Free fan game released on PC

Team Fortress 2 and Hotline Miami are an unlikely match, but in the realm of just-go-for-it-and-see-what-sticks fan games, this funky fusion works well enough. Midnight Mercenaries, a top-down action game released for free on Game Jolt, lets you cleave through heavily armed enemies as familiar TF2 classes like the Scout, Heavy, and Spy. It's definitely worth a run-through if you've got the time. (Thanks, Rock, Paper, Shotgun.)

Imagine smacking a Hotline Miami goon from afar with a baseball, or unloading a minigun on a room of baddies (then blowing yourself up with a barrel). That's Midnight Mercenaries.

The creator, GermanPeter, also has an extended ?playthrough on? YouTube (embedded here) if you just want to take a peek without committing to a full install on Windows.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw4gnzjOb5I

Much like the source material, the action can be frenetic until you get a proper feel for the floor plans and how the AI might react to your plan of attack. Sometimes, you have the right idea, but there's something off and the whole thing gets derailed. Death can be instantaneous �for you and your foes. And beyond the iconic Hotline Miami framing, Midnight Mercenaries also works to replicate the unique kits for each TF2 class.

As much as I often stuck with a shotgun in the Hotline games, I don't mind adapting to different playstyles, and that's kind of the appeal here. Some of the old tricks still work against the super lethal but less-than-bright AI, while other times, depending on the level layout, it's crucial to work with �not against �??your? character's particular set of skills.

It'll keep you on your toes, but it's not unfair

According to the developer, the intention is to have "fair enemy placement that prevents enemies from sniping you from off-screen." There's also a respawn option, so you can take another crack at the current floor without a ton of pressure. Of course, high score chasing is a major part of Hotline Miami, and that holds true for Midnight Mercenaries too.

[caption id="attachment_336384" align="alignnone" width="1432"] _{Watch your step.}[/caption]

The story setup isn't particularly memorable �I found it hard to buy into, given the characters involved. There's also no topping the real deal's soundtrack. But if you're looking for familiar Hotline Miami action with a neat enough TF2 twist, this is it.

Just watch out for those blended-in bottomless ?pits. Every dang time!

The post M??idnight Mercenaries combines Hotline Miami action with Team Fortress 2 classes appeared first on Destructoid.

Taking the Improvised Weapons feat to the extreme

Okay, if I grab the hammer ??from that stump I can use it to take out two of those mooks guarding the s??hish kebab, then dash past the crush traps. The guy at the end of the trap line is wearing a pool floatie as armor, so I'll have to use a ranged weapon to take him out, or else it'll take two swings and I'd really rather drop him in one hit.

I'll have to ?balance on the exploding barrel to avoid the spike pit, but would I do better to crash it into a dude and boost jump up to higher ground, or just use the cannon? to gain altitude? No, wait, I can use this tiki torch to blow past those guys and take them from behind if I...

Crap, they got me. Let's try that again.

Bloodroots (PC [Epic Games Store], PS4 [reviewed], Switch)
Developer: Paper Cult
Publisher: Paper Cult
Released: February 28, 2020 
MSRP: $19.99

Bloodroots is a heavily stylized, frantic beat-em-up which draws inspiration from games like Hotline Miami and Katana Zero, where a single mistake is as deadly for your opponents as it is for you. Your main goal in every level is to kill everyone before they can return the favor, though your motivation only becomes clear by playing through the story. When played well, it's a blast bouncing from foe to foe in a ballet of homicidal fury. It's a title I've been looking forward to since I first got to try it out a couple of years ago, ??and I'm pleased to say that in my ?opinion, it's been worth the wait.

The two biggest selling points for Bloodroots are the striking animation style and the fact that nearly anything you see onscreen can be used as an improvised weapon. The game's visuals were inspired by the work of Genndy Tartakovsky, particularly the Samurai Jack series. It's extremely impr??essive in motion, and screenshots don't ?really do the game justice. The final kill in each level is punctuated by a brief cutscene which slows down the action for a moment, no matter what weapon you're using at the time. Most of the game's unique weapons will trigger a different cutscene, so it's quite entertaining experimenting with different options to see how you might end a man's life with nothing but a dried fish, mandolin, or root vegetable.

Although your charact?er Mr. Wolf is skilled with conventional weapons such as swords, axes, and firearms, it's more entertaining to try killing fo??es with less common tools. Part of the fun is seeing how various items can be used to dispatch the army of thugs set against you by your former gang members. Wagon wheels can be thrown at enemies, or you can stand on one and ride it around like a top until it breaks. You can swing a giant hammer at your enemies, or use it as a piledriver to jump and take out several at the same time. A bundle of fireworks can be used to light enemies on fire, or used to double-jump. If you manage to time it right, you can do both at once. 

Timing is critical to success in Bloodroots. There are separate buttons for picking up a weapon, using it, and jumping. While it's possible to kill enemies with a single unarmed punch, doing so leaves you vulnerable for a moment, and that can be all your surviving enemies need to take you down. Each weapon has a limited number of uses, so you're always encouraged to try something new and to keep an eye out for a new implement of death. The fast, frenetic gameplay lends itself well to speedrunning, and I'll be looking forward to seeing experts do perfect runs at AGDQ. Fortunately, it's possible to succeed even if you don't have ??the levels memorized. Dying just makes the screen turn red and restarts your progress at the beginning of the current area, so you're encouraged to get right back into? the action.

One of the things that impressed me most was Bloodroots' internal logic, and the way the cartoony physics make sense in this world. Throwing an oil lantern at an enemy will leave a trail of fire behind, and luring o?ther enemies into this trail will set them alight. Roll a barrel through a campfire, and you can set a whole field of grass ablaze as you ride it like a steamroller. Crashing a haycart into a pine tree will knock it down, crushing anyone standing underneath and potentially providing a new angle of attack as you use the tree as a bridge. You can twirl a ladder around your head like a helicopter, which allows you to hover in midair and provides an opportunity to smash through a few enemies before it falls to piec??es. If you come at a particular level thinking, "What would Bugs Bunny do?" there's a good chance you'll make it through in one piece.

While secondary to the action, Bloodroots has a story to tell, and it's drip-fed through flashbacks and cutscenes in between the action segments. Mr. Wolf used to be a member of a criminal gang who all themed themselves after various beasts, and together they terrorized the wild West. After a disagreement involving a massacre in Tarrytown, Mr. Wolf turned his back on the other gang members, who attempted to kill him as a traitor. Mr.?? Wolf, understandably upset about all this, swore revenge against his betrayers. The spaghetti-flavored soundtrack helps sell the story, and these Western tunes set the mood so perfectly I didn't mind retrying levels over and over to try and find a workable solution.

While there's no multplayer option, Bloodroots does include online leaderboards for play??ers who put up particularly good runs. Players are graded on how efficiently they move from enemy to enemy, how mobile they remain while doing so, variety of weapons used, number of deaths, and so on. There's always a counter in the upper left of your screen which shows how high your kill combo is, and you can get bonus points if you refresh the combo just as it's about to expire.

This adds a lot of replay value for those who want to absolutely perfect a given level, but there's not much reason to return if this sort of thing doesn't appeal to you. It's still fun replaying levels to try out different combinations though, and there are some unlockable hats and other bonuses which change ??up the gameplay a little bit. 

As much as I've enjoyed my time with it, Bloodroots does have a couple of problems which might make it less appealing to certain players. If you get frustrated easily, this probably isn't the game for you. It's pretty difficult, and if you aren't willing to put some time in to learn the patterns you may become stuck on a section for quite a while. It can sometimes be hard to follow the action, especially on a smaller TV (or, presumably, the Switch's handheld mode). The sheer amount of stuff onscreen at once means sometimes enemies and high-priority targets are hard to pick out. Additionally, the fact that you have to kill every enemy in an area before? moving on to the next one sometimes makes the game feel more like hide-and-seek than it probably should. 

While I admit it's a very minor issue, I was surprised to read some of the language that came out of the antagonists' mouths. It seemed ?odd that the tone seemed to shift from cartoonish, slapstick ultraviolence to brooding grimdark angst and back again so quickly. The previous stage had pinball bumpers in it, for Pete's sake. Still, if you're in it for the action and don't care much about the story, you won't be disappointed.

I did run into a particularly nasty bit of slowdown in one of the second level's stages, but it didn't show up until I had died several times during the same stage. It made the normally fluid animation look more like a slideshow. Fortunately, resetting the game took care of the problem. Unfortunately, I did lose some progress since I had to play this level from the beginning. I presume th??is will be patched soon, so I hope it won't affect too many people before then.  

Despite some minor flaws, Bloodroots is a manically fun game that oozes style. Discovering new and unique ways to use the extremely varied arsenal to my advantage kept me coming back again and again. Even when I died (and believe me, I died plenty), I was thoroughly enjoying myself. If you're in the mood for a fast, stylish action game with plenty of challenge, Bloodroots might be just what you're looking for.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of ?the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Bloodroots appeared first on Destructoid.

Why always running backwards?

Serious Sam might not be a househol??d name, but? that hasn’t stopped the guy from appearing in a crazy amount of games. Developer Croteam and publisher Devolver Digital have always had a fondness for the character and that has extended to letting indie devs take him in directions never intended. This has led to games with interesting concepts, but shaky execution.

I Hate Running Backwards actually started life as another Serious Sam indie game before becoming a grand Devolver Digital crossover event. While it has cool ideas, a ton of charm and loads of gun??s, some design choic??es hold it back from its true potential.

I Hate Running Backwards (PC [Reviewed], Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
Developer: Binx Interactive, Croteam
Publisher: Devolver Digital, Croteam Incubator
Released: May 22, 2018, TBA (Switch)
MSRP: $14.99

The main gimmick of I Hate Running Backwards is right in the title; you run backwards. Developer Binx Interactive has described the game as a, “Shoot ‘Em Down,” which is a reverse of the arcade classic shmup genre. You’ll control Serious Sam and a bunch of other Devolver Digital characters on a journey to defeat Ugh Zan and save the world… I guess. It’s never made explicitly clear why you’re doing anything, but that hasn’t ever stopped the Serious Sam series from being entertaining.

You’ll face a plethora of enemies from Sam’s own games, including the ridiculous, screaming, headless kamikaze guys and asshole skeleton “Kleers.” To kill these enemies, you have a melee spin attack and two weapons, which you can switch between on the fly. For Sam, this means you’ll get his Tommy gun and shotgun, while someone like Shadow Warrior's Lo Wang will get his SMG and double barrel. Running out?? of ammo on either gun will default you to a slow pi??stol, though that has unlimited ammo.

Using just those few weapons could work, but the game? ups the ante and includes a bunch of insane secondary items. These take the form of a refrigerator that can freeze foes, a drone that will fly overhead and shoot enemies and even a donkey that will fart on the opposition. It showcases a lot of personality and can make for some truly wild times, with bullets ricocheting all over the place and the environment getting destroyed? by your firepower.

Along with those weapons, you’ll also find power-ups that grant you temporary abilities. The best is clearly the shield (which protects you from damage), but there is also an i??nfinite ammo power-up that will let you blast away with reckless abandon for roughly 10 seconds. These all come in handy, with none of them feeling like a total waste. Finally, you’ll build up a meter from killing enemies that will unleash a special attack. These are character specific and have some cool effects, like the Disco Lady transforming into a giant disco ball and rolling over enemies.

This is all accomplished through a simple control interface. I Hate Running Backwards utilizes both triggers, Y (Triang?le), A (X) and X (Square). The game isn’t a twin-stick shooter, so you’ll only need to worry about your line-of-fire being directly in front of your character. This simplicity is greatly appreciated because the action can become very chaotic in short order. Thankfully, you can bring a buddy along for the ride.

Where the game starts to falter is with the environment. While everything is themed around Serious Sam and uses the same Egyptian style of his games, I Hate Running Backwards is a procedurally generated game. This means levels will be randomly generated each run and dying will reset you back to square one. Every now and then, the game?? will be broken up by a mini-game (of sorts) that will see you driv?ing a car, shooting a turret or flying a helicopter. It doesn’t happen often, so it feels out of place when it does occur.

Another issue is that the amount of enemies on-screen wildly fluctuates between runs. The first area is typically simple, but can sometimes be swarmed with enemies?? and cause early (and frequent) deaths. This just leads to your run feeling useless, since you aren’t working towards any progressive unlocks. Some secondary weapons will become available after performing certain actions (which the game leaves vague), but they don’t dramatically alter the experience.

The only real unlocks are the various characters you can play as. You’ll start with three, but begin to collect different characters by hitting some of the game’s achievements. The big problem is that you’ll never know which achievement unlocks what character. Lo Wang will be a given (since he unlocks for dying the first time), but I still haven’t figured out how to get the protagonist from Hotline Miami or the Bullet, from Enter the Gungeon, whi?ch I saw in the preview build from PAX. The menu doesn’t clue you in and even the achievement descriptions fail to shed light on what you need to do.

The biggest problem is that the general pace of the game feels very slow. As c?haotic as the game can become, the gener?al scrolling speed is pretty lethargic. This isn’t so much running backwards as it is briskly walking. While this is meant to give you time to actually see enemies coming, sometimes they move ridiculously fast, while your character does not. Even though some character specific attributes include faster speed, it never feels like enough compensation for the game’s leisurely camera.

The general balance of the game's diffi?culty is just very poor. Because of the procedural generation, sometimes you’ll get barely any ammo or special weapons and you’ll just get trounced by your enemies. The bosses demand you practice skills? that aren’t used elsewhere and reaching them can sometimes take longer because the levels are generated with mini-games in the middle. It also sucks when the camera is stuck behind an environmental detail and you get pegged with a rocket, dying in the process.

Co-op is supposed to mitigate some of the challenge, since you can respawn after 30 seconds, but then the enemy count seemingly gets doubled and bosses require more damage. You’re also now fighting with your friend for ammo, which means one of you is going to be stuck with the crappy starter pistol and unable to really provide any s??upport. Maybe it was due to my friend lacking knowledge of the game, but I had a much easier time without him.

The real kicker, though, is that there isn’t a reliable way to jump past beaten bosses. When you defeat a boss, you’ll unlock a shortcut that skips each area, allowing you to quickly get back to your place of death. Every time you quit the game, those shortcut?s reset. I felt great after finishing the third boss ?for the first time and quitting for the night. Imagine my disappointment when I returned the next day and couldn’t just continue on. It basically killed my momentum and I dreaded having to repeat a bunch of content again.

While I pushed on, for a bit, I could only ever get to the fifth boss (of six) and that wasn’t even consistent. The game would keep generating wildly different levels in the fifth area and I couldn’t get into a rhythm to proceed. I hate not finishing a game for review, but I Hate Running Backwards simply beat the drive out of me.

The game has potential and is loaded with a bunch of memorable characters, but it has general design flaws that are tough to overlook. I haven’t even mentioned how there are daily runs, but playing an even harder version of an already difficult game doesn’t really hold much value for me. Maybe if you like cutting your teeth on absurdly difficult shooters, this will be for you. Personally, I want to like this game, but I Hate Running Backwards just wore out its welcome far too early.

[Update: Developer Binx Interactive released a patch that fixes a lot of the issues I had with the game. Be sure to check out my post detailing them here. - Peter]

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: I Hate Running Backwards appeared first on Destructoid.

From the sublime to the silly, here are a collection of tunes that would make Professor K proud

I am fond of a video game mashup or two, so I was stoked when I heard 2 Mello (the composer for 2064: Read Only Memories) was releasing a Streets of Rage mashup album this week. When it came out on Tuesday, I downloaded it right away for listening to during workouts, and it hasn't disappointed me. He has also released a Notorious B.I.G. and Earthbound mashup album, which is consistently great.

My interest in mashups has been reawakened, so I thought I'd check out what else is out there on SoundCloud and YouTube. And boy, was I in for a treat. Spanning the thoroughly brilliant and the brilliantly daft, there's a lot out there to listen to when you want to let the twin worlds of video games and music collide. Below are a f??ew starter?? picks that put a smile on my face.

1. "Tetromino Crusher", Undertale x Tetris, NoteBlock

I knew, as soon as I heard it, that "Metal Crusher" sounded like Soviet music, but I never put two and two together and realised that the Tetris theme would fit it perfectly. So props to NoteBlock for figuring that out and making the tunes blend together so well! I'm not the biggest fan of the synthy direction they went in with the mashup – I think I would have rather heard the original pieces smashed together – but the arrangement get?s full marks.

2. "Crash Dat", Crash Bandicoot x Soulja Boy, SteveOfWarr

Yeah...time to start with the silly ones. If you're around my age, you will remember "Crank Dat" as the song that inevitably got put on when everyone was blind ??rolling drunk. Then everyone tries to Superman at the same time, in different directions. Then someone gets punched in the face. Well, you can relive two different levels of your youth without getting a honking black eye by listening to this track! Delightful.

3. "Hotline Spikes", Hotline Miami x Death Grips, Sadboy Sheldon

The soundtrack to Hotline Miami is genuinely good "everyday" music, and I have had it on in the background while finishing off uni work. "Crystals" by M|O|O|N and "Deep Cover" by Sun Araw are my favourite tracks from the original game, but this mix of "Miami 2" and "Spikes" by Death Grips works equally well. I often walk to work with this playing on my phone, because the spacy electro backing sort of cancels out MC Ride's aggression – which is better for first thing in the morning than "GUILLOTIIIIIIIINE".

4. "Walking on Sherbet Land", Mario Kart 64 x Katrina & The Waves, FizzyNote

Oooh, this one gets me giddy. Katrina & the Waves are a bit of a cheesefest, but have a special place on British radio for getting us a hallowed Eurovision win in 1997 with "Love Shine a Light" (this was before we pissed off the entirety of Europe and everyone started voting against us...mumble mumble rigged mumble mumble). The Mario Kart OSTs have the same kind of cheerful, bouncy flare as Katrina & the Waves's most famous track, "Walking on Sunshine", so it makes a lot of sense to combine the two songs. I dare you to be miserable listening to this. It's like a Solero lolly for your ears. 

5. "Get Gerudo", The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time  x Daft Punk, Greg Wood

I?? think most people are quite bored of hearing "Get Lucky" used in anything and e??verything, but this fresh remix isn't too overwrought and puts a nice spin on the original. And the tracks blend together like peanut butter and chocolate. Good job, Greg!  

6. "Piece of My Mind", Lisa: the Painful RPG x Dr. Dre, Overl00k

LISA: the Painful RPG, like Undertale, was created by a one-man team (Austin Jorgensen), including the music. Austin has become one of my favourite video game composers thanks to LISA, because he knew exactly how to use the soundtrack to portray a bleak hellscape, where men are doomed to fight forever over porno mags and heroin. Adding some Dr. Dre – he of "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" fame (check out the single art) – over the top is a nice touch.

7. Life Will Change (Full Cornered Version), Persona 5 x Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Tsunscreen

Yeah, this works, alright! The parallels between Persona 5 and the Ace Attorney series are pretty obvious (fighting for justice, fancy attire, dramatic musical interludes), so it's great to see the two together. We've had Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton cross-over games, so a Persona Q with Phoenix Wright characters wouldn??'t be half bad. I'm not the only one who wants that, right?

*tumbleweed*

8. "Holla If Ya Hear Me in the Corridors of Time", Chrono Trigger x 2Pac, DatManOverDer

2Pac is kind of a staple in the mashup world, but Chrono Trigger is not a frontrunner when it comes to the games side of things. Still, Chrono Trigger is a classic Squaresoft JRPG, so it deserves some love. I've yet to play it, but if this tune is anything to go by, I will be swept aw?ay by the atmosphere.

9. "3005 PM", Animal Crossing x Childish Gambino, pomelojuice

There's something very fitting about putting one of the dreamy AC songs together with Childish Gambino, one of the more mellow rappers on this list. While "Walking on Sherbert Land" is a bright orange fizzy drink, this mashup is a soothing? cup of ch?amomile tea. 

10. "If I Could I Would Play Mii? Channel", Mii Channel (Wii) x Blackbear, miyu

I couldn't round off this list without a Wii hardware reference, right? But instead of going with one of the cheesier Wii Shop mashups (and Lord knows I love the "Hotline Bling" mashup), I decided to go with something a little more R&B??-influenced that also pays homage to the defunct Mii Channel. I have fond memories of downloading Mii models based on various celebrities and pop culture icons??, and people used to put a bucketload of time and effort into creating the most life-like and/or grotesque avatars they could muster. I'll never forget you, Kermit Mii.

Do you have any favourite video game mashups that I haven't mentioned? Which is your favourite track on the list? Let me know in the comments down below!

The post Video game mashups to brighten up your day appeared first on Destructoid.

Here comes Revenge

Revenge plots are overused in our media. I’m sure off the top of your head, you could come up with about 15-20 films that have a character going on a vengeance streak for the wrongs done against them. ?You could probably also name a handful of video games, since killing off a family or humiliating a character is an easy way to build up bad guys as “evil.”

Redeemer doesn’t try to break that mold, which is fine for a short bit. This is a game about being brutal, ??bloody, and difficult and it gets that right for the first third. Soon, though, things go south and the game never really recovers.

Redeemer (PC)
Developer: Sobaka Studio
Publisher: Gambitious Digital Entertainment
Released: August 1, 2017
MSRP: $14.99

Redeemer starts in a decent manner that is reminiscent of a lot of old-school kung fu flicks. Your main character, named Vasily, had a terrible past where he was an assassin for hire working for an?? evil corporation. When they started to dig into cybernetic augmentation, Vasily wanted out. After a huge struggle, he escaped, but ended up crash landing at a monastery in some undisclosed mountainside.

After roughly 20 years of peace with the monks, the e??vil corporation finally tracks Vasily down and proceeds to destroy the life he had built. Unable to escape his torme??nted past, Vasily finally embraces the rage inside him and commences a vicious killing spree to end the corporation once and for all.

With that simple setup established, the game quickly thrusts you into the action and has you murdering foes within minutes. The first cutscene is short and sweet and doesn’t waste your time getting to the meat of the game. While the camera evokes a sort of Hotline Miami charm, this is not a twin-stick shooter. Redeemer is basically a beat-'em-up, with all of the pros ??and cons that genre used to have.

You have a light and strong attack that you can string together into some makeshift combos, the ability to carry weapons (both melee and firearms), a? dodge roll, a block, a stealth takedown, and the ability to disarm. It gives you a bunch of options to deal?? with foes, of which there are varying designs.

One of the cooler features (possibly inspired by 2016’s Doom) is that killing enemies regenerates your health. While you’ll always recover to about 25% when damaged, if you want to heal more, you’ll need to put the pressure on foes and utilize context-sensitive kills or environmental takedowns to restore anything more. It keeps the action going, since running away to hide doesn’t benefit you much?.

You’ll start off tackling some basic humans and eventually that progresses into heavy grunts, firearm-clad grunts, shielded flamethrower units, and dreaded zombie-like enemies. The combat almost feels like the Batman Arkham series, since you can ??time?? out your blocks to initiate a counter that temporarily stuns your foes. While you can’t spam block, you don’t really need to put much thought into when you press the button.

For a short bit, this all works well. The game is fast-paced and likes to give you ample opportunity to try out things like the aforementioned environmental takedowns and throwing objects. After the sixth level, though, all of the energy and fun gets sucked out. Since zombies are pretty resilient to physical attacks, the game becomes a slog of rolling around to find melee weapons while being chased by upwards of 10 enemies at once. The level sizes also balloon out to insane degrees, turning what us??ed to be roughly 10-minute sections into 40-minute affairs.

This would be fine if the checkpoints were evenly spaced, but some of the later levels d?on’t even offer the chance at a breather. If you die, you’ll either be set back upwards of 10 minutes or have to restart the level which then becomes infuriating. Not only that, but quitting at any point resets your progress on a specific level, so you better hope you complete the entirety of a tough section or you’ll just need to relive that agony.

It doesn’t hel??p that the level design never really does anything interesting. It’s okay to have more simplistic designs at the start to get players acquainted to the control scheme, but all of the cool ideas like hiding behind walls and sneaking up ?on foes for stealth kills just stop mid-way through. As you reach tougher enemies, you can’t even stealth kill them, so that entire tactic becomes worthless.

Guns begin taking on a bigger role, since it becomes the? most effective way to deal with foes that don’t bother to get stunned. Sure, you can charge up a punch for a stun, but when five or six guys are running you down, trying to find a moment to hold down attack is nigh-on impossible. It would be somewhat understandable if the enemy AI consisted of more than just guys running straight at you, but that never changes (even on boss battles).

It doesn’t help that when in the middle of a takedown animation, you’re still vulnerable to enemy attacks. There were a bunch of momen??ts where I started to murder a guy, but was killed in the process and just had to wait for the animation to stop before the “You Died” screen came up. It becomes doubly ?strange when your health bar actually refills, yet you’re still considered dead.

So even without aspiring to be, Redeemer ends up feeling like a really poor rip-off of Hotline Miami and that is a total shame. It exhibits a lot of cool ideas and has a serviceable plotline??, but it mostly feels like the end result was rushed out to simply finish the game. Maybe Sobaka Stu?dio ran out of budget, but I have no idea why the later levels are so poor compared to the start.

At least the performance is nice. Running on?? the Unreal 4 engine, this game looks pretty decent and scales well to different?? hardware. There aren’t a vast amount of options for tweaking graphical quality, but you can easily turn off typically high demanding features like shadows to smooth out the framerate. I’m not sure why everything looks like it was smeared with Vaseline, though.

Sadly, a lot of the anim??ations are glitchy and you’ll often see Vasily float away from an enemy during a takedown anim??ation. I also managed to get stuck behind some geometry in a few levels, but you can thankfully restart checkpoints while in the middle of a level. That doesn’t help much with poor level design or shoddy collision detection, but it’s something.

The audio design is also lackluster. The voice acting is okay, though thankfully not too prevalent. What doesn’t work is how minimalistic ??the music is. You’ll travel through levels with only environmental noises to accompany you and even intense action scenes don’t exhibit anything. The sound effects are just? bland and lack a lot of impact, which sucks when you’re slicing an axe through a guy’s head. I want to hear the crunch and squish of blood and bones, not just a generic thud.

Once you’ve completed the main game, which took me roughly six h?ours on “Hardcore” mode, you’ll unlock an arena-style horde mode where you’ll face off agains??t endless waves of foes. Seeing as how the game lasts roughly four hours too long, I didn’t even bother to see what this was about. I can’t stand the thought of fighting waves of enemies since most of the encounters during the campaign feel exactly like a horde mode.

So overall, Redeemer is a bit of a dud. While it certainly has a good premise and delivers on its promise of blood and brutality, it just feels like the game came out of the oven too early. Hopefully after a few patches and some more polish, Sobaka Studio can iron out the bugs present and tighten up the flow to create a decent little brawler. Until then, give thi?s a pass.

_{[This review in progress is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Redeemer appeared first on Destructoid.

Blink and you'll miss it

Hotline Miami was an instant hit upon its release in 2012. Mixing a unique style with gratuitou??s violence and a self-reflective story, the game asked players to question why they were so willing to murder in video games all the time. Was it somet??hing to do with a damaged psyche or was it more animalistic?

While the sequel failed to live up to the original, not many other developers have even attempted to tackle the same style of gameplay. We’re definitely seen overhead shooters and brawlers before, but nothing that captures the intense difficulty and careful planning that defined the Hotline Miami experience. Team Shifty has taken notice, though, and is looking to up the ?ante.

Being sold on the idea that this is Hotline Miami-like, Mr. Shifty basically apes the gameplay from Dennaton Games’ brawler and introduces teleportati??on. Why, exactly? That doesn&rsq??uo;t matter; you’ve got goons to beat up!

Mr. Shifty (PC [reviewed], Mac, Switch, PS4, Xbox One)
Developer: Team Shifty
Publisher: tinyBuild Games
Released: April 13, 2017 (PC, Switch), TBA (Mac, PS4, Xbox One)
MSRP: $14.99

The plot behind Mr. Shifty is that you’re a thief with teleportation abilities breaking into a highly secured ??tower to steal a plutonium core. The why for this p?lan isn’t ever revealed; the only information you have is that Shifty is an expert at what he does. Being guided by the hilarious Nyx, Shifty encounters a bunch of armed guards that he easily dispatches with some punches.

Saying the plotline is important would be wrong. Mr. Shifty presents itself in a comical manner and never beats you over the head with philosophical statements about violence. Instead, this is more l?ike the PG-13 version of an X-rated film; people definitely die, but yo??u won’t be seeing dismembered limbs or spurts of blood anywhere.

Your commander, Nyx, basically tells you to kick ass, kick some more ass, and to keep kicking ass when stuff goes wrong. She is no-nonsense and self-assured, cracking jokes about how your plan is "certain death" or how you’re encountering "min?imal resistance." It works to make you chuckle and stop focusing on the absurdity of each challenge.

The bulk of the game is made up of the same kind of combat challenges from Hotline Miami. You enter r??ooms loaded with guards and need to figure out how to eliminate them without getting killed. You can attack with your fists or pick up weapons to dispatch enemies. One shot (or punch) means death, so you can’t just blitz through an area freely. What does change up the combat is your teleportation ability, which allow??s you to phase through certain walls or quickly dodge bullets.

Along with that, you can build up a meter that allows you to slow down ti??me. After enough consecutive kills, you’ll be given what amounts to an extra hit point. When a bullet comes close to you, time will slow down and you&rs??quo;ll be able to run away or destroy everyone on screen with quick attacks.

Armed with those techniques, you can be more reckless than in Hotline Miami. The combat takes a tone that is faster-paced and more reaction-??based. You don’t need to spend nearly as much time scoping out areas sin??ce, if trouble comes barreling towards you, you often can quickly shift through a wall to defend yourself or take a bullet and destroy everyone around you.

It makes for cool scenarios where you’ll take out a couple of guys, see maybe seven running at you, and then phase away to flank them. There are also moments that are straight out of The Matrix where you’ll dodge a bullet, slowmo around the room, and smack some jerk out a window. The only way this is letdown is how slow the AI is to react to your movements (even without the slowmo). If it weren’t for your single health point, Mr. Shifty would be fairly easy.

Enemies love to funnel through single doors, so you can often take out a dude, phase through a wall, and then just wait for the goons to pour in. This results in the game mostly feeling stress free. The enemies do eventually give way to fools with ?grenades and that brings about the best change? to the formula: destructible environments.

While the AI doesn’t get better (those grenade dudes love to blow themselves up), in later sections, hiding behind walls isn’t a sure thing. Sometimes a guy wielding a rocket launcher will blow open your only defense, meaning enemies will now funnel through the much bigger hole to attack. This near-suicidal d?edication to assaulting you can be used to your advantage as enemies are able to kill each other.

Some of the later "puzzles" even focus on that, surrounding you with heavy brute enemies and a lone guy with a rocket launcher. While you can take out every la??st? person with your fists, clearly tricking the RPG man into blowing up his comrades is the way to go. Rocket turrets also present a similar challenge, albeit without as many extraneous enemies around.

Even with those kinds of scenarios, the combat eventually becomes repetitive. While Mr. Shifty does introduce newer enemy types at a decent pace, the difficulty resorts to simply increasing the number of on-screen foes rather than organically presenting a challenge. You’ll die solely because you failed to react fast enough or there was ?no reprieve from the onslaught of bad guys.

It doesn’t help that checkpoints are room-based. In the final two levels, you’ll go through a hundred enemies in a sin??gle room before you get a chance to relax. While it can make you feel like a badass to conquer such stark opposition, it mostly just feels tedious. You often want battles to end solely so you can move on and get over with it.

I feel this is exactly the same problem Hotline Miami 2 had: the game is too long. I know four hours isn’t some epic journey or even that long, but it stops presenting unique challenges after 12 levels. Once you reach the end of Act II, you’ve seen all of the tricks Mr. Shifty has to offer. There is even a fake-out ending with the final “boss” that could ha?ve worked to per??fectly wrap up the whole affair.

Instead, the game throws an additional six levels of goons to go through that culminates in a hilariously easy final encounter. After that, it just ends withou??t much ?fanfare. Nyx doesn’t chime in to congratulate herself and Shifty doesn’t even say anything. It sucks the wind out of the whole ordeal.

It doesn’t help that the art direction doesn’t change between each area. I suppose you can make the comparison to something like Die Hard with the tow?er you’re infiltrating?, but you’re never looking at a different theme for any level. They all have the same corporate building aesthetic and it drags on.

The music is also the same for every level. Hotline Miami punctuated its grotesque displays of carnage with an equally thumping soundtrack. While the savagery was brutal, you often felt compelled to kill because of how primal the soundtrack was. Mr. Shifty sort of sounds like James Bond, but never mixes it up.

There is a pretty neat theme for the bigger encounters and I’m not even saying that the music is bad, but it doesn’t have the variety that helped carry Hotline Miami through sim?ilar lulls in its gameplay. Taken on its own merits, it just becomes stale after a while.

That really is the biggest complaint I have with Mr. Shifty: it becomes formulaic. It definitely is fun and I like how creative some of the fights are, but when the cleverness dries up and the theme never chan?ges, it’s ha??rd to stay enthused about the whole affair.

While the combat may have some depth and the game is certainly tongue-in-cheek, it just doesn’t present enough new ideas to sustain itself. I think it’s worth a playthrough, but I don’t believe we’ll be talking about Mr. Shifty for years to come. Just as quickly as Shifty himself ente??rs and leaves a room, so too does this game enter and exit your mi?nd.

_{[This review is?? based on a ret?ail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Mr. Shifty appeared first on Destructoid.

Cocaine Cowboys and Neon Lights

I still remember how the original Hotline Miami suddenly came out of nowhere and left an incredible impression on those who took a chance on it. It was such an unusual title. Its bright, vivid visuals, along with the overhead view of the extreme violence gave it a very distinct look. And the music? I still hum Jasper Bryne's "Miami" theme on occasion. Since 2012, the Hotline Miami ?games have had quite a big following, with many fans even coming up with their own interpretations for the surprisingly bizarre and cerebral storyline.

Just two months after the release of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, the developer duo at Dennaton Games, Jonathan Söderström and Dennis Wedin, have opened up about the creation of their surreal, and ultra-violent action series. In a newly released half-hour-long documentary, the folks at Complex have interviewed friends, colleagues, and associates of the talent behind Hotline Miami to discuss the origins, influences, and impact ??these two indie titles have had on gaming.

During their interview, they discuss their initial work on simple shoot-'em-up and zombie titles, before transitioning over to what would be Hotline Miami after watching the documentary Cocaine Cowboys. With other inspiration from the era, including shows like Miami Vice and even recent films such as Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive fueling their passion for the project, they eventu?ally caught the attention of indie publisher Devolver Digital.

Of course, that's only the beginning. As we all know, it really blew up after the release of the original, and it's interesting to see their thoughts on how fans and critics alike accepted their title. If you're a fan of the Hotline Miami series, or just generally curious about? how development works, then I highly recommend checking it out.

The post ?The Hotline Miami Story covers the making of this trippy series appeared first on Destructoid.

By Grabthar's hammer, what a savings

Bundle deals are all the rage these days. Although there's a ton of derivatives of the original Humble Bundle, GOG.com outshines the competitors and delivers with its Devolver Game & Watch Bundle. It's great to ??get such a deal on games I've actually heard of again!

From now till 11:00AM? GMT, you can pay $13.75 for the bundle and save a total of $125 on:

• Games: Hotline Miami, Shadow Warrior (2013), Shadow Warrior Classic Complete, Serious Sam: The First (and Second) Encounter
• Movies: Pixel Poetry Special Edition, Super Game Jam, Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock, Stream Dream, Motivational Growth, Good Game, Austin High, The Basement, Mars, One Couch at a Time

I think the games themselves are worth $14. Admittedly, I've never seen any of those movies, but I'm sure there's some entertainment to be had there. If you've already got some of this stuff, the Devolver ?Bundle like all GOG.com bundles also sells each item individually at sale price.

The post GOG.com’s newest bundle slashes prices on Devolver titles appeared first on Destructoid.

Bloody good price

While it's certainly been the subject of many a sale opportunity by this point, I would feel remiss in failing to take advantage of any opportunity to encourage people to play Hotline Miami. So, in that spirit, I come to inform you that the game is on sale right now at GOG.com, where you can purchase it for $2.50, 75% off of its normal asking pri?ce.

I'm not going to bore you with yet another lengthy diatribe about how everyone must experience it. We've done that enough by this point. Just know that this is a steal, and that there's no time like? the present.

Hotline Miami [GOG.com]

The post Grab Hotline Miami at 75% off on GOG.com appeared first on Destructoid.

A new week, a new challenge

This week's challenge centers on Hotline Miami, in which I have to beat chapter 5 without using any weapons. Even when fully armed, death is mere moments away in Hotline Miami. Thankfully you don't have to wait long to ret??ry!

If you've got any ideas for future chall??enges you'd like me to?? have a go at, feel free to leave them in the comments!

The post No weapons in Hotline Miami – Challenge Scot appeared first on Destructoid.

Pick up that phone

Once the weekly PlayStation Store update goes live tomorrow, Hotline Miami will be available for free with your PlayStation Plus membership. The offer covers both the PS Vita and PS3 versions of this murderous action title which, if you haven't played i????t yet, strongly consider doing so.

Hotline Miami is one of those games that might not -- and probably won't -- fully click until you get in there and smash some faces with a baseball bat yourself. For as wrong as the unnecessarily gruesome violence is, it all feels so right. What have you turn?ed us into, Dennaton?

PS Plus: Hotline Miami Free for Members [PlayStation Blog]

The post Hotline Miami free with PlayStation Pl??us this week appeared first on Destructoid.

A nice haul coming in the weeks ahead

There you go again, Sony, making me regret actually buying things. All my favorite games eventually find their way to PlayStation Plus! Sony's subscription ser??vice going to be awesome nex?t month, which I guess is just par for the course, really. Anyway, here's a list of what PS Plus members in North America will have unfettered access to in October:

• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
• Poker Night 2
• Shadow of the Colossus HD
• Hotline Miami (Cross-Buy)
• Sine Mora (PS Vita)

For folks that aren't yet members, now is an amazing time to come aboard. Sony is serendipitously offering a $10 PSN credit to players that spend $50, which just so happens to be roughly the asking price for twelve?-month subscription. Yep. You should totally get on that.

PlayStation Plus: October Preview [PlayStation Blog]

The post PS Plus October: Free Hotline Miami, Sin?e Mora, Amalur appeared first on Destructoid.

Surprise!

Hotline Miami is doing pretty well for itself on PlayStation Network, it seems. After bursting onto Sony's online pl?atform last month, the indie action title beat down the competition to claim the top spot amongst digital PlayStation Vita software in both Europe and North America.

Despite launching in the final week of June, Dennaton's murderous little game managed to outsell the likes of Muramasa Rebirth, Assassins Creed III Liberation, and Guacamelee. As for the PlayStation 3 games, well, The Last of Us is pretty amazing and has the sales to match.

June 2013 PSN Top Sellers: The Last of Us Reigns [PlayStation Blog]

The post Hotline Miami was best-se?lling Vita game of June on PSN appeared first on Destructoid.

Dennaton can reinvest in future games and buy fancy fish sticks

As described in a profile by Edge, "top-down f*ck-'em-up" Hotline Miami can be traced back to Super Carnage, an unfinis??hed game that designer Jonatan "Cactus" Söderström's started development on in 2004. After teaming up with artist Dennis Wedin, the duo decided to turn the concept into a full-fledged commercial title, which "was f*cking hard," according to Wedin.

"Some days we were so f*cking tired, and we didn't know if we were going to earn anything from this game or if anyone was even going to play it," he explained. "But we always loved playing it. As soon a??s I made some graphics, and we put them in, and tried it out, it felt so good ... and all the motivation was back."

In describing Hotline's take on violence, Wedin says "We didn’t want the player to have a purpose for hurting people. There’s no girlfriend that&rsq??uo;s been kidnapped, or president, or a country in need or anything. It’s just some weird phone calls you get that make you go and kill. Most games these days try to make it legit to kill enemies. You don’t do it because you’re bad. You do it to save a person or do something good. We didn’t want that for our game. The game is a slap in the face. A lot of players get angry with the ending -- especially when the??y unlock the second ending and it doesn’t give them anything more."

But for those players who did get seriously into the game, they'll be pleased to hear that Dennaton has sold over 300,000 copies on PC as of February, to say no?thing of the new PlayStation 3 and PS Vita versions or its inclusion in the Humble Indie Bundle. To date, it's now over 500k copies sold on PC. "We can make more games and have money to spare,” said Söderström. "I'm not really used to having money ??to spend. I'm just not that materialistic, I guess. I am used to eating cheap noodles and fish sticks. And that hasn’t really changed yet."

The Making Of: Hotline Miami [Edge]

The post H?otline Miami: Fr??om Super Carnage to indie success story appeared first on Destructoid.

A hot set of ports

Hotline Miami was one of my favorite games of 2012. I picked it up a few months after release, only to spend that entire afternoon glued to my monitor. The killer soundtrack, the puzzle-action gameplay, and the one of a kind visual style all made it easy to become absorbed into the Drive influenced world of Hotline.

Fast forward to 2013, and the folks at Dennaton Games and Devolver Digital have released a Vita and PS3 version of the game, which not only supports cross-buy (one purchase for bot??h versions), but cross-save functionality, as well as Vita-specific touch controls and beautiful OLED graphics.

It's just as good as it sounds.

Hotline Miami (PC, PS3 [tested], Vita [tested])
Developer: Dennaton Games
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Released: June 25, 2013
MRSP: $9.99 (Cross-buy for PS3 and Vita)

In case you haven't heard of Hotline Miami yet, it's essentially a twitch puzzle game with a pretty unique plot that's been open to debate ever since the game dropped last year. Without spoiling too much, the game makes?? use of the unreliable narrator device in a neat way, as you take a journey through the core game with the "protagonist" fans have named "Jacket."

Jacket ?is a pretty simple man, opting to constantly follow orders, all of which involve murdering and systematically clearing out entire buildings full of enemies. To be blunt, the game is brutal -- I'm talking graphic curb-stomping, bats to the head, and shotgun blasts that blow torsos in half.

It's a lot like Smash TV, but much more puzzle oriented. Rooms are sectioned off by doors, which enemies obviously can't see through until they open. As such, you can slowly move room by room and clear out enemies, or risk using guns and other loud methods of killing to invoke an all out brawl (which can sometimes be the most effective method of play). It's just as fun as it sounds, and I loved the level of difficulty Hotline brought with it, wh??ich is sorely missing from many games these d??ays.

While I've seen some people disparage the relatively unpredictable and sometimes glitchy AI, that's actually one of the selling points for me -- it helps keep the game entropic, which fits right into the theme of Hotline. For instance, even if you take the exact same steps ??after a death, an enemy who was a previously unsuspecting easy kill may suddenly turn?? around and give you a shotgun to the face.

It helps mix things up and forces you to learn every possible strategy on the fly, essentially forcing you to master the game in a subtle way. Before long, I was picking up on my old strategies, and breezing through some of the game's rooms before I was humbled all over again and forced to re-think everything I knew. As a side note, I don't know if the developers made the infamous "Hospital" chapter easie??r, but I was able to complete it on my second try, s??o it sure feels like it.

As you may have noticed from the promotional art, masks play a huge part in Hotline Miami, but in a mechanical manner in addition to their contribution thematically. Different masks (which are unlocked in each level in various ways) have different abilities -- such as the Dog mask allowing you t??o bypass dogs, or the Tiger mask granting you the ability to kill enemies in one punch.

The very first time I beat Hotline Miami, I just used the chicken mask (which grants you nothing) the entire game. On my next playthrough, I utilized a wide variety of masks, which changed the way I approached each level. Masks may seem like a gimmicky add-on, but they really do increase the game's replay value and add a ton of depth. Oh, and the soundtrack is still killer, so make sure you play this game with he?adphones (especially on the Vita).

The PS3 and Vita versions of the game boast a very simple to use control system that essentially works like a twin-stick shooter -- and it works well. Players can move around with the left stick, aim with the right, and pick up/use weapons with L and R respectively. It all works just as advertised, and I had no iss?ues acclimating myself to the scheme. On the Vita, you can even use multi-touch to scroll the screen and lock-on at the same time, which is an excellent design decision to help cement?? Sony's portable as the best platform for the game right now.

There sadly isn't a whole lot of new content this time around -- specifically, all you're getting is "Russell" the raging bull mask -- which turns the entire visual style intro a black and white filter, with the oozing red blood intact. In terms of extras to help sweete??n the deal though, there's a lot on?? offer.

While they aren't technically new, the two pre-order levels from the PC vers??ion are built into the Vita and PS3 port, which is a nice touch. There's also leaderboard support for every level, trophies, and the aforementioned Vita touch controls. Cross-buy and cross-save support is the cherry?? on top of this very generous package.

As I said earlier, I spent my entire afternoon beating Hotline Miami on PC, and I spent my entire evening yesterday besting the Vita version all over again. While there may not be enough content to double-dip if you weren't enamored the first time around, if you haven't experienced Hotline yet, this is literally the perfect opportunity to go all in.

The post Impressions: Hotline Miami (PS3/Vita) appeared first on Destructoid.

Cross-Buy on PS3 and Vita

Just yesterday, it wasn't a sure thing that Hotline Miami would drop for PlayStation Network next week, but now it is: Tuesday has been locked down. This version, which supports Cross-Buy on PlayStation Vita and PS3, has an exclusive mask. Russell the raging bull makes the game look like that image up there wh??en worn. Neat!

This was one of the only Vita titles I wasn't able to play at E3. And, if you know me, you know that I tried. Again and Again. But every time I made it to the Sony booth, someone was on the Hotline Miami station. It does seem like such an idea??l match for the handheld.

Hotline Miami Hits PS3 and PS Vita Tuesday With P?S-Exclusive Mask [PlayStation Blog]

The post PSN gets Hot??line Miami with an exclusive mask ne?xt week appeared first on Destructoid.

Coming spring 2013

If you've been living under a rock for the past year and haven't experienced Hotline Miami on your PC yet, you'll soon have a chance to play it on your PS3 or Vita this spring. To go along with the port announcement, there's a new trailer to behold above, that shows off t??he basi?c feel of the game.

I'll admit -- it took me a bit to really get into Hotline Miami, as it started off slow. But once things get rolling and it truly turns into a puzzle game, I couldn't put it down, and spent the entire evening beating it. The bite-sized missions would go great with portable play, so I'm happy there's going to be a Vita version. In other Hotline related news, you can now play it on your Mac.

The post Hotline Miami debuts new PS3 and Vita trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Development team states they "want it to be right, not rushed."

Sometimes, the sting of a smaller indie team can hurt. Evidenced by how many sleepless nights Team Meat had to put in to patch the PC versions of Super Meat Boy and Binding of Isaac, occasi?o??nally, fixing an indie game can take nearly as long as making one.

Such is the case for Hotline Miami's development team whe?n porting the game to the Mac platform. Evidently the project has been in development for months, and now more than a few Mac fans are anxious to play the game o??n their platform of choice.

Today, the developers responded to the cavalcade of fans who want some sort of timeline??: "Since then we have updated on the ongoing issues with porting the game and are still working on it every single day. Hoping that we get it done soon but want it to be right, not rushed."

Well, there you have it. Although they'v??e been wor??king on it for quite a while, they'd rather release a finished working product rather than a rushed buggy mess. Makes sense! I just hope Mac fans get to experience this great game sooner than later.

Hotline Miami [Twitter]

The post T?he Mac version of Hotline? Miami is still in progress appeared first on Destructoid.

Murder and get murdered on Sony consoles

It's been interesting to witness the rise of games that have a love/hate relationship with violence. Spec Ops: The Line and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance are two high-profile examples. Less well known, but just as effective, is the arcade-style action title Hotline Miami. After r??acking up over 300,000 sales on PC and multiple awards, the little sociopathic symphony is headed to the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita later this year as ??a single-purchase cross-buy title.

We talked with the developers of the game a while back on Sup Holmes where they hinted this might happen. I couldn't be happier to see that their plans are coming together, and that Sony continues to foster relationships with smaller devs that are skilled at melding message with gameplay mechanics. If the next Sony system becomes the exclusive place for more games like Hotline Miami, Papa Y Yo, and Sound Shapes, I ma??y just have a new favorite home console on my hands.

The post Hotline? Miami coming to P?S3 and PS Vita this spring appeared first on Destructoid.

A map editor is being looked into

Despite hearing many positive things about Hotline Miami, it wasn't until I actually got my hands on it that I fully understood what makes the game so worth playing from start to finish. Truly this is one of those titles you need to take a chance on. If, like me, you've completed Hotline and are dying for more content, De??nnaton Games has shared some good news on tha?t front.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Jonatan Söderström says that "We don't want to reveal too much, but it will probably have more playable characters than the first game did. And a couple of different stories and angles." Dennis Wedin adds that "A lot of of people have been asking about a map editor to build their own stages, so we're looking at i??f it's possible to do that."

"I think we're going to do quite a big project," Söderström says of the DLC. "It will pro?bably be about as long as the full game, so probably we'll charge some??thing for it. It will be like a sequel kind of, but building on the story." He suggested this might take "four or five months," but that the duo isn't entirely sure at this point in time.

Rounding out this feel-good info, the possibility of a PlayStation Vita version of the game was brought up. Söderström responded with "I can't say much about Sony because I frankly don't know how likely it is. Maybe 50/50." Hotline Miami's levels are structured so perfectly for handheld gaming -- I hope they can ma??ke it happen.

The creators of Hotline Mia??mi on inspiration, storytelling and upcoming DLC [Eurogamer]

On a semi-related note, we never posted about the game's launch trailer, which is very much worth watching. I seriously can't get enough of this right now, as if that weren't obvious enough already. To think, I had almost no interest p??rior to actually sitting down and playing.

The post Hotline Miami DLC likely ‘about as long as the full game’ appeared first on Destructoid.

A bit of the old ultra-violence

Pointing a gun and firing comes easy in videogames. Ethics and morals never factor in during those moments of decision and there certainly isn’t any remorse. These are virtual bullets reserved for virtual enemies, after all. This thoughtless violence has become central to many game narratives as of late, including Dishonored, Spec Ops: The Line, and now Hotline Miami.

“I’m here to tell you how to ki?ll ??people,” a grizzled homeless man tells the player upon starting the game. As if we don’t already know.

Hotline Miami (PC)
Developer: Dennaton Games
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Released: October 23, 2012
MRSP: $9.99

Hotline Miami is a game about impactful killing. It asks players to focus on the details of invasion and murder that we don’t often consider in games. If Max Payne diving through a window, holding guns akimbo, is on one side of the spectrum of action games, Hotline Miami exists on the other?? side. And, it’s a very lonely place.

After a brief, ominous intro where a horse and rooster boss the player around, you are sent off to do some good old-fashioned killing. While the top-down perspective brings to mind Smash TV and Loaded, Hotline is not so g?enerous with health and ammo. You&rsquo?;ll be lucky to find a gun with a full clip and even luckier if a bullet doesn’t send you back to the start. One bullet is all it takes, so being quiet and clever is essential to survival.

As a result, the game puts an emphasis on stealth and environmental awareness. The quicker you take down a room of enemies, the more likely you are to move on to the next. Knocking an enemy down by slamming the door, grabbing a melee weapon, and pummeling him while he is on the ground are regular acts of aggression in Hotline. There are plenty of guns, but firing one will summon most enemies in a level -- and they have plenty of guns, too. In some cases, you'll need ??to go in guns-blazing but it's not always the most effective approach.

Hotline doesn’t have the gentlest learning curve. Knowing when to swing a golf club and figuring out which doors you can blast through with a shotgun will take time. The game can be defined as brutal in more ways than one. There is no difficulty option and you’ll often find yourself stuck, as you try to figure out how to approach a punishing level. Dogs can’t be punched, big guys take more than one shot, and enemies can see you through windows: Finding your way through these constant obstacles gives Hotline almost puzzle game-like qualities and keeps co??mbat mentally engag??ing.

Narrative and mechanics share the spotlight equally. Each level starts with a new week where you receive a new phone call, directing you to the next assignment. Once you clear out an area, you’ll head over to a pizza joint, bar, or video store for a brief story segment. Your actions are rated at the end of each chapter through killings, boldness, combos, time, flexibility (never score above a zero in this category), and mobility. The game never explains its system, but you’ll want to learn it to the best of your ability since doing well unlocks new weapons. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for masks which you can equip before a mission for perks. These perks range from starting off with a certain weapon to turning dogs into passive enemies. For whatever reason, you can't chan?ge masks at the start which can be very frustrating when you choose one not fit for the current mission or, even worse, when you choose a novelty mask without having a clear understanding of its effects (such as, making the screen look like a Virtual Boy).

I had no intention of playing this game in one night. It just kind of happened. Hotline is a game that will beat you down, enthrall you, and make you beg for mercy, often all at the same time. Brilliance is abound in Hotline. Its low-rent visuals could have been a disaster, but smart neon filters make it an oddly immersive and nauseating nightmare that you can’t easily walk away from. The soundtrack adds to the atmosphere, bordering on David Lynch and David Cronenberg fandom with a dash of ‘80s cool (think Drive). VHS shops and a sweet DeLorean are there to ??rem??ind you this is 1989.

Back to the beating you down thing: Hotline Miami is 2012’s damaged gem. It’s an addictive, fun, and clever game but Goddarn if it couldn’t have used another month in development. Many if, not all, of its systems lack a layer of polish that is to be expected for a retail game. For example, its save system is a mess. Not only does the game not save checkpoints within chapters, upon leaving the game, it also occasionally will not even save when you start a new level. I had to replay an entire level as a result, which wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't the worst level in the game (and maybe the entire year -- it was a stealth level ...) I was right to play through Hotline in one sitting, because I regretted every time I exited the pr??o??gram.

Hotline’s controls could also have used some more work, as well. Walking with the WASD-keys and looking with the mouse feels okay but there should have been a sensitivity option for aiming. Since you’ll be dealing with large areas, you’ll need to hold down Shift in order to look down a hallway. I’m baffled that the game restricts your view, yet offers a mask that increases your eyesight. This design decision often cuts into the playability of the game. The game wants you to be cautious, but how can you be cautious if you don’t even know what’s around the corner? Being able to see the entire map should have been the default option, not a bonus. Thankfully, restarting from a checkpoint happens in a flash, making for some painful stop-start sessions that bring back repressed memories of Super Meat Boy.

I blew through Hotline in four or five hours, occasionally managing to regain my breath and sanity in between intense firefights. I probably would have got through it faster if not for the misguided boss fights that act as the game’s biggest offender. These poorly designed sequences often are only solved in one way which goes against the freedom of play that the rest of ??the game promotes. Even worse, these fights are brutal and awkward. One has an enemy throwing Molotov cocktails that start fires that never go away. Yet, you need to fight against numerous enemies in a tiny office space. Yeah, good luck with that.

The game’s AI is dumb as rocks but it suits the pacing and style of combat. Yet, one has to wonder why enemies can’t hear their comrade’s shotgun fire or why they continue to sit on a couch after you blew their friend’s head off. Maybe it’s best to not think about these things, as they are the least of Hotline’s problems and contribute to the bizarre world the game creates. You'll be grateful of the AI's quirks once the difficulty ramps up. You'll savor every ch?eap kill you can get, even if it means repeatedly swinging a door to knock down 5+ guys.

Hotline is a confident and addictive shooter that stands out among releases this year, even though its flaws bog it down. It can be sickening at times and brutal at others, but it all builds up toward a commentary on games and pointless violence. The narrative's downward spiral of violence, insanity, and crime will not light up your day but it's very engaging in its own way. Hotline contains a surprisingly good plot full of mysteries and dark twists that players won't see coming. The morbid nature of the game won't be to everyone's taste, but it's a refreshing story for ?a videogame.

In a medium where taking a life means so little, Hotline Miami has a way of making each death feel significant. Each step toward a higher score is one further away from your character's sanity. Picking up the gun comes naturally, and Hotline Miami wants to explore why. The game may tease you, exh??aust you, and possibly destroy you with its boss encounters and awful forced stealth level, but it all builds toward a focused, dark vision unlike much else in the medium.

The post Review: Hotline Miami appeared first on Destructoid.

Wear something fancy

Pig masks. Are they ever not terrifying? This trailer for Hotline Miami, a mix of li??ve action and footage taken from the top-down action game -- or, in Devolver Digital's words, the "top-down f*ck-'em-up" -- seems like a natural fit.

It's at this point I remember that designer Jonatan Söderström (aka "Cactus") is involved with the project. Uh huh. Hotline Miami is launching soon through platforms like GOG.com, Steam, Get Ga?mes, and GamersGate, so if you intend to pre-order, you'd be?st get on that before October 23.

The post Gross new Hotline Miami trailer fits the mood appeared first on Destructoid.

Hotline Miami is a pretty exciting property right now. In case you're late to the party, it's a top-down action game set in Miami where you receive phone calls urging you to put on creep??y masks and do violent things. Definitely one for the family. 

Five new screenshots have been released today an??d they're pretty damn brutal. Buckets of blood, corpses everywhere -- all with a charming retro vis?ual style that just seems to make it all that much creepier. 

I have to say, I'm in. 

The post Here are some blood-soaked Hotline Miami screens appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[Destructoid is grabbing its rail gun and heading to Dallas, Texas this weekend for QuakeCon. Stay posted for game news, previews, and strange happenings from the infamous LAN room.]}

Stallions in America, Stench Mechanics, SeizureDome, Burn the Trash, God Came to the Cave, Keyboard Drumset Loving Werewolf. If a Cactus game doesn’t sound like the latest street drug, it at least sounds like a title made under the influence of one. A typical Catcus (Jonatan Soderstrom) game stretches the definition of “ludicrous” to its breaking point, is made in 7 hours, and has crude graphics that would make the Atari 2600 blush. Soderstrom may have a rabid sense of imagination, but Hotline Miami is his first attempt at trying ??to focus on a project for more than a day. The results are … interesting.

Hotline Miami will draw a lot of comparisons to Retro City Rampage due to its Game Boy Color visuals, top-down perspective, and points-based combat, but it couldn’t be more different. Where RCR is a homage to videogames of the ‘80s and ‘90s, Miami pulls its influences fr?om music and film, mainly David Lynch and twitchy, gloomy electronic music. The game has a strange aesthetic but it suits the story that begins with an owl and horse asking you to kill p??eople. Sometimes the homeless.

If Retro City Rampage is all about causing havoc in open spaces, Hotline Miami is all about controlled mayhem in small areas. You control your character with keyboard and mouse, but there is a lot of nuance to your approach. Enemies can kill in one shot, so you’ll need to keep quiet and be fast when dealing damage. For a retro asthetic, Miami sure is a brutal game. You’ll slit throats, filling the ai??r with pixelated blood. You’ll beat guys to death on the ground with your bare fists. And none of these thugs have a problem returning the favor.

As bizarre and fantastical as the story becomes, the missions remain grounded in reality. You’re always a couple steps away from dying, you can’t kill attack dogs without a weapon, and enemies will spray machi?neguns at the first sight of you. As a result, you’ll need to use some strategic planning before your approach a mission. By holding down Shift, you can get a view of the area before you approach. The game starts off simple enough, letting you get by on brute force and good timing. Soon, you’ll need to plan out assaults and perfect your approach.

Throughout the game, you’ll acquire masks that act as buffs. Some will make you stronger, while others will make you faster. There is even a Fish Mask that tu??rns all the dialogue to French in honor of French-Canadian Phil Fish. There is also an elaborate points system that judges your play on approach, timing, and other details most games don’t take into account. If you run into a room, you&??rsquo;ll score points for “boldness.” If you use a variety of weapons, you’ll score points for “flexibility.” Like everything else about the game, it’s a very strange thing.

Like previous Catcus games, Hotline Miami has a strong aesthetic that resembles little else on the market. It’s trippy, haunted depiction of 1980s Miami that needs to be seen and heard to be fully appreciated. The brutal difficulty matches the violence, but like Super Meat Boy it is locked into such a quick start-and-restart cycle that you won’t be bot??hered much by it.

Between its twisted narrative (which we can’t really go into here) and unique approach to top-down action, Hotline Miami is shaping up to be a surprisingly fun and accessible game from a developer who is known for making games that often rebel against those common developer goals. Whether this is an artistic compromise or a maturation is somet??hing we’ll find out when the game comes to downloadable services this fall.

The post QuakeCon Pre??view: Murdering the homeless in Hotline Miami appeared first on Destructoid.

If a talking chicken has ever asked you if you enjoy hurting people, then Hotline Miami is going to resonate on an immensely coincidental level. If not, well, you probably still want to pay attention to the latest Devolver Digital pro?ject. ??It's looking like quite the head-turner. 

With its top-down view, focus on violence, and Miami aesthetic, the comparisons to Grand Theft Auto will be difficult to avoid. However, the similarities may only be superficial, as Hotline serves an altogether more unsettling premise. It's a game in which mysterious answerphone messages order you to commi??t acts of violence, urging you to don a creepy mask and sow havoc on the streets. 

"Hotline Miami overflows with raw brutality and skull crushing close combat as you find yourself out??gunned and using your wits to choreograph your way through impossible situations," claims the spiel. "An unmistakable visual s?tyle, a driving soundtrack, and a surreal plot that will have you question your own thirst for blood. Bash and blast through over 20 multiscreen levels with 35 unique weapons and collect 25 game-altering masks in one of the darkest and most unusual independent games on the scene."

The game's due for PC and Mac, with console versions planned. Oh, and you can leave your own message with the hotline at +1 786 519 3708 or @HotlineMiami. Weird!

The post Hotline Mi?ami is bruta??l, violent, dark, and neon as f*ck appeared first on Destructoid.