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Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number due out 'late 2013' for PC, Mac, Linux
Beneath our descriptions of violence, twisted psyches and new features within Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, there lies relevant information about the game that you surely shouldn't miss: It's due out this year – Dennaton co-founder Denis Wedin told us at E3 that it would be "late 2013" – and it's coming for sure to PC, Mac and Linux via Steam. Dennaton is talking with console companies about potential releases, and regarding Vita specifically, Wedin said, "We hope so." Wrong Number is a darker, more emotional journey through the lives of multiple, playable characters as they rampage throughout the '90s, enacting their own brands of bloody justice. Wedin wouldn't divulge how many playable characters were in Wrong Number, but the demo featured the Pig Butcher and the Fans – and there will be a playable lady character in there, Wedin told us. Dennaton doesn't have any plans for multiplayer in Wrong Number, at least not at first. They may add something down the line, Wedin said, but the story in the main campaign is the priority. "We tried to give different storylines to the characters, tried to work with different emotions – not just being crazy or like a psychopath," Wedin said. "We tried to give them other backstories." Wrong Number tackles deep feelings and character motivations, but it isn't a complete break from its Hotline Miami roots, Wedin stressed: "We're super proud of how [Hotline Miami] works and people seem to like it a lot, so we're only going to add more enemies and more weapons and more and more. So if you love the feeling and the pace of the difficulty in the first game, it's going to be in the second one."
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number unmasked: Blood, drugs, feelings
Don't worry, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is just as violent as Hotline Miami. In fact, it has everything that made Hotline Miami so brilliantly bloody – and then it adds more. More characters, more emphasis on narrative, more enemies, more weapons, more underground electronica bands, more masks and more ladies. Playable ladies. In a demo at E3, one half of Dennaton Games, Denis Wedin, showed off two new, playable characters in Wrong Number: the Pig Butcher and the Fans. The Pig Butcher starred in an early trailer for Hotline Miami, and he's a throwback to the mass murderers of classic '90s slasher movies. That trailer begins with the disclaimer, "Based on true events," because it's for a horror film within the Hotline Miami universe, where these vigilante rampages truly did go down. The Fans really are the fans, Wedin said. "They symbolize the players that want Hotline Miami 2 to be exactly like Hotline Miami 1," he said. "They collect masks and get phone calls – and that will be in there, but we don't want to make the same game one more time. We're trying to work with different storylines and what motivates the characters to actually go inside a building and start killing people." After the demo concludes, Wrong Number makes it clear that "more emotion" doesn't equate "less violence."
Hotline Miami 2 is in some kind of playable form at E3
Hotline Miami 2 is well on its way through the brutal development process, and it's playable at E3, a tweet from Devolver press agent Stephanie Schopp revealed. We spoke about Hotline Miami 2 with developers Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin at GDC this year, and they said the sequel will focus on the emotional aspects of life in the 90s, with parallel plots spawned from events in the first game. Söderström and Wedin said Hotline Miami 2 was in development for PC, though it could ship same-day on Vita. The main character in Hotline Miami, "Jacket," has a minor role in the sequel but won't be playable. Wedin called Hotline Miami 2 "the grand finale."
Hotline Miami's Cactus on the price of freeware development
Hotline Miami designer Jonatan Söderström – perhaps better known by his prickly development alias, Cactus – began his career in freeware, developing smaller, experimental games that anyone with the appropriate hardware could download and play at any time, game-development hippie-communism style. Some of his games include Norrland, Shotgun Ninja, Psychosomnium, Minubeat, Clean Asia! and Keyboard Drumset Fucking Werewolf. That last one, created in three weeks in October 2011, features art by Hotline Miami co-creator Dennis Wedin.Together, Wedin and Söderström form Dennaton Games, and they are part of the rising cult of indie superstars. But the draw of fame and fortune wasn't why Söderström stopped making freeware games."I didn't want to become homeless," Söderström told Joystiq at GDC. By February of this year, Hotline Miami clocked 300,000 PC sales, and PS3 and Vita ports by Abstraction Games are currently "pretty much done," expected to hit in May, Wedin said. Söderström isn't in danger of being homeless right now. Still, reverting to freeware development poses an interesting challenge."I kind of want to start doing freeware games again, but when you put so much work into something that turns out really good, it feels hard to do smaller things that won't be as good," Söderström said. It's all about "finding the inspiration to do something that seems worthwhile," he continued. "When you work on a big game for a long while, you start thinking in ideas that only work if they are big. It's difficult to turn to the other mindset, especially when you are still working on the next big thing."Dennaton is digging into development on the sequel to Hotline Miami, a large game with parallel plots taking place in the early 90s, and after that Wedin and Söderström have ideas for fresh IPs. They'll probably be bigger games, even if Dennaton doesn't intend for them to be."Hotline Miami wasn't meant to be big," Wedin said.
Hotline Miami sequel takes out parallel plots, emotion of early 90s
The sequel to Hotline Miami tackles the more touchy-feely aspects of the early 90s, Dennaton Games duo Jonatan Söderström and Dennis Wedin tell Joystiq at GDC. The gameplay will stray in a few different directions, with parallel plots built around the first game, and more attention on emotional experiences. It's planned for PC, although Abstraction, the company currently porting Hotline Miami to Vita, can now work on the sequel's port "right away," Wedin says. Dennaton is in talks with Sony, but if all goes well the sequel may ship day-and-date on PC and Vita, Wedin and Söderström say. Devolver Digital is on tap to publish again, and Dennaton is still talking with them, too. "They've been super nice," Söderström says. Wedin chimes in, "They let us do whatever we want." The protagonist of Hotline Miami – Dennaton is cool with the name "Jacket" – has a minor part in the next game, but he won't be a playable character. The music will feel familiar, too, with a few bands recycled from Hotline Miami and some new groups, but no original score. If any of that is unsatisfactory to any fans of the series, chill out – the sequel is lucky it even exists, at least right now. Söderström and Wedin both wanted to work on a brand new IP, but they couldn't stop talking about Hotline Miami, so they decided to finish that project first. This sequel marks the end of Hotline Miami for Dennaton. "It's the grand finale, for us," Wedin says.
Hotline Miami takes a shot at Mac, available now on Steam
Hotline Miami is making a mess of Mac, starting today on Steam. It's $10 right now, which really is a steal for "one of the better arcade action games to come along in a while."The Mac launch is a nice bonus for those itching to get Hotline Miami on PS3 and Vita this spring, coming from port extraordinaire Abstraction Games, with oversight from developer Dennaton. The Hotline Miami soundtrack is just as good as the game itself, which is why it also goes for $10 on Steam, though that thing's been playable on Mac for a while now.
Hotline Miami brings cross-buy beats to PS3, Vita this spring
Taste the happy, Vita and PS3 owners, because the raw violence-o-rama that is Hotline Miami is coming to the PlayStation platforms this spring as a cross-buy game. That means a single purchase entitles you to versions on both platforms.The ports are being developed by Abstraction Games under the guidance of original developer Dennaton Games. You might recognize Abstraction's name from previous PSP and DSiWare conversions of Angry Birds and Cut the Rope respectively, as well as WiiWare puzzler Potpourrii (and if you do, kudos to you).Publisher Devolver Digital also revealed the 80s-infused ultraviolence of Hotline Miami is proving a hit on PC, with 300,000 sales to date.
Hotline Miami soundtrack hits Steam, game on sale for $5
The Hotline Miami soundtrack is now available for download from Steam. The thumping, buzzing soundtrack is one of the best parts of the game, and can now be had for $10. The soundtrack is also still available to stream in its entirety via SoundCloud.And, in case you didn't pick up Hotline Miami the last time it was on sale for $5, or the time before that, or the time before that, Steam has once again halved the price of the hyper-violent, pixelated indie. The sale ends on Monday at 10am PT.
Hotline Miami $5 on Steam until Dec. 10
Hyper-violent arcade actioner Hotline Miami is half-off on Steam through the weekend. Developer Dennaton's game is on sale for $5 until December 10.The game's received solid marks from critics. Our review called it a "challenge in planning, reflexes and dexterity" – for those who can stomach the stylized gore.%Gallery-169121%
Hotline Miami review: Dial M
The crux of Hotline Miami is pretty simple: high speed, precision murder. It's brutal, disgusting, and incredibly violent, which is bound to turn off some players. Those who can stomach it – or console themselves with the belief that it's really just a commentary on violence itself man – will find one of the better arcade action games to come along in a while.At the behest of a mysterious trio of men in animal masks, the nameless protagonist travels to numerous seedy locations – clubs, drug dens, crime lairs – and proceeds to extinguish every living soul on the premises. The abilities at your disposal are limited to the bare essentials: Melee weapons and guns can be swung, shot or thrown, and enemies can be executed. On top of all this, you can only hold one weapon at a time. It's a limited tool box, but it allows for a surprisingly broad variety of possibilities.%Gallery-169121%
Hotline Miami creator in talks for PS Vita port
Jonatan Söderström is considering another version of Hotline Miami, his macabre murder simulator driven by a thumping soundtrack. He is in talks with Sony for a possible PS Vita version, following last week's launch on the PC.Söderström told Pocket Gamer his team has "been talking with Sony" about the idea of a port, but even if approved his team members lack the ability to port Hotline Miami themselves. "We would need someone to port it for us."Though we imagine playing Hotline Miami on Vita would involve the analog sticks, Söderström seems engaged by the idea of making a touch-screen interface too. "Would be interesting to see if it was possible to get it to play well on a touchscreen device," he said. "Sounds like a challenge."
Hotline Miami trailer goes behind the masks
It turns out the masks in Hotline Miami aren't just there to make the game that little extra bit more upsetting. They actually provide in-game benefits to your psychotic avatar. They're also pretty upsetting.
Live-action Hotline Miami trailer is so, so disturbing
This live-action trailer for Dennton Games' Hotline Miami gets creepy fast. The violent, top-down mayhem game now seems all the more appropriate as a Halloween gift for your twisted self when it launches October 23 on PC and Mac.
Hotline Miami drives the art of violence
If there's one thing I can say about Hotline Miami, it's that it leaves an impression. The music is probably what hit me first: electronic tunes that range from foreboding drones to synth-heavy, 80s-inspired rhythms. Pixelated visuals throb with neon colors that would be right at home in an episode of Miami Vice.The overall tone is reminiscent of the film Drive, which is no accident. Dennis Wedin of developer Dennaton Games tells me he loves the movie and that it was one of the inspirations for Hotline Miami. Apart from the music and visual style, Hotline Miami has one other element in common with Drive: horrific, unflinching violence.%Gallery-159789%
Hotline Miami isn't going to do much for Florida tourism
Jonatan "Cactus" Söderström, rapid-fire game designer, is working with bus-driving publisher Devolver Digital to bring players to a nightmare alternate-universe retro Miami.Developed by Dennaton Games, a new collaborative label by Cactus and Dennis Wedin, Hotline Miami is a brutally violent top-down action game set in a pixelated and neon-colored version of Miami, in which the player can collect "25 game-altering masks." It's due for PC and Mac, with unspecified plans for console adaptations.In case you were wondering, yes, Devolver has set up a real hotline, and it's at 786-519-3708. You will be asked to leave a message. You will probably also be creeped out.
