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Platform Win, PS3, PS Vita, Mac Publisher Devolver Digital Developer Dennaton Games Release Date 10/23/2012

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8.5

Hotline Miami review: American psycho

By Chris Plante on Oct 25, 2012 10.25.12

All of Hotline Miami's bloodshed is bound in a pulpy crime story. A gang of animal mask-wearing criminals forces a street punk to become their assassin. They leave thinly veiled assassination assignments on his answering machine, sending him onto the streets of 1989 Miami. This isn't the story of a cold-blooded murderer. Guilt manifests itself mentally and physically. The world of Hotline Miami is dark as squid ink, and bolstered by a crunchy synth soundtrack and wavy neon graphics that combine to form an OK substitute for a bad LSD trip. The set dressing of the man's apartment is a particularly deft touch. The accumulation of trash and unexpected house guests establishes Hotline Miami's story more succinctly than would cutscenes or lengthy patches of dialogue. As his life goes, so...

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Journey, Mega Man and Silent Hill composers join forces on World 1-2 album

By Dave Tach on Apr 23, 2013 04.23.13

World 1-2, an upcoming 20-track album from video game composers of Journey, Mega Man and the Silent Hill series and more, will be released on May 2, the project's organizer Mohammed Taher told the Verge. Taher, a self-described "video game music fanboy from Kuwait," organized the project after asking VVVVVV composer Souleye to write the theme song for Taher's podcast. Souleye agreed, and Taher began reaching out to other video game composers. What began as an idea for a four-track EP grew into an entire album. World 1-2 is available for pre-order on GameChops, where you can also sample a handful of tracks, including one by Manami Matsumae the composer of Mega Man. It will also feature Austin Wintory (Journey), Eirik Suhrke (Spelunky, Ridiculous Fishing, Hotline Miami), Keiji...

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Cart Life wins big at the 15th annual Independent Games Festival Awards

By Jenna Pitcher on Mar 27, 2013 03.27.13

At tonight's 15th annual Independent Games Festival awards, held at the Game Developers Conference, Richard Hofmeier's Cart Life won three of its three category nominations, including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, Excellence in Narrative and the Nuovo Award. FTL: Faster than Light won one of its two nominations, which was the Excellence in Design category. It also won the Audience Award. 140 beat out Hotline Miami for the Excellence in Audio award. Kentucky Route Zero and Little Inferno won Excellence in Visual Arts and Technical Excellence, respectively. Zineth won the Student Showcase category. Each full category is listed below. Seumas McNally Grand Prize Cart Life (winner) FTL: Faster than Light Hotline Miami Kentucky Route Zero Little Inferno Excellence in Visual Arts G...

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Hotline Miami released for Mac

By Dave Tach on Mar 19, 2013 03.19.13

Hotline Miami, Dennaton Games' bloody, retro-styled shooter, is now available now on Mac through Steam, according to the game's listing on Valve's digital distribution service. The $9.99 game's Mac port had long been listed as coming "out soon" on the Steam page, beginning as far back as November 2012 when it was patched to add Xbox 360 controller support and a bonus stage. The Mac version did not ship with controller support. In February, publisher Devolver Digital announced that the game would be ported to PlayStation 3 and Vita this spring. For more on Hotline Miami, be sure to check out Polygon's review of its original Windows incarnation. We've reached out to the developer to see if the bonus stage made the transition or controller support is planned for a future update and will...

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Voting open online for the Game Developers Choice Award

By Dave Tach on Feb 19, 2013 02.19.13

The virtual ballet box is open for the Game Developers Choice Audience Award and accepting nominations today through 5 p.m. ET March 1, according to the official website. Voters need to select a game from a list provided and enter an email address, from which you'll be prompted to confirm your vote. The list of nominated games includes: Assassin's Creed 3 Borderlands 2 Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Dishonored Dust: An Elysian Tail Far Cry 3 Fez FTL: Faster Than Light Gravity Rush Halo 4 Hero Academy Hotline Miami Journey Kid Icarus: Uprising Mark of the Ninja Mass Effect 3 PlanetSide 2 The Room Sound Shapes Spelunky Spec Ops: The Line Trials Evolution The Unfinished Swan Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward The Walking Dead XCOM: Enemy Unknown ZombiU In late...

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Hotline Miami headed to PlayStation 3 and Vita this spring

By Dave Tach on Feb 19, 2013 02.19.13

Hotline Miami is coming to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita this spring, according to a video published today on publisher Devolver Digital's YouTube channel. The developer has been teasing an announcement in recent days, including a picture posted to Yfrog earlier today showing a screenshot that references a start button you wouldn't expect to see on its Windows PC port. Check out the video above to see the console and handheld ports in action. If you haven't waded into Hotline Miami's retro-styled murderous action, be sure to check out our review. Dutch developer Abstraction Games is working on the ports, which will support Sony's Cross Buy program. Announced last August, Cross Buy allows those who purchase a game on one version of Sony's hardware to unlock it for free on the...

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Hotline Miami publisher invites indie developers to pitch game ideas on a bus

By Jenna Pitcher on Feb 14, 2013 02.14.13

Hotline Miami publisher Devolver Digital are inviting independent developers attending the Game Developers Conference 2013 to pitch game ideas to them as part of the Pitch Fork Parker initiative. Named after Devolver Digital's Chief Financial Officer Fork Parker, independent developers can pitch their ideas on a shuttle bus while hitching a ride to GDC (from their hotel rooms). The publisher is also available for pitch meetings off the bus. Independent studios with successful pitches will receive development funding, marketing and public relations resources from Devolver Digital. Developers entering into the "non-sexual loving relationship" maintain complete creative freedom on the project. "I was under the impression that 'being developer friendly' just meant buying them dinner,...

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Anodyne developer explains why embracing piracy can help small developers

By Emily Gera on Feb 12, 2013 02.12.13

It is better to embrace inevitable piracy than to fight it, Anodyne co-designer Sean Hogan stated on Reddit under his online handle seagaia. This statement follows the appearance of the developer's 2D title Anodyne on file sharing website The Pirate Bay. Rather than fighting back, Hogan began to share download codes for the game, explaining through Reddit: "Yeah, piracy is inevitable so it's better to embrace it — plus, it gives lots of people who couldn't normally afford the game the opportunity to play it. "I think when you're a small group of developers (only my friend Jon [Kittaka] and I made Anodyne), it's better to have lots of people able to experience your game. We hope enough people will like it and the word will get out, eventually allowing us to get onto Steam, which...

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Hotline Miami soundtrack available on Steam, Hotline Miami half off this weekend

By Megan Farokhmanesh on Jan 24, 2013 01.24.13

The official soundtrack for Hotline Miami, Dennaton Games' top-down action title, is available now on Steam for $9.99. The 21-track album includes Sun Araw's "Horse Steppin" and "Deep Cover," as well as El Huevo's "Crush" and "Turf," and many more. Songs are available in an MP3 format, and according to a tweet from the official Hotline Miami account, all nine artists will receive a portion of the soundtrack's sales. The soundtrack is considered downloadable content, however, and requires ownership of the game on Steam to play. Hotline Miami itself is now half off until Monday morning, Jan. 28. During the sale, Steam users can pick up the game for $4.99. Hotline Miami was released in October 2012. The game is still only available on Windows PC, though a Mac version is expected soon....

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IGF 2013 finalists announced, including FTL, Hotline Miami and Super Hexagon

By Dave Tach on Jan 07, 2013 01.07.13

The juries for the 15th annual Independent Games Festival have released a list of this year's finalists, which honors games like FTL: Faster Than Light, Hotline Miami and Super Hexagon. This year's finalists divide into seven categories that recognize achievements in art, audio, storytelling and more. The categories and nominees include: Seumas McNally Grand Prize Cart Life FTL: Faster than Light Hotline Miami Kentucky Route Zero Little Inferno Excellence in Visual Art Guacamelee Incredipede Kentucky Route Zero Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime Year Walk Technical Excellence Intrusion 2 LiquidSketch Little Inferno Perspective StarForge Excellence in Design FTL: Faster than Light Samurai Gunn Starseed Pilgrim Super Hexagon Super Space ____ Excellence in Audio 1...

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Hotline Miami has been torrented to 'extraordinary levels', Devolver Digital says

By Tracey Lien on Dec 12, 2012 12.12.12

Devolver Digital's Hotline Miami has been torrented at a "staggering level", its developers say. Speaking to Eurogamer, Devolver's project manager Graeme Struthers said that while he doesn't know the exact piracy numbers, he isn't surprised that it has happened. "It has been torrented to such a staggering level, and given the file size of it, I mean, you can't really be surprised, right?" he said. "You could pass this thing around on the world's smallest memory stick ... so it has been torrented to extraordinary levels." Despite the number of people pirating the game, Struthers says the developers are pleased that the game has sold 130,000 copies and he is "chuffed to bits" for creators Jonathan "Cactus" Söderström and Dennis Wedin. "It would be nice if guys could find it within...

Hotline Miami Releases
North America
  • Windows
    • Released 10/23/2012
    • Publisher Devolver Digital
    • Developer Dennaton Games
    • Score 8.5
  • PlayStation 3
    • Publisher Devolver Digital
    • Developer Dennaton Games
  • PlayStation Vita
    • Publisher Devolver Digital
    • Developer Dennaton Games
  • Mac
    • Publisher Devolver Digital
    • Developer Dennaton Games
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