Hello and welcome. At first, Hotline Miami series seems like a bunch of endless killing, brutality and chaos. But have you ever asked yourself: Who are the people I am playing with, why are they doing this, are they even enjoying this?

A simple "yes" or "no" would not be enough to answer these questions. We have to go deeper, we have to analyze every single character we play with.

This guide will explain and analyze every playable character from Hotline Miami series.

Spoilers are ahead so watch yourself :)

Have fun and lets get started.

Jacket is the main protagonist and player character of Hotline Miami, and a side character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. His real name was never said, nobody even calls him Jacket in the game. His nickname came from the players and after a while even the developers started calling him Jacket.
His face is never shown and he never says a word during the series. There were speculations that he is mute but the developers denied that. Jacket is a former soldier, he was in the squad with Beard, Daniels and Barnes. Together, they fought against the Russians. After the war, Jacket returned to Miami, while Beard went to San Francisco. On April 3rd, 1986 San Francisco got hit by a nuclear strike, killing his friend Beard.

That was the turning point in Jacket's life. He started wasting his life. He had no job. He had no girlfriend. He was alone, smoking and eating trash food whole day. One day Jacket started recieving strange phone calls, telling him to go to specific locations and kill Russian mobsters. Jacket became a psychopath. He believed he is avenging his friend Beard by killing numerous amounts of Russian thugs. He started seeing Beard everywhere. In the bar. In the grocery story. In the video store. In the pizza shop. He started having nightmares, seeing people wearing animal masks. One day Jacket saved a girl that was drugged and forced to do sexual acts from the Russian mobsters. That was the first time we see Jacket showing any kind of remorse towards human beings. He helped the girl, gave her food and shelter. One day, Jacket got another call, telling him to kill another operator (Jacket had no idea who he is working for). Jacket went to the said place and found Biker there. Fight followed. In the end, it is believed they spared each other.

Some time later, while Jacket was coming home from another "job" he found the girl he saved dead on the floor of his bathroom. She was shot in the head. Shocked, he heard some noise from his living room. He found Richter, another operator wearing rat mask and watching his tv. Richter said that he just wants to get this over with, pulled out his silenced uzi and shot Jacket in the head.
Jacket was not dead. He was in coma for months. One day he woke up and heard that Richter was arrested and is in jail, expecting trial. Jacket escaped the hospital and assaulted the police station. He killed everyone in the police station and entered the cell where Richter was. Richter told him that it was nothing personal and that he was forced to kill him. Jacket spared Richter and found more info in the police station. It was said that the phone calls he was getting were sent from a Russian owned club. Jacket eliminated everyone inside the club and found the owner. The owner sweared he knows nothing about phone calls and told Jacket where the Russian mob boss is hiding. Jacket gouged his eyes out and went to the location where the boss was. Jacket killed the boss, he lighted the cigarette and thought the madness was over.

Jacket never found out who sent the phone calls, believing it was the Russians who wanted to eliminate other Russian gang.

Jacket was arrested on the unknown date.

Jacket died from the nuclear strike, sent by Russians on December 28th, 1991.

Biker, also known as Helmet or Hacker, is the deuteragonist of Hotline Miami and a side character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. As Jacket, Biker was a member of an organization known as "50 Blessings". His motives are unknown, it is believed he was simply a maniac who enjoyed killing. Biker liked to drink and do drugs. One day Biker had enough. He wanted out and he wanted to find the leaders of "50 Blessings". Biker found them in the end. He killed them and left Miami. It is unknown where he went. Unlike Jacket, Biker found the truth.

Biker's fate is unknown but it is believed he survived the nuclear strike as he was not in Miami when it happened.

Beard, also known as The Soldier, Lieutenant or Nicke, is the tritagonist of Hotline Miami and a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Beard was Jacket's friend and he fought him at Hawaii in a Russo-American war. Beard was a soldier. After the war he wanted to open a grocery store and live in peace. But as he said "I try not to think about it too much, things never turn out the way you expect them to."During their last mission which their commander called the suicide mission he saved a mortally wounded Jacket. He gave him the picutre of them which was taken by Evan Wright. He went to live in San Francisco after the war. Beard opened the store after the war but on April 3rd, 1986 nuclear strike hit San Francisco and killed Beard.

In my opinion, Beard was one of the three "good guys" you can play with. He was a soldier, following orders. He never enjoyed the war or killing and just wanted to live in peace. It was not meant to be.

Manny Pardo, also known as The Cop or The Detective, is a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Pardo is a detective working for the Miami Police Department. At first he looks like one of the good guys. But soon we see his true face. The first time we play with Pardo he assaults the store that is being robbed by mobsters. He kills them all, without waiting for backup. He is shown as a very reckless person. He is also investigating the serial killer known as "Miami mutilator". Later we find out that he is acctually the Miami mutilator and that he tried to frame Ash, a member of "Fans". He also executed surrendering Tony and said that it was in self defence. Pardo slowly becomes insane, has nightmares of him getting arrested and killing the whole police station and when he wakes up he barricades his door, gets drunk and points the gun at the door, expecting the police to find out he is the killer and arrest him.

The police never came tho, as they got erased from the face of Earth by a nuclear strike on December 28th, 1991, together with Manny Pardo.

It is important to note that Manny Pardo and Beard are the only characters that do not see the entity known as "Richard" during the game.

Evan Wright, also known as The Writer, is a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Evan is a journalist who tried to become a writer. He is writing a book about 1989 mask murders (the ones that Jacket commited). He is a friend with Manny Pardo, not knowing that Pardo is a serial killer. Pardo came to the dead end with his book and is in desperate need of information. Pardo sends him to the Russian owned bath house. After beating up a few mobsters, Evan talks with the boss, who tells him that he pretty much knows nothing about murders commited by Jacket. Evan, leaves, dissapointed. Later, Evan visits Richter's mom. She tells him that she had no idea that her son was working for "50 Blessings" and that he escaped the jail. She refuses to tell Evan where her son went but says she will give her son Evan's number in case he wants to call Evan. Evan agrees and leaves the house. It is shown that Evan and his family need money because his wife leaves him the note which says he should give up on writing and find a real job. Richter decided to call Evan. Richter tells Evan his story and asks for a plane ticket to Hawaii. He also says its not for him but for his sick mother. Evan agrees to send the money and thanks Richter for his help.

Evan is the only character in the game that does not kill people on his levels, Instead he knocks them out and empties their weapons. Evan is the second character in the game that is not a bad guy. He refuses to kill people, tries to provide the money for his family, even if that means facing the Russian or Miami gang.

His kindness never helped him tho, as he died from the nuclear strike on December 28th, 1991, along with his wife and two kids.

Corey, also known as The Zebra, is a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number and is the first playable member of the Fans. The Fans are a group of 5 people who admire Jacket and attempt to recreate his work. They are all ex soldiers, and they probably knew Jacket from the Russo-American war. Unlike Jacket, the Fans are not attacking Russians. Instead, they attack the low ranking Miami gangsters and thugs. Corey seems to be the quietest of the Fans, but she enjoys killing (maybe even more than the other members). That is shown during the "Henchman execution" where she hits the Henchman in the head with a golf bat, 3 times. Ash steales the Henchman's phone and some time later the Son calls. Believing he is talking with Henchman, he tells Ash where their new base is. The Fans assault the Russian mob base of operations. Corey decides to stalk the place for two hours because this was their biggest assault yet.

That didn't work as planned, as Corey got shot in the stomach by Son, and died on Tony's arms.

Tony, also known as The Tiger, is a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. He is a member of The Fans. It is said that Tony is the only member of the Fans that is unemployed. It is also showed that he is not into killing as much as others are. This is shown during the Henchman execution, where he just stands on the side, waiting for others to kill the Henchman. He is also not happy when they assault the apartment building, on Ash demand, saying "i am not doing favors for anyone". During the assault on the Russian mob Tony is nervous and asks Ash to hurry up with the door hacking. He also mocks the fat Mark sometimes. As other Fans, Tony is an ex soldier and Jacket admirer. He was the last surviving member of the Fans. Their assault on the Russian mob ended in epic failure. As the last survivor of the Fans, he tried to hide in the abandoned building but was found by SWAT. As the SWAT were securing the place, Manny Pardo charged in the building. Tony said he is surrendering, that he is done with fighting. Pardo told him that he just wants his 5 minutes of fame and that he should know what happens with thugs like him. After that, Pardo executed him with a gun, later claiming it was in self defence.

Alex Davis, also known as Swan #1, is a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Alex is a member of the Fans, a group of friends that adore Jacket and want to recreate his work. Alex is never seen separated from her brother Ash. Alex seems like she greatly enjoys what she does. She is using the chainsaw on her missions while her brother covers her with firearms. Alex is a former soldier, she was stationed at Hawaii, like the rest of her group. One day detective Manny Pardo knocks on her door, asking to see her brother. While Alex gets dressed up Pardo enters the house and plants the wallet of one of Miami mutilator victims under the table, trying to frame Ash for murders. He tells Alex that she is very pretty. Alex is not amused and asks Pardo to leave the house. During the Henchman execution Alex stomps the Henchman after pulling him to the ground.

Alex is killed during the attack on the Russian mob base, shot in the head by Son.

Ash Davis, also known as Swan #2, is a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Ash and Alex are brother and sister. He covers her with a firearm while she is using a chainsaw. He is a member of the Fans, a group of Jacket admirires. Ash is usually pretty quiet and mysterious. He is the tech in their crew, that can be seen when he is fixing their van and hacking the electrical door leading to the Russian mob base. Like the other Fans, Ash is an ex soldier, stationed at Hawaii in a Russo-American war. It is notable that Ash fires every weapon faster than any other character in the game. Detective Manny Pardo tries to frame Ash for Miami mutilator murders by planting one of the victim's wallet inside his house.

During the attack on the Russian mob base Ash is shot in the head, and killed by Son.

Mark, also known as The Bear, is a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Mark is an ex soldier and a member of Fans, a group of 5 friends that admire Jacket and want to recreate his work. He was stationed at Hawaii in a Russo-American war. Mark is fat and loves pizza. He also loves his dual smgs, which he brings into every mission, making him the most OP member of the Fans according to many opinions. Mark is sometimes mocked for his weight by Tony. During the Henchman execution Mark stomps the Henchman's hand. Before the attack on Russian mob base Mark has a vision of him bringing everyone new masks. After that he imagines everyone hearing sensless sentences ( it is later revealed that these are the last sentences each of the Fans has said ). Before entering the Russian mob base Mark asks how will they escape through the rooftops. Tony tells him that others wont have a problem but that he might have a problem, referring to his weight.

Mark is killed by the Son, who killed him with a golf club.

The Henchman is a Russian mobster and a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. The Henchman works for the Son, the leader of the Russian mob in Miami. They are at war with the Colombian gang. The Henchman's look reveals that he is acctually a Colombian who betrayed his gang and joined the Russians for an unknown reason. It seems like the Son trusts him more than anyone else. One day the Henchman tells his boss that he is done with killing, that he wants to quit his job. Son tells him that he is free to go but also gives him "one final job". He sends the Henchman to attack the Colombian car shop. Henchman obeys, kills everyone inside the shop and finds a large money bag. He takes the money. On his way out he spots a worker, coming to his shift. The worker is terrified when he sees the Henchman. The Henchman tells him that the money bag he found just saved his life. The Henchman spares the worker and goes home. At home, his girlfriend is watching tv. The Henchman goes to sleep. He dreams about driving on a beautiful sunny day. Suddenly the sun dissapears and the entity known as "Richard" appears in his car. Richard asks him where is he going and tells him that this road leads nowhere. He also asks where his girlfriend is. The Henchman wakes up, realizing that the money bag is gone, with his car and his girlfriend who left him a note that she had no other option. Henchman goes to the Russian bar, does drugs and drinks. He tries to call his girlfriend but cannot reach her. He is destroyed. At that moment the van stops outside of the bar and the Fans invade the bar. The Fans have been sent by a worker whose life Henchman spared. After killing everyone inside the bar, the Fans approach the Henchman. Drugged and drunk, he has no idea whats going on. As they brutally murder him he says he just wants to go home.

The Henchman could be considered one of the less evil characters as he shows remorse for what he is doing (even his level is called "Remorse"). His death is one of the saddest ones in the series.

Jake, also known as The Cobra, is a character that appears in both Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Unlike the most characters in Hotline Miami, Jake does not operate in 1991. He operates in 1989, same year as Jacket and Biker. Jake is fat and bald. He has a confederate flag in his apartment. He hates Russian and wants to starts the civil movement against them. Like Jacket, he subscribes to "50 Blessings" newsletter and starts getting phone calls shortly after. His first mission involves an assault on the Russian controlled news station. He kills everyone and steals a briefcase full of money. He used the money to buy a new car. Some time later Jake recives another call. He manages to track the call and finds the "50 Blessings" base. The boss is not happy with that but Jake says he will keep his mouth shut and goes to do his job. He invades the Russian meth factory but is mortally wounded in the process. He gets taken to the Russian bath house (the one where Evan Wright was talking to Russian boss). He gets interrogated but keeps his mouth shut. Realising he wont say anything, Russians execute him. Later that day Jacket is sent to eliminate everyone in the bath house.

Martin Brown, also known as The Pig Butcher (or simply The Butcher in the Level Editor), is a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Martin is the first character we play with in Hotline Miami 2. We only get to play 2 missions with him but he is a very interesting character. The first thing worth mentioning is that he is insane. He believes he is making a movie about "Pig Butcher" called "Midnight Animal". The game never shows us that it is not a movie so it is easy to be fooled. But the truth is much scarier. There is no movie, and Martin is a serial killer. In the first mission he invades a house, kills couple of people and rapes a woman. He kidnaps the woman but she escapes while he is sleeping. As she flees his apartment he has a nightmare. In the nightmare he sees himself on a big stage, giving an interview about his "Midnight Animal" movie. Suddenly the entity known as "Richard" appears. Richard asks him "You really like to hurt other people, dont you?". Martin tells him that its just a movie. Richard questions that and says that the movie wont have a good ending and that he should stop while its not too late (Richard is hinting to the ending of Hotline Miami 2). Martin wakes up and hears the police knocking on his door. He is taken to the police station. During the questioning he escapes and murders bunch of police officiers. He reaches the room where the kidnapped girl was giving statement. As he enters the room she pulls the gun off the table and shoots him in the body and in the head, ending his life.

Richter Berg, also known as The Rat, is a side character and an antagonist in Hotline Miami and a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Richter is probably the biggest surprise that developers had for us. We first meet Richter in Hotline Miami 1, in 1989. He is sent to kill Jacket by "50 Blessings" because Jacket failed to kill Biker. Richter kills Jacket's girlfriend and waits for him while watching tv. When Jacket arrives he shoots him in the head, putting him in coma for months. Later he gets arrested and Jacket finds him in the police station. Jacket beats him up but spares him because Richter says he was forced to do it and that its nothing personal. Fast forward to 1991. Evan Wright is investigating the 1989 masked murders. He visits a woman one day. The woman tells him that she had no idea what her son was up to, even tho he was acting really weird. She says that if her son calls her she will give him his number so he can talk to Evan if he wants to. Evan agrees and leaves the house. Some days later Evan recieves the phone call. The voice on the other side says that he will tell him everything if he buys him a ticket to Hawaii for his mother. Evan agrees and Richter starts his story.

Richter says that at first he started getting weird phone calls, telling him to leave cryptic messages on other people phones or to paint strange symbols around town. He ignored the calls because he thought its a prank. One day he found his car torched...

We are back in 1989 now. Richter looks through the window, seeing his car on fire. A cryptic phone message tells him that the funeral has been arranged for Rosa Berg (his mother) unless he does what is asked of him. He goes to his mother's room, she is sick and lying on the bed. He tells her that he has to go out and that he will make her dinner when he is back. His mother tells him that she had a weird dream of him and his late father laying on the beach and drinking beer. She says it was very peaceful but she felt that something will go wrong. Richter tells her not to worry and leaves the house. A phone call sent Richter to the Russian owned bar, flying USSR flags. Richter puts on the Rat mask and kills everyone inside the bar. He gets home and has a chat with his mother. Richter tells Evan about 2 more jobs. 1 is about assaulting the Russian weapon wearhouse and the other one is about assaulting a large house full of Russian mobsters. Each time he speaks with his mother, before and after mission, telling her that everything will be alright. Richter then tells the story about his jail escape. Richter was arrested for his crimes and one day "50 Blessings" sent their operator to the prison to eliminate Richter. It was a David vs Goliath kind of fight. Richter dodges the much bigger opponent until someone throws him the metal pipe. He kills the operator with the pipe. At the same time a massive riot started in the prison. Fighting for his bare life, Richter murders his way through both guards and other prisoners and escapes the prison. We dont see Richter until the very end of game. He is resting with his mother at Hawaii, watching tv. Suddenly the news report that the Russian president has been killed and that Russia views that as an act of war. The entity known as "Richard" appears. Richard tells him that they came to the end and asks Richter if he knows "what they say about good times". Richter says that good times never last, thinks that police is coming and asks "Are they onto me?". Richard says that this is something "much worse". Richter asks how much time he has left to which Richard replies that nobody has much time in general. Richter asks if there is anything he can do, to which Richard replies "no". Richter says that then its not worth fighting against, Richard agrees. After a moment of silence Richard tells him that "leaving this world is not as scary as it sounds". After that Richter, along with whole Miami is obliterated by a nuclear strike sent by Russians.

The conversation between Richard and Richter marks the end of Hotline Miami series. It is surprising how Richter is calm during the whole conversation even tho he knows catastrophe is coming.

Remember the 3 good characters from the series? Richter is the third one. Richter was a shy guy with no friends. He lost a father and he takes care of his sick mother. He does everything to keep her safe.

Richter is my favorite character in Hotline Miami series.

The Son is a playable character in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. He is the current leader of Russian mafia in Miami and the son of the Russian mob leader from Hotline Miami 1. After Jacket's killing sprees in 1989 the Russian mafia was left weakened and Colombian mafia took over a lot of their territories. Son wants to bring the old glory to Russian mafia and starts a war with the Colombians. The first time we see Son he is talking with Henchman, Henchman telling him he wants out. Son agrees and gives the Henchman some pills as a way to say goodbye.

We dont see the Son again until the almost very end of the game. As the rewind happens we see the Son telling the Henchman that they should start the war with Colombians. Henchman tells him thats not a good idea and that they dont have enough men. Son says that there wont be any better time and reminds the Henchman who is the boss. Son is a perfect character for a game like Hotline Miami. Violent, brave and reckless. He says he is not afraid to die. In the first mission Son attacks the Colombian night club, killing everyone inside. The second mission involves him attacking the bank that is used for Colombian money laundering. He kills everyone and steals a lot of money. After the mission he celebrates with some hookers, booze and pills. Henchman is not in the mood to party tho, saying he has to go home to his girlfriend. Son tells him that the women only make you weak and bring trouble in your life. He also warns him, saying that his girlfriend is too good for him and that sooner or later she will realise that (which she did, pretty much leading to the Henchman's death).
The third mission sees the Son assaulting Colombian mob base. Once again, with some help he kills everyone inside and pretty much wins the mob war. He celebrates that night in his base. He takes a massive amount of pills which make him see hallucinations. At that moment the Fans start attacking the base, killing lots of Russians in the process. The Son, not fully aware whats happening kills all the fans except Tony. As the Son reached the roof he saw another hallucination, he saw a rainbow bridge. He stepped on it, out of his mind. Since the bridge was not real he fell to his death.

The Son is the last playable character in the Hotline Miami series.

Trying to understand the story and the characters of Hotline Miami can be pretty hard. I hope that this guide helped you at least a little bit, maybe you even found something new, something you did not know about the characters.

Hotline Miami has more characters but i focused my guide only on the playable characters.

Even tho i wrote pretty much everything by hand, using my memory of the game some credit has to go to Hotline Miami wiki, which helped me with remembering a few infos i forgot about.

English is not my first language so, combined with fast typing there are some mistakes. Dont take them too hard.

Cheers and have a nice day :)