hotline miami honestly has to be one of my favorite games of all time. i've owned it for a long time (having previously beaten it on an old account), and would go as far to say that it was instrumental for my growth as a teenager. there's a couple reasons why i hold this game so highly.

the first is the synergy between gameplay and music. i feel like this doesn't even need to be said, but the soundtrack is absolutely amazing on its own; it honestly has some of my favorite songs on it. in spite of this though, the OST really shines when coupled with the gameplay. hotline miami has a very fast-paced and aggressive style of gameplay, one that particularly requires high attention and high energy. the music playing during these levels really reflect that: they get you pumped up and going. i feel like the hotline miami OST is the ultimate example of what a video game OST is meant to do: try to get you motivated or feel a certain way. with hotline miami, the in-game soundtracks help you maintain that high-energy, and the intermediary soundtracks help with the world building (more on this later). ultimately, even though the soundtrack is amazing in its own right, the way it complements the gameplay and story truly makes it something remarkable; hotline miami's music really is a paragon for what video game OSTs can accomplish, and what they should be.

the other admirable thing about this game is its story. i admit, when i first played this game on my old account, the story went over my head (although the eerie and mysterious vibe definitely left an impact on me). at the time i wasn't really the type of person to appreciate stories, largely because of immaturity and a difference in values. but after revisiting it many years later, once i developed the cognitive ability to process and understand everything, i was blown away. what really drew me in was the sense of irony; the levels largely consist of killing tons of people in brutal ways, and with the complementary music, you get a strong sense of enjoyment out of it. every now and then though, you watch a cutscene where 3 characters talk to the main character about his actions. in between the lines though, the dialogue is partly addressed to you, the player. what i loved most about the story was how it really questioned you playing this game: why do you have fun hurting other people? many of us are able to justify this by saying "oh it's just a game, we can discern fiction from reality", but i feel like that is precisely what the game is criticizing: our rationalization. it's almost as if the message is to not play the game.

i don't want to suggest that this game is trying to insinuate a "video games cause violence!" message, because that's absolutely not what it's aiming for. rather, i feel like the game's message is us being blinded by what we enjoy; being unable to see the larger picture as a result of our indulgence in pleasure. maybe that's me overanalyzing or misunderstanding the intent, and i feel like there's things i'm not covering, but that's a debate for another time. the deeper sense of story, addressing the player through a parable that the player willingly engages in, is precisely why i hold this to be one of my favorite games.

all in all, hotline miami stands to be one of my favorite games in my library. it's something that's both super fun to play and super interesting to think about, which in my opinion, is precisely what a video game should be.

10/10

hotline miami honestly has to be one of my favorite games of all time. i've owned it for a long time (having previously beaten it on an old account), and would go as far to say that it was instrumental for my growth as a teenager. there's a couple reasons why i hold this game so highly. the first is the synergy between gameplay and music. i feel like this doesn't even need to be said, but the soundtrack is absolutely amazing on its own; it honestly has some of my favorite songs on it. in spite of this though, the OST really shines when coupled with the gameplay. hotline miami has a very fast-paced and aggressive style of gameplay, one that particularly requires high attention and high energy. the music playing during these levels really reflect that: they get you pumped up and going. i feel like the hotline miami OST is the ultimate example of what a video game OST is meant to do: try to get you motivated or feel a certain way. with hotline miami, the in-game soundtracks help you maintain that high-energy, and the intermediary soundtracks help with the world building (more on this later). ultimately, even though the soundtrack is amazing in its own right, the way it complements the gameplay and story truly makes it something remarkable; hotline miami's music really is a paragon for what video game OSTs can accomplish, and what they should be. the other admirable thing about this game is its story. i admit, when i first played this game on my old account, the story went over my head (although the eerie and mysterious vibe definitely left an impact on me). at the time i wasn't really the type of person to appreciate stories, largely because of immaturity and a difference in values. but after revisiting it many years later, once i developed the cognitive ability to process and understand everything, i was blown away. what really drew me in was the sense of irony; the levels largely consist of killing tons of people in brutal ways, and with the complementary music, you get a strong sense of enjoyment out of it. every now and then though, you watch a cutscene where 3 characters talk to the main character about his actions. in between the lines though, the dialogue is partly addressed to [i]you[/i], the player. what i loved most about the story was how it really questioned you playing this game: why do you have fun hurting other people? many of us are able to justify this by saying "oh it's just a game, we can discern fiction from reality", but i feel like that is precisely what the game is criticizing: our rationalization. it's almost as if the message is to not play the game. i don't want to suggest that this game is trying to insinuate a "video games cause violence!" message, because that's absolutely [b]not[/b] what it's aiming for. rather, i feel like the game's message is us being blinded by what we enjoy; being unable to see the larger picture as a result of our indulgence in pleasure. maybe that's me overanalyzing or misunderstanding the intent, and i feel like there's things i'm not covering, but that's a debate for another time. the deeper sense of story, addressing the player through a parable that the player willingly engages in, is precisely why i hold this to be one of my favorite games. all in all, hotline miami stands to be one of my favorite games in my library. it's something that's both super fun to play and super interesting to think about, which in my opinion, is precisely what a video game should be. 10/10