the sequel Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number was released, which featured a new "hard mode" setting, additional animal masks and a total of 13 playable characters.

Reception

As of March 2015 on Metacritic,^[1] Hotline Miami has received a score of 85 and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number has gained a score of 76.

Online Presence

On October 22nd, 2012, the /r/hotlinemiami^[3] subreddit was launched for discussions about the video game. On November 17th, YouTuber SoundtrackVideoGame uploaded the entire soundtrack from Hotline Miami, gathering upwards of 3.2 million views and 5,800 comments in the next three years (shown below, left). On June 13th, 2013, the Rooster Teeth YouTube channel uploaded a video featuring gameplay footage of Hotline Miami (shown below, right). In the next two years, the video accumulated more than 1.1 million views and 2,900 comments.

On May 29th, 2014, YouTuber Markiplier uploaded footage of himself playing Hotline Miami (shown below, left). On March 14th, 2015, YouTuber jacksepticeye uploaded a video in which he plays Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (shown below, right). In the first two weeks, the video gained over 1.1 million views and 4,800 comments. On March 16th, the /r/gottagetagrip^[2] subreddit was launched as containing page for shitposting and injokes.

Fandom

During the years, the series has gained a sizeable following, mainly due its outrun aesthethic. As of July 14th, 2016, the artist community deviantART leads to over 4,100 results under the keywords "hotline miami".^[4] The fanbase has also presence on other online communities like Tumblr^[5] and 4chan.^[6]

Related Memes

Gotta Get a Grip

"Gotta Get A Grip" is a memorable quote uttered by the character The Son in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, when he's on a intense hallucination due an overdose on an unidentified drug. Online, the phrase has become a popular subject of shitposting within the Hotline Miami fandom.

Pardoposting

Pardoposting refers to a series of jokes and references regarding the handsome detective Manny Pardo from Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, in a similar manner to Baneposting .It quickly became a running gag amongst the fanbase and a form of shitpost in videogame forum boards.

Do You Like Hurting Other People?

"Do You Like Hurting Other People?" is a memorable quote uttered by the chicken-masked character Richard in Hotline Miami, refering to the actions of the players in the game. Online, the phrase has often been associated to images of roosters and chickens, and people in animal masks or suits.

Show Some Goddamn Respect

"Show Some Goddamn Respect" is a quote uttered by the character Jake in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number as reply to a phone call at the beggining of game's third chapter, "Hard News". Online, the quote has become a popular subject of shitposting withn the fandom.

Isn't It Lunch Time?

"Isn't It Lunch Time?" is a quote uttered by the character Richter in the beggining of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number's 20th chapter, "Release", in which a group of guards block him from going to prision's dinning area. Online, the quote has inspired a series of jokes abou Richter not being able to eat his lunch, and become a popular subject of shitposting withn the fandom.

Search Interest

External References