023: Hotline Miami

By February 7, 2018PODCAST

We get ultra-violent in 1989 with Hotline Miami.

Developer: Dennation Games & Abstraction Games (PlayStation Ports) | Publisher: Devolver Digital | Release Date: October 23rd, 2012

Jacob, Mike and Moe ask questions about violence, throw knives and wear masks to hide their true feelings. “Moe Mask, Mo’ Bullets.” Our next episode features ZombiU and/or Zombi and launches on February 21st!

You can now e-mail us your questions! Send questions about past episodes or questions about us to questions@leftbehindgame.club!

Players: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt), Michael Ruffolo (@ruffolom) and Moe Murtadi (@mmurtadi)

Website: LeftBehindGame.Club | Twitter: @LeftBehindClub

Show Notes (spoilers):

  • 3:05 Our past experiences with Hotline Miami
  • 4:30 Using a mouse and keyboard vs. a controller (Jacob also brings up the Vita again)
  • 5:35 We take a crack at explaining the premise
  • 7:40 We bring up the Complex Hotline Miami documentary (hey, it’s good)
  • 8:00 We compare Hotline Miami to GTA/GTA 2
  • 10:05 The look of Hotline Miami (“it’s a vibe” *DJ Khaled voice*)
  • 11:15 The controls of Hotline Miami (including the lock-on feature)
  • 13:00 Hotline Miami’s Masks
  • 15:57 The knives of Hotline Miami and Mike tried a “no gun playthrough”
  • 18:00 The problem with multi-level complexes and Jacob’s true feelings come out
  • 20:00 A game that beats the poop out of you
  • 21:25 Are we sociopaths… bringing it back to Spec Ops: The Line
  • 24:25 Don’t play the game with the sound off
  • 27:30 Jacob brings up Cactus & “…this game is […] better than the sum of its parts.”
  • 29:00 Mike explains the story
  • 33:29 The shift from Jacket to Biker
  • 35:22 The end of the game
  • 38:20 Is the game about mental illness?
  • 40:30 How a developer’s break-up affected the game
  • 44:00 The four questions and tying this game to Bioshock and The Stanley Parable
  • 47:40 How our age affected our thoughts about the violence
  • 50:00 Jacob hates the doors
  • 51:13 How did we rank in the game & how we combo
  • 52:35 How would you recommend playing the game?