Quick answer: Two top-down murder puzzles where everyone dies in one hit, including you. The 2012 original scored 85 and is one of the most influential indie games ever made. The 2015 sequel scored 74 and splits people hard. Bundled as the Hotline Miami Collection, they total about 16 hours and are on Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series. Buy it for the first game and treat the second as a bonus.
Original illustration created for IGGG Guides.
The rule that defines Hotline Miami is that everybody dies instantly. You, them, everyone. There is no health bar to manage and no cover to hide behind. A door opens, two seconds later somebody is dead, and most of the time it's you.
That single decision turns a top-down shooter into something closer to a puzzle you solve at speed. You will replay the same room thirty times, and the restart is instant, so you never stop to be annoyed about it. Dennaton Games, which is two people, built the whole thing around that loop in 2012 and the genre has been copying it ever since.
Two games, two very different receptions
Original illustration created for IGGG Guides.
| Hotline Miami | Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 23 October 2012 | 10 March 2015 |
| Metacritic | 85 PC, 87 PS3 | 74 PC, 75 PS4 |
| Steam players | ~95% positive, 129,000 reviews | ~94% positive, 77,000 reviews |
| Length | 20 chapters, 4 to 5 hours | 27 scenes in 6 acts, 8 to 10 hours |
| Set in | Miami, 1989. You play Jacket | 1991 and around it. An ensemble, not Jacket |
Worth correcting a thing that gets repeated constantly: Wrong Number is not Jacket's story. It jumps before, during and after the first game, mostly across late 1991, and hands you a rotating cast of killers, cops, writers and fans. Jacket appears, on trial for what you did in the first game. If you go in expecting a direct continuation you'll be confused for eight hours.
The score gap is real but it hides something odder. Critics did not mildly agree the sequel was worse, they split down the middle. GameSpot gave it 9, IGN 8.8, Polygon and Game Informer 8.5. At the other end, PC Gamer UK gave it 57 out of 100, Metro gave it 5 out of 10, and CGMagazine 6. Players, meanwhile, rate it 7.9 and 94% positive on Steam.
The disagreement is about level size. Wrong Number's maps are much bigger, with enemies carrying guns from off screen, so a death twenty minutes into a room sends you back to the start of a long sequence. Some reviewers read that as ambition, others as padding. Both readings are defensible, which is exactly why we keep flagging that one aggregate number hides more than it tells, as in our Terminator: Resistance review.
The masks are the mechanic
Original illustration created for IGGG Guides.
Before each level you pick an animal mask, and each one rewrites a rule. One makes guard dogs ignore you. One starts you with a weapon. One lets doors kill on impact. One makes you faster. They are not cosmetic and they are not minor, and choosing the right mask for a floor plan is half the game.
Everything else is improvisation. Guns are loud and summon every enemy on the floor, so a shotgun is a last resort rather than an upgrade. A thrown bottle stuns. A door swung into a face knocks someone down. The best runs look choreographed and were nothing of the sort.
Each level ends with a letter grade based on kills, combos, weapon variety and speed, and chasing an A is the reason people replay these games for years. There are no difficulty settings. The grade is the difficulty setting.
The soundtrack is not a side note
Hotline Miami's music did as much for its reputation as its mechanics. The synth and techno selection is relentless and pulls the whole thing into rhythm, to the point where dying twenty times to the same track becomes hypnotic rather than irritating.
There's a design detail inside it that is easy to miss. When the music drops out, the floor is clear. You know you've finished before the game tells you, and the silence after ten minutes of that noise does more than any victory screen would.
Where the Collection actually is
The Hotline Miami Collection bundles both games. It launched on Nintendo Switch on 19 August 2019, ported by Abstraction Games and published by Devolver Digital, then reached Xbox One and Stadia in 2020 and PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. On PC the two games are sold separately, frequently bundled, and discounted by up to 80%.
The Collection scored 82 on Metacritic across 22 reviews, with 91% positive and not one negative. Reviewers liked the handheld fit in particular. The dissent is worth knowing: Switch Player gave it 60, calling the controls irritating and the difficulty unfair, and Metro gave the package 8 while rating the original 9 and the sequel 5.
One thing that does not travel: the level editor for Wrong Number is PC only. Over 700 player-made levels appeared on its first day. If that's the draw, buy on PC rather than console.
A content warning that the marketing underplays. Both games are rated Mature and the violence is extreme, pixelated but constant and deliberately uncomfortable. The sequel in particular contains a scene that drew significant criticism on release. This is not a stylish-violence game you put on for a younger player.
Why it still matters
By 2022 the two games had sold more than five million copies combined. In 2025 Devolver Digital reported Hotline Miami as its seventh most profitable property, generating over $30 million in lifetime revenue, from a game built by two people and released at a low price.
That's the context worth holding onto. A hundred million dollar budget bought the outcome in our Saints Row review, where the studio was closed. Two people and a synth soundtrack built something still earning a decade later, which is the same lesson as Axiom Verge.
Buy, wait or skip
| You are | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New to it entirely | Buy the Collection | The first game alone justifies it. The sequel is a bonus you may or may not like |
| On Switch or a handheld | Buy | 82 on Metacritic, and short levels suit short sessions perfectly |
| You want the level editor | Buy on PC | It never came to console. Hundreds of community campaigns exist |
| Easily frustrated by repetition | Skip | You will die dozens of times per level. That is the design, not a flaw |
| Loved the first, considering the second | Manage expectations | Bigger maps, off-screen gunmen, longer retries. Critics scored it anywhere from 57 to 90 |
| Sensitive to graphic violence | Skip | Pixelated, but unrelenting and intentionally unpleasant |
Verdict
Essential, for the first game. Hotline Miami is one of the few indie games whose influence you can trace through a decade of releases, and the one-hit rule, the masks and that soundtrack still have no real equal. Wrong Number is longer, angrier and more divisive, and whether you love it depends entirely on how you feel about dying twenty minutes into a room. Together, at the price they go for, it is a straightforward recommendation. Assessed against the Collection across its current platforms.
Frequently asked questions
How long are both games?
About 4 to 5 hours for Hotline Miami's 20 chapters and 8 to 10 for Wrong Number's 27 scenes. Tracked completion for the Collection sits around 16 and a half hours, far longer if you chase high grades.
Is Hotline Miami 2 about Jacket?
No. It uses an ensemble cast and jumps before, during and after the first game, concentrating on late 1991. Jacket appears but is on trial for the first game's events. Expecting a direct sequel is the quickest way to be confused by it.
Which platforms is the Collection on?
Nintendo Switch since 19 August 2019, Xbox One and Stadia from 2020, and PS5 and Xbox Series X/S from 2023. On PC the games are sold individually and often bundled.
Are there difficulty options?
No. The challenge is fixed and one hit kills you throughout. Replay value comes from improving your letter grade, which rewards speed, combos and weapon variety.
Do the masks actually matter?
Yes, considerably. Each changes a rule, from making guard dogs friendly to starting you armed to making doors lethal. Picking the right one for a floor plan is a genuine tactical decision.
Can I make my own levels?
Only on PC. The Wrong Number level editor is PC exclusive and had more than 700 community levels published on its first day. No console version includes it.
Is a third game coming?
Nothing has been announced. Dennaton Games is a two-person studio and has not committed to another entry.
Where to go next
- Axiom Verge, another tiny team that outlasted far bigger studios
- Trek to Yomi, another short, stylish game that leads with atmosphere
- F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch, well reviewed and almost unknown
- Saints Row, and what a hundred million dollars bought instead
- Why two people can outlast a studio of three hundred
- Why a five-hour game can beat a hundred-hour one
- Browse more Action and Adventure guides
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