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I know a lot of people hated the ending to HM2. But I think that was honestly the perfect ending for the series. Especially how Richter "finally got it" and Richard consoles him for doing so.
There's just nothing more to say. If you want more HM gameplay, you play the editor. The story of both games was unique and was there to send a message for the people. There's just no other theme to make HM3 about
@@papastalin3498 I have finished hotline miami 2, I can now play the stories the community has to tell. . . . I don't want to see what stories the community has to tell anymore
The mocking of the fans wanting a sequel kinda reminds me of what super hot did where every time a major mission was completed the player character responded with “MORE” but I haven’t played it fully to go to in-depth.
I’ve only ever finished the first SuperHot game, but that sounds like something that might be interesting to look at for a video. I’m not sure it’s intended as “mocking” in either series so much as just a “reminder” that there is a deeper story going on and that players should pay attention. Thank you for watching!
@@ShyCornAfter having played both, is seems like VR and SUPERHOT (1) are just 2 sides of one story, though I couldn’t tell you how. Haven’t touched MCD though.
This game and rainworld are the only two games that have made me tear up. My favorite thing about Beard was that he didn't let the cruelty of the world break him. He died just as good a person as he lived, having finally made it home. Jacket lets his grief and hatred turn him into a monster. The Colonel goes mad in a position he didn't want, fighting a war for a country that doesn't care, knowing full well he's going to send people he cares about home in bags. I find it fitting the only characters that get a "good" ending are the ones that listen to Richard and escape the violence. Also, "the way home" is a criminally underrated song. It has the most "I keep dying over and over again, but screw it, I'm getting through this. We're getting through this. I will DRAG us through this so we can enjoy life again" energy that fits his character perfectly.
I like how the Colonel's point about people liking the violence that they engage with (which could be easily forced through a soldier's perspective) is immediately proven wrong with Beard's presence. You're right, he died just as a good man as he lived, and once the nuke fell on San Francisco, the Colonel's anti-thesis dies with it.
The most important part about Jacket's assault on the police station in my opinion: At the end of it, you can spare Richter. The one time Jacket has a personal reason to hate and kill, he learns it's another pawn just like him, and this is the one time the game gives you the choice to walk away.
I love that the second game also took the mercy option as the canon one, and then went on to make Richter's story based on Denis Wedin's experiences with his mother's death, much like how Jacket's girlfriend was based on someone else deeply important to Denis, further showing that they were truly not that different.
My god what an amazing essay! what also comes to mind is that the "hotline miami 3 teaser" was built into HM2 directly. the "HM3" main menu shows up and then it just stops and rewinds back to the main menu. while on brand with the VHS theming of HM2, it really shows how the devs don't really want to make HM3
the devs even joked that they actually taped hotline miami 2 over hotline miami 3 because hm3 sucked, keeping with the vhs theme and referencing the old practice of saving money by taping new videos, tv programs etc. on tapes which already had videos recorded on them, resulting in a lot of lost media besides, the only thing hotline mami could actually do was to make a post apocalyptic story featuring 50 blessings (because of their hq looking like a fallout shelter/bunker with its large door and thick walls) and jacket i've seen people say that jacket *could've* survived the blast because he was transported to an underground cell and therefore he could appear in a potential third game, but the explosion clearly blew jacket's cell up as well
See, as much as I would love a Hotline Miami 3, I can understand that there was good reasons Dennaton never went through with it. Hotline Miami 1 was a masterpiece, it had a very subtle but well played out anti-violence message, with really intriguing lore that says “sometimes our questions are best left unanswered” Hotline Miami 2, while still a very solid game I felt had a slight dip in quality especially in terms of enemy placement and doing the aforementioned answering of questions that shouldn’t be answered, but I believe it was intentional, where Hotline Miami 1 was the developer’s posing a question of whether we found pleasure in hurting others. Hotline Miami 2 was saying “this is why you don’t try to top something that’s near-perfect” And in my opinion, the teasing with a fake Hotline Miami 3 is both Devolver and Dennaton saying “We said what we needed to say and continuing to try and make our points will ultimately defeat those points”
I don't think that it's a coincidence that when these games were made there was a rush of nostalgia for the 80s; retrowave and synthwave were at their peaks, Ubisoft had put out Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Hobo With A Shotgun was in theaters not long before the first game, all of this violent, grindhouse retreading of 80s hits with a desperate sense of escapism. The initial optimism of the 2000s had totally faded by this point, entering into a new decade weary from Terror Alerts, wars fought on "bad intelligence", and a sheer desperation to escape back to a decade of pop culture bliss. The problem really lies in like what happened with Hotline Miami's fans: the decade they crave never existed. The 80s was just as gripped by paranoia, financial instability, and constant proxy wars. There was only a desire to escape to the vibes of the era, no matter how gritty and blood soaked they were, a desire to live in essentially a music video of slasher movie clips, synth music, and eternally beautiful men and women. As someone who dabbled in writing that kind of world, an 80s that did not and could not exist, it's a very seductive idea. Waking you up to the idea that your actions have consequences and that you can die and will die is a horrifying statement to most people, but it's a pretty simple truth. Those who love to hurt people will soon find there's nothing left but ashes. And those who want to escape to a world that doesn't exist based on their incorrect assumptions of what it was like (the 50 Blessings, the Fans and Martin--both are excellent examples of this) will soon find reality will catch up with them no matter how far they run.
I have seen a lot of hotline Miami analysis videos and story explanations etc. but this video gave me and surely a lot of people a new point of view. Not the old “you are evil” but the “you are wrong” as in we misunderstood the meaning behind it all. Great video you have earned a reputation sir.🐔
@@ShyCornmaybe not fresh (but definitely not stale), just one that isn't given anywhere near as much attention. That's the point of characters like Evan and Richter, they're characters that the audience can feel sympathetic towards and understand why more "normal" -- or at the very least nonviolent -- people could find themselves entering into such acts of brutality as well.
The game does a good job of functioning as a media literacy check. It asks you to look beyond the vibrant graphics, frenetic energy of fight scenes and soundtrack and examine your actions even though the framing tries to lead you to thinking it's good. It's a wake-up call and a reminder none of us are perfectly media literate, and that we need to be examining what we like just as much as the things we do not.
Really strong stuff man. Not to bash any other creators but seeing an essay that actually has something to say and not just blowing one point out of proportions is rare these days. Calm editing style and not afraid to critique probably 80% of it's own viewers. Keep doing you, friend.
Some others have mentioned this in the comments too, but definitely give OTXO a try if you’re looking for Hotline Miami style gameplay with a few really cool twists on the formula!
That's only if you believe the narrative this guy set. What kind of fanbase doesn't get the main point of the thing they are a fan of? This dude is trying to come off as a smarty pants. You're being played if you actually believe his claims.
@@fatkiller1000 I was in the hotline Miami modding community. That group genuinely thinks nothing matters and tries to create it's own lolcows to abuse. It's disgusting.
@@fatkiller1000 this man here thinks people online have critical thinking skills lmao. Have you ever met the Fallout fanbase? Bioshock? Maybe Metal Gear Solid? The Coffin of Andrew and Leyley? People say they "like" or "don't like" stuff without actually knowing what the hell they're talking about all the time
i don't think it's the killing of the russian mobs that he carries out that made jacket puke on his first mission, i think it was the fact that he killed a homeless man not tied to anything he's having to go through at all, just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time and i think the fact that he starts running towards jacket as soon as he sees him further implies that it was completely done on self defense in jacket's part
this is an incredible video essay and a very well crafted video in general, I’m surprised this doesn’t have more views, because this video is gonna stick with me for a while
I can’t tell ya how much it means to see this video resonating with folks. All I want to do with this channel is make videos that stick with people, so I’m really glad to hear you say that. Please share it around online if you get a chance, that’d help out a ton!
Loved your take on the series. I’m a big fan of the games and while I was someone who wanted a 3rd game for a long time there really is no place for one in the storyline the question that Richard asked jacket “Do you like hurting other people?” Is a really good line that me as an edgy teenager thought about a lot and I think mostly anyone that played the game remembers it as the most popular line from the game but my favorite quote has to be when Richard is talking to Richter at the end of the second game and says “Leaving this world is not as scary as it sounds” this line really stuck with me and I think it’s a perfect reason why there’s no 3rd game your perspective just kinda confirmed my suspicions that everyone dies in the end i.e. hotline Miami dies in the end and all though we wanted more and possibly even still want more, it leaving this world isn’t as scary as it sounds. Also if you want more hotline Miami style games with the fast action and killer soundtrack and you haven’t played otxo yet I highly recommend it
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’ve really liked what I’ve played of OTXO so far, and I’m happy to see there’s still games being made that offer gameplay similar to Hotline Miami while putting their own twist on things. Thank you for watching!
And now there's OTXO, which was also made as a spiritual successor to Hotline Miami, while also having references to Midnight Animal (with the developers of OTXO and Midnight Animal being friends).
I understood the video utterly and completely. What you're saying is that we should stop asking for Hotline Miami 3... And start asking about Hotline Miami 4.
Incredible. Hotline Miami is a series I adore and I've always loved dives into it's characters, narrative and themes. One theme that I think ties into your essay is it's themes of finality. The game is drenched in a 'sunset' feeling, the coming end of things. You know how some of these stories are going to end the moment you meet the characters, and the presentation being on a VHS tape takes it feel like it's already done. You're playing it back, you're not recording anything new onto the tape. A fantastic essay my guy. You really nailed it c:
My read on the series was that the answer to "Do you like hurting other people?" was always supposed to be "yes". The various characters all do, in fact, like hurting other people. Most of them initially try to convince themselves that their actions are in some way justified; that their violence is for the best in some way, but in the end all that it led to was everybody dying and nobody being any better off than they were before.
@@ShyCorn To be clear, I still appreciate how well this video illustrates your point. The idea that the fans (the characters) are supposed to represent the fans (of the game) is a new one for me!!
One of my favorite things about making these videos is that it opens up a dialogue with everyone and we get to talk about our experiences and interpretations of these games. I hadn’t previously considered applying that “Do you like hurting other people?” question as a blanket statement about the cast, but it does paint things in a new light for me as well!
@@ShyCorn you can see even Jacket likes hurting other people by reading newspaper's pieces left in his house after every mission. Sure, he's forced by 50 Blessings to do those mission and going in a killing spree against Russian mobsters and RAC politicians, but in the end why did he subscribe to their newsletter? Because he, like the other veterans, felt defeated for how the war ended up. Especially for him knowing about the San Francisco nuke and losing a brother in arms. Doing his actions in HM1 was like an act of revenge for him. He could've gone hunting down whoever was sending him those messages, but no, he wanted to eradicate the Russian mafia as an act of revenge for everyone he lost.
Hey man, great vid. Hotline miami 2 is... a complex game, I've gone back and forth on it and what I came to regard as the one thing I can confidently say it has going for it. The first game was just perfect, short, smooth, kinda cryptic but perfectly understandable if you ever bothered to engage it on it's level, it asked "do you like hurting other people?" and then made it really fucking fun to hurt other people, it didn't condemn the player as much as it put a mirror in front of it to ask it what it saw. And then the second one came and there was lore, relationships, characters and longer levels that were not as fun to play or (at the very least) designed to require caution instead of fast paced brutality, it made hurting other people an act of patience, of premeditated thought, a somewhat tedious action and it didn't ask if we liked it, it asked "why are you still here?"
Oh MAN, that last point is really well put. Hotline Miami 2 definitely feels like more of a slow-paced "puzzle" game than the first game, one where you have to deliberately plan out each step. For the most part... The first game made me feel drunk with power, while the second game made me very aware of how cold and calculating I was.
I have a confession to make: I have never finished Hotline Miami 2. I loved the first game so intensely that when the sequel released I was incredibly excited! At the time of release, I didn't get the point of the first game. When the game asked if I liked hurting people, I said "in this context, yes.". Then I played the second one. I got to playing as The Fans, whose own rhetoric was shockingly close to things I had said in the context of the game. It took until about halfway through for the narrative to finally make sense. This game wasn't about the characters, it was about me, who wanted the violence, who wanted the gore and rage to be poured all over each level of the game. It shook me, and I put it down. It really made me think, did I *actually* like hurting people? And the fact that it got me asking myself that was fucking *terrifying*. Both games are truly beautiful in the way they ask their questions, and the visceral way in which the player is expected to respond.
7:50 - "It's clear that Jacket doesn't like to hurt other people." It really isn't, though. LIke, you're bringing that interpretation to it, but you can just as much interpret the way that when he's hurting people there's ambient music and the experience of a world he can interact with, while the rest of the time there's a buzzing in his ears. Like, if nothing else, it absolutely isn't clear.
The game kind of implies he enjoys killing Russians. He only looks affected when he kills the innocent homeless guy. So yeah I agree, saying the game makes it clear jacket doesn’t enjoy killing is incorrect
I REALLY like that interpretation of the ambient music and then the buzzing drone after levels are completed. It’s like if he has to listen to the buzzing for any longer he’s going to snap. His house has music in it, but I guess that could be interpreted as being a place he’s at least decently comfortable in, both mentally and physically.
I’m new to the channel and this just got recommended on my feed, but I have to say: This is probably one of the best video essays I’ve seen in the past year or two. It was well paced, tied everything together with a nice concise bow, and managed to nail every single detail that comes from the games and the community. Absolutely wonderful! Please keep up the hard work!
That means a ton to hear, thank you so much! I’ve just announced my next video on my Community tab as well. I think you’d probably be interested in it based on your MGS profile picture :D
The general idea is great, but it's gonna need something new to stay fresh. Dennis Wedin once said he'd love to see a fantasy-themed Hotline Miami spinoff, and I plan on making that happen someday.
great and perfect video man, love the way the 4th wall is broken in the second game when the rooster says “huh, thats one way to put it” when he confronts us about our love for violence, it genuinely made me question myself when i played it when i was 15 lol bc the movies and stuff i watch and tend to genuenly like, i know the term is used a lot but this videogame is genuinely a piece of art, genuinely an interactive art experience. and not only that the music and the visual design of the game is complete ART.
Okay, the reveal the reviews were for Fight Club all along got me. During the game's heyday, I was definitely one of those brainless fans who just wanted more content at the time. It's honestly a bit embarrassing to have it laid out how brutally obvious HM2 was being, and to remember that it all went straight over my head at the time.
I’m really glad to hear that the reveal landed well! I wanted to experiment a bit with the structure, writing, and presentation style for this video. Thank you for watching! Please share the video around online if you can :D
It would be cool if there's someone making sequel the hotline miami 3 and the story is about biker's journey in miami that turned into wasteland fighting other survivors and might have a little bit flashbacks about his experience before hotline miami 1
For anyone who finished the video I really recommend the 1997 movie Funny Games by Michael Haneke which delve much deeper than Fight Club in our collective morbid enjoyment of Ultra-violence. Especially when we are so detached from it as the media consumer.
Katana Zero is one of the games inspired by Hotline Miami and I'd say it could work as HM-3. It's story is also a cryptic tale of war veterans struggling with addiction and being no longer needed by the people who created them in the first place.
It's also a better example of a developer able to focus on a theme in a story without viewing it as real life revolutionary political praxis and getting upset when players like the game instead of giving up their hobby
@@just_matt214 Please quote where I said anything about the game itself Also please explain how you disagree with the core concept of the video you're currently replying to and think the mindset of the fans never ever came into conflict with the devs
Phenomenal video essay, really nice work. HM2 ironically elevated the series to a work of art it seems a lot of people didn't initially see. This was a great added viewpoint on the series
One of the best videos on HM I've ever seen, great work. Also reminded me that I need to get around to watching Fight Club. There will never be another "Hotline Miami" game, but I always smile seeing a reference or a game taking inspiration from the franchise, especially when those games are not trying to succeed HM, but are instead trying to stand on their own and tell their own stories.
Thank you! I think you’ll come away from the movie seeing a fair amount of similarities between it and Hotline Miami, even if they’re subtle ones. I love seeing other games put their own spin on the formula, it’s so cool to see it inspiring other developers even a decade later.
One of my favorites is Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. The game's creator was inspired to make indie games again after having gone corporate because of HM, and he reached out to Dennaton and ended up becoming good friends with the two lads, adding a sequence of Hotline Miami arcade cabinets in the final level where you get HL2 style cinematics of Travis talking to Richard/Don Juan/Rasmus, Jacket, and Beard. Interestingly, when Travis brings Jacket up to Beard, he tells him not to mention his name, as he's tired and "looking for a place to die". Seems to relate heavily to the themes of this video! Plus Jacket gets to have a semi-happy ending, agreeing to hang out with Travis, kill some people, drink some beers, and play some fucked up games before deciding if he really wants to die just yet.
Honestly I have seen like a fanart mockup of Fallout as Hotline Miami and yeah after what happened a full on post-apocalyptic Hotline Miami successor would be fun to see.
As an actual comment, I did want to say; it isn't fair to say we all "didn't get" hotline miami and HM2 because we wanted more. You know why we wanted more? Because they're some of the best designed shooters we've EVER played. These games ARE an outlet for violent urges, but, news flash, that's a good thing. Especially for people who struggle with their anger and the like. It's quite literally impossible to go through HM1 and 2 without understanding the themes. We need more games willing to tackle them! Like, you know... another hotline miami? It's pretentious to say people just didn't get it. We did get it. That's why we were drawn in, why we got attached to a character who doesn't even speak and wears literal masks. Why we felt so fulfilled by these games, and why we are so frustrated by everything else we've played for not living up to it. People have already brought up Superhot here, and I think it's true with that game as well. It's perfectly reasonable to want them to make more games. Dennaton are AMAZING at making games. I agree that the story of Hotline Miami itself is over, but that doesn't mean the format and the gameplay have to be wiped from the face of the earth.
4:52 what a brilliant opportunity it was to cut straight to the question "DO YOU LIKE HURTING OTHER PEOPLE" asked by Richard in the dark room voiced by the most sinister voice imaginable
Love & Forgetting actually got made into a Hotline Miami 2 level editor campaign complete with multiple endings, but only a pseudo-cityscape to move around in. From what I've seen it's very well-made, but has the concession of being reduced to what the level editor allows.
I've come back to this essay a few times and it really knocks me on my ass every time. Its so well written and puts forth one of the strongest cases for game design as a vehicle for storytelling that I've seen. The ludonarrative harmony on display in these games is incredible and I'm enthralled by the dev's ability to tell such a potent anti-war story. Thanks so much for this essay, and I hope to see more interesting things from you!
I Love how you added “Where is my mind?” At the end of the video, referencing fight club, and the 16 bit esque style of Hotline Miami. This video hit a lot of points that many videos don’t, excellent job.
This was one of the best videos I have ever seen, the writing, the editing, the pacing, everything about this was perfect. The video changed my entire outlook on not only Hotline Miami as a whole, but also if the third game should even come out, since there is nothing to talk about. I hope your channel grows a lot more in the future, you deserve it.
This is probably the best video about HM2 that i've seen; you managed to do something that Jacob Geller admitted he could not. I've always been a massive fan of the message behind this game, without really knowing how to put it into words or even 100% "getting it" myself. the plot twist with the bad reviews at the end tied the analysis together really well in a way that I never would have thought of, and as a whole described how i felt about the game perfectly.
An absolutely great video! It really grabbed my attention. The topics were discussed with genuine understanding, the comparison to Fight Club was clever, and you gave me another perspective on the franchise. Much respect to you and great work! Thank you for this video!
I’m glad you liked it! Thank you so much! I’ve almost always got songs from the Hotline Miami soundtrack playing in my daily rotation, I can’t blame ya!
I stopped at 24:01 to write this but if I remember correctly, one of the developers said they made the map creator in the first place was for fans to make Hotline Miami 3 for themselves. Though I am bummed out about HM3 never being made and Midnight Animal being cancelled, I do at least appreciate the Devs for making the map creator and the dev for Midnight Animal for at least attempting to make a third game. People will never understand that making a game or creating a story is easy. It takes time, LOTS of time and patience to even come up with both. You ever wonder why games made by big timers like Ubisoft or Activision suck ass these days but a single guy can make a farming/dating sim and get overwhelming positive on Steam? Because unlike those two assholes this guy ACTUALLY tries. As a huge fan of HM 1 and 2 I will always appreciate what they gave us. I’m sure we all wish for more but we just have to understand that these two awesome dudes are only human.
I think it would be funny if the devs hyped up the third ones "release" make a polished demo, a new engine, new storylines and cutscenes, and then just snatch it away and say "Did you really think we were actually making a third game? You gotta get a grip." and then grip everywhere.
I dunno about that. I get the idea, but going to the lengths of basically starting a Hotline Miami 3, creating a new engine, writing a new story, programing those cutscenes, creating promo materials, all for the sake of trolling the player base? That would just be a waste of everyone's time and more important, a waste of resources. That would be like Toby Fox deciding to release a fake chapter 3 of Deltarune, only to then annouce it was a troll, and decide to purge everything relating to Deltarune. All of that effort and passion, gone. All for the sake of trolling the player.
Just because people don't understand a work the way the artist made it doen't make this interpretation wrong. "He's litterally me" and "violence is bad" are both valid interpretations of the work. Of course what you explain is what the developpers want the players to feel, but it's not necessarily what they will feel. Hapens a lot with cinema too. For example you can see Barbie as both a satire of modern femisism or a women empowering work. And that's fine.
I think the devs genuinely got a bit too upset over people interpreting and playing "wrong". Large amounts of the second game are them spelling it out, both in gameplay and in cutscenes
I loved your video thank you for showing people that there is more to these games than only fast paced shooters. I think that you covered the point of the story very well. And thank you for using some of my gameplay. I was happy and surprised to see it and I’m glad that you were able to show more people than I originally intended to show to. Overall this was a great video thank you for making it!
This game helped me understand myself as a person so much I was your standard angry teenager/young adult because of an unpleasant time in school/life had a really bad temper that I kept secret I really liked violence for the sake of it and would chase after it as I got more desensitized to it then I found hotline miami beat it and studied it to the point of obsession when it kind of all clicked this game and more importantly its ending was where I was going to end up seeing a "what if" scenario of how it would play out for me really mellowed me out no more asking insane questions because I finally had an answer this series will forever be a part of me in ways I might never understand to this day I still get misty eyed whenever I see the nuke go off not sure why Thanks Jonathan and Dennis
I think this is a sentiment shared amongst many fans of the series. Pouring through comments of videos while making this one really puts things in perspective, and to see that in the comments here as well makes me feel like I did something right. I’m the same way when the nuke drops, and I think it’ll be a long while before another game can match that feeling.
Hmm idk I think my anger is justified when you look at how the American people have had the wool pulled over their eyes and bent over a barrel for so long
@@VainSick I feel like nowadays everybody is encouraged to get chemically castrated if they feel any emotion like anger which leaves only the bad people to have that emotion
It's unexpected to see a HM3 video in 2024 but it's even more unexpected to hear about MA. I didn't realize its been almost 9 years since the original announcement. There were so many other successor mods to HM2 I remember from around then that met the same fate. Patriots, Bloodlife, Tokyo 2041, even Shibuya lol. It's fun to remember all the features these mods had, dynamic music and lighting, destructible environments, all the random super power-type effects Make Me Real had. It's easy to see how so many of these mods were just kids playing around making their dream game all "I wanna make Hotline Miami but its edgy and dark and Holland, 1945 plays" (replay The Document of Midnight Animal if only to hear the songs chosen) the entire modding scene for these games is cute in retrospect, especially seeing as how most of the more qualified developers have seen to move on from the series, after using it for a play space and testing ground (Spncryn and Pi0h coming to mind).
I just gotta say, this is eerily relevant to the BioShock fandom. I've seen so many people unironically praise Andrew Ryan's ideas and actions, even though we see the direct results of his actions in real time
Thank you! This was a fantastic video essay on HM. I really appreciate your insights into the story and showing me the depth of one of my favorite games of all time.
its telling that you heart every comment except the ones challenging your opinion. It says a lot about your maturity and willing to engage with differing viewpoints
I’ve interacted with quite a few folks who offer really well thought out constructive criticisms on either the writing, editing, or both. I’m always open to improving, I just choose not to let the conversation devolve into hostility with the less-than-constructive comments.
@@ShyCornthe faith/connotation/framing of critical comments tells u a lot about how it would end if u interacted, whether it comes from a place of care or not. and if the original commenter doesn’t care, why should you, yk? keep it up mane ❤.
what a well written piece! i thought i had finally understood hotline miami from a narrative perspective but this really changed my perspective. amazing job!
The moment you confessed to the reviews not being from the games, it felt like something in my brain popped in the best way. Phenomenal video from top to bottom, man.
Finished this and said "this was great!" Well written, great analysis. Loved drawing the parallel to fight club. A fascinating distinction can be made between someone liking, or loving Fight club and Hotline Miami, and it being their FAVOURITE piece of media. When someone likes it, I can think, 'okay, this person engaged with the media, and enjoyed the experience.' When it's someone's favourite? I have to ask if they understood the point.
This was an amazing video and a great way to end 2023. I played hotline miami and hotline miami 2 in 2022 and both games are incredible. At first i wasnt a fan of the ending of hm2 but as time went on i realized that its truly a great ending to a great game with no sequel needed.
Ok, I love Hotline Miami's story - I think it's some of the most ambitious game writing I've ever seen - but this video is up its own rear. Using one anecdotal example of a fangame to claim fans missed the point? And how can you ignore the hypocrisy of praising the game's tight and satisfying design (even acknowledgong the gameplay potential of Midnight Animal), only to then admonish fans for wanting more of it? What it all comes down to is that HM is a fun game that has rock-solid game design at it's foundation. People don't engage with the story as much because it's minimalistic, a bit cryptic and hard to parse. I'm not even opposed to the main point of your essay. It's true that people misunderstand the messages behind media and just want to consume more product - but Hotline Miami is not remotely unique in that regard. In fact, most games with any cultural significance have that annoying subset of fans who speculate about potential sequels, even when the series has reached a satisfying conclusion. Fan media literacy is low across the board, and the Hotline Miami fandom is definitely not the worst example. On the other hand, if you wanted a MUCH better target of ridicule, you should have mentioned how every fast-paced, arcadey action game with a cool soundtrack, gore and fast time-to-kill is now labelled a "Hotline Miami, but". Katana Zero is "Hotline Miami but side-scrolling". Anger Foot is "Hotline Miami but first person". OTXO is "Hotline Miami but rogue-like". The authors of these clickbaity titles are the real people who miss the point of HM - they view it as a simple aesthetic that can be slapped onto anything, completely ignoring the writing which made the game meaningful.
It's true that it seems many of Hotline Miami's fans do not read more deeply into the underlying antiviolence message of a game that, if not exactly glorifies violence, then certainly makes it fun, but there's one thing you - and perhaps Dennaton Games themselves, although I don't think they're that far up their own asses - may be forgetting in all this, just based on this video. It is possible to understand a work's message and disagree with it, or simply _not care._ You do not have to embrace the underlying themes of a work to enjoy that work. I personally don't believe notions like "death of the author" offer some all-powerful lens to read subtext or intrinsic meaning into a work where the creator never intended it, but on a personal level? It's perfectly possible to look into a narrative and what it attempts to say and draw different conclusions from that of its maker simply based on one's own ideals and experiences.
You are one hell of a story-teller. Your knowledgeability of the text is impressive, and the theatricality of your presentation here is pitch perfect. The twist with the reviews left me floored (great use of Where Is My Mind!). Great work!
This video is really well made and captures a lot of my own feelings around HM and the death of media literacy. Really, the vid is about more than just HM, but media literacy as a whole. Another good example of a "literally me" character and their story misinterpreted and warped is Officer K from Bladerunner 2049, where the movie tries to say "you don't need to be special to do good" its misinterpreted and twisted into some edgy "nothing matters" take, something that the movie itself tries to criticise multiple times. Also Taxi driver, good lord the number of people who misinterpret that movie.
People *should* extrapolate their own meaning from art. That’s not a bad thing at all. It doesn’t really matter what the intended message is, it matters how it impacts the watcher/player.
makes me think of how Dark Souls 3 was about how the fans and creators both need to move on and how clinging to dark souls would just lead to it becoming a husk of what it once was and people still clamour for a dark souls 4
I don't think most of the fans who wanted more wanted more narrative. They just wanted more game to play. You can appreciate something for reasons utterly detached from the story the author is trying to tell. Yeah, there are probably people out there who truly did miss the point of the story and want more of that. But I think suggesting all the players who want a HM3 don't 'get it' is a bit much.
Your own comment states that a huge portion of the fanbase didn't 'get it'. They literally didn't catch the moral commentary the game was making. Which is fine, it's a video game. But they in fact, didn't get the point.
@@surkhabsingh5856 Some people are bad at understanding stories, yeah. I'm just saying that "I want to play more of this video game in which the gameplay you are doing is framed as being morally bad within the fiction of the game world." is not an inherently contradictory or commentary-blind opinion to hold, but this video seems to imply that the players who want more are inherently ignorant as to the game's meaning.
I loved the essay man, I think you're one of the first people to discuss this specific aspect of the games, and it's that a lot of people miss the message. It's not an issue exclusive to Hotline Miami, just look at the "literally me" phenomenon, but I had never heard anyone talk about it from the Hotline Miami point of view
Glad you liked it! I know there’s probably other games that would’ve fit the subject just fine, but Hotline Miami really stuck out to me. Thank you for watching!
What if we’re not “missing the message” what if we outright reject it in favor of our own conclusions? A lot of fanbases don’t “miss the message” we simply don’t care about the intended message of the devs, we extrapolate our own meanings.
@@quagmoe7879 there are situations where that's the case and that's fine. I mean it more in cases where people blatantly miss the point, like when people saw Liberty Prime in Fallout and thought "Yeah man show the commies how it's done" and not "Wow, the America from these games went so overboard that they ended the planet, and this killing machine became just a mockery of what they once tried to do". With Hotline Miami it's similar sometimes
@@Axl4325 UA-cam deleted my reply to you for whatever reason but basically I said that I know what the intended message was from the Fallout writers about the red scare and American jingoism but I just ignore those meanings in favor of ones I prefer. There was more to my thought but frankly I don’t want to have to rewrite everything. I think you get what I’m trying to say anyways. Something something death of the author.
@@ShyCorn Just watched 3 more of your videos. Really enjoyed your opinions on the endings of Rockstar games! Happy 2024 and may your channel grow/reach new heights
Nice video it was nicely spaced and well edited. I'm gonna be honest I thought that this video was going to be hot garbage sense every time I see someone say media literacy it is usually some of the most midia literate takes I've ever seen. Another thing that i wanted to point out is that it seems to me that people that want to have more sequels or expansions to a finished work come from a place or selfish desire rather than not understanding that the story cannot reasonably continue.
I’m glad to have surprised you then! I really appreciate your kind words, I try my best to write effectively for these videos. I certainly can’t blame people for wanting more of something they enjoyed, but there is something to be said for staying true to the original story/theme and letting things end naturally. Thank you for watching!
Hotline Miami changed my life, the ending changed how I see things. I understood the point, I played the self indulging HM3 games, just to see a happier ending for the characters who don't deserve a happy ending, violence breeds more violence afterall it is their fault, no? But to answer the question. I liked it, I liked hurting other people (in game), and it's my extension my lust for blood that caused a nuclear holocaust. HLM3 cannot exist, but I did enjoy the self indulging fanmade campaigns that give the characters the unrealistic happy ending I craved. Still does not change that this franchise showed me how much violence can escalate.
Woah, insant sub. The effort and quality you put into this video is amazing and it feels so rewarding to find another person who recognises the intricacies of hotline Miami and the genius behind its narrative. I can't wait to see you as a regular youtuber in my feed!
The hurting people question is in the first game not the second. Going by that I really hope this is just a lie told for attention and not serious because if so, that's just kinda sad
@@Subsandwich981 yeah, Hotline Miami (the 1st game atleast) is an incredibly surface level commentary on violence in video games. Genuinely don’t understand how people can take it’s message so seriously or feel any sort of guilt
Hotline Miami was a passion project for them, and iirc they were really burnt out after it. All I want is for those guys to be doing okay, and making whatever they as artists want to make. I'm glad we got the two games, they're fond memories.
I don't think wanting more of something that was intentionally designed to be fun is a sign of failure in media literacy. I can't say for sure how many people "understood" the first or second game, but the first game was intentionally pretty vague (unless you solved the puzzle to get the alternate ending) as to what was going on in the background of the violence. You're definitely meant to reflect on the violence after the levels are over, but the main focus gameplay-wise is definitely on you having fun. I don't view this as a negative. Everyone gets something different out of art, and I do feel like your video demonstrates this as we both have different readings of two things in particular. The first thing I noticed we differ on is whether Jacket is hallucinating or reliving the first half of the game's events via a coma dream. I'd say he's reliving the events in a coma, as one of the question's the masked people ask is "where are you right now?" along with him seeing himself in a hospital bed. Second thing is whether or not Jacket feels guilty. I'd say no for two reasons. Reason one is that he goes right back to killing as soon as he gets out of the hospital, and reason two is his appearance in the second game. In Hotline Miami 2 he appears completely relaxed both in court and prison, and in a sense checked out mentally as he plays with some kind of stress ball in every scene hes in. I guess my point in writing this is that i think author's intent doesn't matter as much as opposed to what you get out of it on a personal level. Jacket is an intentionally empty character I would say, and I read this as intentional considering every character you play as in the second game has very clear motivations that they sometimes directly say in regards to why they are killing people. While I do believe there is such a thing as missing the point (see: people who idolize Walter White), I don't think there's such a thing as a 100% correct reading or take on a piece of art. Especially with something as foggy and hazy as the Hotline Miami series. Anyhow I appreciate the effort you put into this essay, and it was interesting seeing your perspective on games. Thanks for reading if you do end up reading this ^_^
This a very well crafted video, but the parts where you talk about fans misunderstanding the game just reek with elitism. I feel like you could've explained the underlying message, and the fact that majority of people don't understand what the game is trying to say, without making them feel like they somehow played or interpreted the game "the wrong way". Liking HM for its meta commentary and characters is fine, and liking HM because shotgun to the head go boom is fine too. Otherwise, very good work :)
These themes are always so pretentious because they’re skin deep, self serving, and are like a midwits gambit. So what, we like hurting other people, what now? What is there to say after that, other than some Aesop ass moral about digging two graves? Oh wait, there isn’t anything to say afterwards, because it only impacts those who have the same perception of “dangerous writing” as the author and makes them feel clever for it. If it’s too dangerous and gratuitous for you, you didn’t get it. If it isn’t dangerous enough for you, you didn’t get it. It’s not so much designed to have a deep theme, as it is designed to have a theme that lands for a narrow sliver the author themself is in, and jerk them off for it.
Hotline Miami's view in pop culture is the exact same as Punisher's. It's a property that's trying to dissuade ultraviolence but all the fans see in it is ultraviolence for the sake of ultraviolence.
Amazing! After watching Jake Geller’s video on Hotline Miami, half of which is spent complaining about ‘how I can’t understand hotline Miami!’ it’s refreshing to see a video which does the opposite. Concise, to the point, and nuanced.
Thank you for watching! Please subscribe! If you’d like to support me, you can send a Super Thanks or become a channel member here:
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This was a fantastic video, you should be very proud of it. Thank you for talking about one of my favourite games of all time.
Thank you! I’m really glad you enjoyed it!
🎩📗🌹
I know a lot of people hated the ending to HM2. But I think that was honestly the perfect ending for the series. Especially how Richter "finally got it" and Richard consoles him for doing so.
I agree!
There's just nothing more to say. If you want more HM gameplay, you play the editor. The story of both games was unique and was there to send a message for the people. There's just no other theme to make HM3 about
I loved the ending to HM2!!!
Thematic climax
@@papastalin3498 I have finished hotline miami 2, I can now play the stories the community has to tell.
.
.
.
I don't want to see what stories the community has to tell anymore
The mocking of the fans wanting a sequel kinda reminds me of what super hot did where every time a major mission was completed the player character responded with “MORE” but I haven’t played it fully to go to in-depth.
I’ve only ever finished the first SuperHot game, but that sounds like something that might be interesting to look at for a video. I’m not sure it’s intended as “mocking” in either series so much as just a “reminder” that there is a deeper story going on and that players should pay attention. Thank you for watching!
thats actually in mind control delete, you play as a different person there
Is SuperHot VR also tied into the main story or was that more of a side story?
@@ShyCornAfter having played both, is seems like VR and SUPERHOT (1) are just 2 sides of one story, though I couldn’t tell you how. Haven’t touched MCD though.
i think it has an unique story but im not sure@@ShyCorn
Richter was literally the only person who listened to Richard. Ironic as hell isn't it?
There's two types of HM players:
-The ones that chuckled at the HM3 title screen joke at the end of HM2.
*-"HOTLINE MIAMI 3 CONFIRMED??!!?! :O"*
This game and rainworld are the only two games that have made me tear up.
My favorite thing about Beard was that he didn't let the cruelty of the world break him. He died just as good a person as he lived, having finally made it home. Jacket lets his grief and hatred turn him into a monster. The Colonel goes mad in a position he didn't want, fighting a war for a country that doesn't care, knowing full well he's going to send people he cares about home in bags. I find it fitting the only characters that get a "good" ending are the ones that listen to Richard and escape the violence.
Also, "the way home" is a criminally underrated song. It has the most "I keep dying over and over again, but screw it, I'm getting through this. We're getting through this. I will DRAG us through this so we can enjoy life again" energy that fits his character perfectly.
I like how the Colonel's point about people liking the violence that they engage with (which could be easily forced through a soldier's perspective) is immediately proven wrong with Beard's presence. You're right, he died just as a good man as he lived, and once the nuke fell on San Francisco, the Colonel's anti-thesis dies with it.
"Hotline Miami 3 doesn't exist, and maybe that's the point"
Masterful writing, sir
Thank you :D
Yea it does it’s called OTXO
@@lemniscatelogos7917lol, kinda
The most important part about Jacket's assault on the police station in my opinion: At the end of it, you can spare Richter. The one time Jacket has a personal reason to hate and kill, he learns it's another pawn just like him, and this is the one time the game gives you the choice to walk away.
I love that the second game also took the mercy option as the canon one, and then went on to make Richter's story based on Denis Wedin's experiences with his mother's death, much like how Jacket's girlfriend was based on someone else deeply important to Denis, further showing that they were truly not that different.
My god what an amazing essay! what also comes to mind is that the "hotline miami 3 teaser" was built into HM2 directly. the "HM3" main menu shows up and then it just stops and rewinds back to the main menu. while on brand with the VHS theming of HM2, it really shows how the devs don't really want to make HM3
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
the devs even joked that they actually taped hotline miami 2 over hotline miami 3 because hm3 sucked, keeping with the vhs theme and referencing the old practice of saving money by taping new videos, tv programs etc. on tapes which already had videos recorded on them, resulting in a lot of lost media
besides, the only thing hotline mami could actually do was to make a post apocalyptic story featuring 50 blessings (because of their hq looking like a fallout shelter/bunker with its large door and thick walls) and jacket
i've seen people say that jacket *could've* survived the blast because he was transported to an underground cell and therefore he could appear in a potential third game, but the explosion clearly blew jacket's cell up as well
@@spaceacepl4636Biker probably survived because he wants to die
See, as much as I would love a Hotline Miami 3, I can understand that there was good reasons Dennaton never went through with it.
Hotline Miami 1 was a masterpiece, it had a very subtle but well played out anti-violence message, with really intriguing lore that says “sometimes our questions are best left unanswered”
Hotline Miami 2, while still a very solid game I felt had a slight dip in quality especially in terms of enemy placement and doing the aforementioned answering of questions that shouldn’t be answered, but I believe it was intentional, where Hotline Miami 1 was the developer’s posing a question of whether we found pleasure in hurting others. Hotline Miami 2 was saying “this is why you don’t try to top something that’s near-perfect”
And in my opinion, the teasing with a fake Hotline Miami 3 is both Devolver and Dennaton saying “We said what we needed to say and continuing to try and make our points will ultimately defeat those points”
I don't think that it's a coincidence that when these games were made there was a rush of nostalgia for the 80s; retrowave and synthwave were at their peaks, Ubisoft had put out Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Hobo With A Shotgun was in theaters not long before the first game, all of this violent, grindhouse retreading of 80s hits with a desperate sense of escapism. The initial optimism of the 2000s had totally faded by this point, entering into a new decade weary from Terror Alerts, wars fought on "bad intelligence", and a sheer desperation to escape back to a decade of pop culture bliss. The problem really lies in like what happened with Hotline Miami's fans: the decade they crave never existed. The 80s was just as gripped by paranoia, financial instability, and constant proxy wars. There was only a desire to escape to the vibes of the era, no matter how gritty and blood soaked they were, a desire to live in essentially a music video of slasher movie clips, synth music, and eternally beautiful men and women. As someone who dabbled in writing that kind of world, an 80s that did not and could not exist, it's a very seductive idea. Waking you up to the idea that your actions have consequences and that you can die and will die is a horrifying statement to most people, but it's a pretty simple truth. Those who love to hurt people will soon find there's nothing left but ashes. And those who want to escape to a world that doesn't exist based on their incorrect assumptions of what it was like (the 50 Blessings, the Fans and Martin--both are excellent examples of this) will soon find reality will catch up with them no matter how far they run.
I have seen a lot of hotline Miami analysis videos and story explanations etc. but this video gave me and surely a lot of people a new point of view. Not the old “you are evil” but the “you are wrong” as in we misunderstood the meaning behind it all. Great video you have earned a reputation sir.🐔
I’m really glad I could offer a fresh perspective! Please share this video around online for other Hotline Miami fans if you can!
@@ShyCornmaybe not fresh (but definitely not stale), just one that isn't given anywhere near as much attention. That's the point of characters like Evan and Richter, they're characters that the audience can feel sympathetic towards and understand why more "normal" -- or at the very least nonviolent -- people could find themselves entering into such acts of brutality as well.
The game does a good job of functioning as a media literacy check. It asks you to look beyond the vibrant graphics, frenetic energy of fight scenes and soundtrack and examine your actions even though the framing tries to lead you to thinking it's good. It's a wake-up call and a reminder none of us are perfectly media literate, and that we need to be examining what we like just as much as the things we do not.
Really strong stuff man. Not to bash any other creators but seeing an essay that actually has something to say and not just blowing one point out of proportions is rare these days. Calm editing style and not afraid to critique probably 80% of it's own viewers. Keep doing you, friend.
I really appreciate the feedback, thank you!
"Fine, I will make my own Hotline Miami 3"
And then we had Bloodbath Kavkaz
You missed the point of Pardo
@@BreadTeleporter1968 shit yourself about it
The thing is, the hotline miami 3 idea they had would have been exactly what the fans wanted. Levels generated endlessly. No story.
Some others have mentioned this in the comments too, but definitely give OTXO a try if you’re looking for Hotline Miami style gameplay with a few really cool twists on the formula!
i mean people like otxo
That's only if you believe the narrative this guy set.
What kind of fanbase doesn't get the main point of the thing they are a fan of?
This dude is trying to come off as a smarty pants. You're being played if you actually believe his claims.
@@fatkiller1000 I was in the hotline Miami modding community. That group genuinely thinks nothing matters and tries to create it's own lolcows to abuse. It's disgusting.
@@fatkiller1000 this man here thinks people online have critical thinking skills lmao. Have you ever met the Fallout fanbase? Bioshock? Maybe Metal Gear Solid? The Coffin of Andrew and Leyley? People say they "like" or "don't like" stuff without actually knowing what the hell they're talking about all the time
i don't think it's the killing of the russian mobs that he carries out that made jacket puke on his first mission, i think it was the fact that he killed a homeless man not tied to anything he's having to go through at all, just someone in the wrong place at the wrong time and i think the fact that he starts running towards jacket as soon as he sees him further implies that it was completely done on self defense in jacket's part
this is an incredible video essay and a very well crafted video in general, I’m surprised this doesn’t have more views, because this video is gonna stick with me for a while
I can’t tell ya how much it means to see this video resonating with folks. All I want to do with this channel is make videos that stick with people, so I’m really glad to hear you say that. Please share it around online if you get a chance, that’d help out a ton!
Loved your take on the series. I’m a big fan of the games and while I was someone who wanted a 3rd game for a long time there really is no place for one in the storyline the question that Richard asked jacket “Do you like hurting other people?” Is a really good line that me as an edgy teenager thought about a lot and I think mostly anyone that played the game remembers it as the most popular line from the game but my favorite quote has to be when Richard is talking to Richter at the end of the second game and says “Leaving this world is not as scary as it sounds” this line really stuck with me and I think it’s a perfect reason why there’s no 3rd game your perspective just kinda confirmed my suspicions that everyone dies in the end i.e. hotline Miami dies in the end and all though we wanted more and possibly even still want more, it leaving this world isn’t as scary as it sounds.
Also if you want more hotline Miami style games with the fast action and killer soundtrack and you haven’t played otxo yet I highly recommend it
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’ve really liked what I’ve played of OTXO so far, and I’m happy to see there’s still games being made that offer gameplay similar to Hotline Miami while putting their own twist on things. Thank you for watching!
What if the real hotline miami 3, was the violence we enjoyed along the way...
The entire thing was amazing and the ending really was the cherry on top. one of the best video essays ive seen in a while
I really appreciate that, thank you! Not many people stick around for the ends of these videos, but I like making them anyway.
And now there's OTXO, which was also made as a spiritual successor to Hotline Miami, while also having references to Midnight Animal (with the developers of OTXO and Midnight Animal being friends).
I understood the video utterly and completely.
What you're saying is that we should stop asking for Hotline Miami 3...
And start asking about Hotline Miami 4.
You get me
Incredible. Hotline Miami is a series I adore and I've always loved dives into it's characters, narrative and themes. One theme that I think ties into your essay is it's themes of finality. The game is drenched in a 'sunset' feeling, the coming end of things. You know how some of these stories are going to end the moment you meet the characters, and the presentation being on a VHS tape takes it feel like it's already done. You're playing it back, you're not recording anything new onto the tape.
A fantastic essay my guy. You really nailed it c:
That’s a really interesting point, I had never noticed the sunset theme before but it fits well! Thank you for watching :D
insert joke about a certain Motherly Maxwell missing the point of hotline miami more than any other human being on earth here
My read on the series was that the answer to "Do you like hurting other people?" was always supposed to be "yes". The various characters all do, in fact, like hurting other people. Most of them initially try to convince themselves that their actions are in some way justified; that their violence is for the best in some way, but in the end all that it led to was everybody dying and nobody being any better off than they were before.
I can totally see it from that perspective too, good point!
@@ShyCorn To be clear, I still appreciate how well this video illustrates your point. The idea that the fans (the characters) are supposed to represent the fans (of the game) is a new one for me!!
One of my favorite things about making these videos is that it opens up a dialogue with everyone and we get to talk about our experiences and interpretations of these games. I hadn’t previously considered applying that “Do you like hurting other people?” question as a blanket statement about the cast, but it does paint things in a new light for me as well!
@@ShyCorn you can see even Jacket likes hurting other people by reading newspaper's pieces left in his house after every mission. Sure, he's forced by 50 Blessings to do those mission and going in a killing spree against Russian mobsters and RAC politicians, but in the end why did he subscribe to their newsletter? Because he, like the other veterans, felt defeated for how the war ended up. Especially for him knowing about the San Francisco nuke and losing a brother in arms. Doing his actions in HM1 was like an act of revenge for him.
He could've gone hunting down whoever was sending him those messages, but no, he wanted to eradicate the Russian mafia as an act of revenge for everyone he lost.
@@supercasta6642He thought the Russians were sending the messages
Hey man, great vid.
Hotline miami 2 is... a complex game, I've gone back and forth on it and what I came to regard as the one thing I can confidently say it has going for it.
The first game was just perfect, short, smooth, kinda cryptic but perfectly understandable if you ever bothered to engage it on it's level, it asked "do you like hurting other people?" and then made it really fucking fun to hurt other people, it didn't condemn the player as much as it put a mirror in front of it to ask it what it saw.
And then the second one came and there was lore, relationships, characters and longer levels that were not as fun to play or (at the very least) designed to require caution instead of fast paced brutality, it made hurting other people an act of patience, of premeditated thought, a somewhat tedious action and it didn't ask if we liked it, it asked "why are you still here?"
Oh MAN, that last point is really well put. Hotline Miami 2 definitely feels like more of a slow-paced "puzzle" game than the first game, one where you have to deliberately plan out each step. For the most part... The first game made me feel drunk with power, while the second game made me very aware of how cold and calculating I was.
I have a confession to make: I have never finished Hotline Miami 2. I loved the first game so intensely that when the sequel released I was incredibly excited! At the time of release, I didn't get the point of the first game. When the game asked if I liked hurting people, I said "in this context, yes.".
Then I played the second one. I got to playing as The Fans, whose own rhetoric was shockingly close to things I had said in the context of the game. It took until about halfway through for the narrative to finally make sense. This game wasn't about the characters, it was about me, who wanted the violence, who wanted the gore and rage to be poured all over each level of the game. It shook me, and I put it down. It really made me think, did I *actually* like hurting people?
And the fact that it got me asking myself that was fucking *terrifying*. Both games are truly beautiful in the way they ask their questions, and the visceral way in which the player is expected to respond.
Amazing video.
Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate that!
7:50 - "It's clear that Jacket doesn't like to hurt other people." It really isn't, though. LIke, you're bringing that interpretation to it, but you can just as much interpret the way that when he's hurting people there's ambient music and the experience of a world he can interact with, while the rest of the time there's a buzzing in his ears. Like, if nothing else, it absolutely isn't clear.
The game kind of implies he enjoys killing Russians. He only looks affected when he kills the innocent homeless guy. So yeah I agree, saying the game makes it clear jacket doesn’t enjoy killing is incorrect
I REALLY like that interpretation of the ambient music and then the buzzing drone after levels are completed.
It’s like if he has to listen to the buzzing for any longer he’s going to snap.
His house has music in it, but I guess that could be interpreted as being a place he’s at least decently comfortable in, both mentally and physically.
@@mr.j3rs3y could also be tinnitus, that would explain alot.
A deep and insightful analysis; truly informative!
I’m new to the channel and this just got recommended on my feed, but I have to say:
This is probably one of the best video essays I’ve seen in the past year or two. It was well paced, tied everything together with a nice concise bow, and managed to nail every single detail that comes from the games and the community. Absolutely wonderful! Please keep up the hard work!
That means a ton to hear, thank you so much! I’ve just announced my next video on my Community tab as well. I think you’d probably be interested in it based on your MGS profile picture :D
Okay, but it would be cool if they made a hotline miami 3
You're wrong
But also yes
Otxo is kinda that.
I keep trying to imagine what that would even be like - like a hyperviolent Threads maybe?
The general idea is great, but it's gonna need something new to stay fresh. Dennis Wedin once said he'd love to see a fantasy-themed Hotline Miami spinoff, and I plan on making that happen someday.
No
7:41 the moment I saw the animated sprites of animal masks I myself thought I was hallucinating alongside Jacket
great and perfect video man, love the way the 4th wall is broken in the second game when the rooster says “huh, thats one way to put it” when he confronts us about our love for violence, it genuinely made me question myself when i played it when i was 15 lol bc the movies and stuff i watch and tend to genuenly like, i know the term is used a lot but this videogame is genuinely a piece of art, genuinely an interactive art experience. and not only that the music and the visual design of the game is complete ART.
Okay, the reveal the reviews were for Fight Club all along got me. During the game's heyday, I was definitely one of those brainless fans who just wanted more content at the time. It's honestly a bit embarrassing to have it laid out how brutally obvious HM2 was being, and to remember that it all went straight over my head at the time.
I’m really glad to hear that the reveal landed well! I wanted to experiment a bit with the structure, writing, and presentation style for this video. Thank you for watching! Please share the video around online if you can :D
It would be cool if there's someone making sequel the hotline miami 3 and the story is about biker's journey in miami that turned into wasteland fighting other survivors and might have a little bit flashbacks about his experience before hotline miami 1
Maybe Dennaton took an inspiration from Valve by never making a third instalment of a video game series.
For anyone who finished the video
I really recommend the 1997 movie Funny Games by Michael Haneke which delve much deeper than Fight Club in our collective morbid enjoyment of Ultra-violence.
Especially when we are so detached from it as the media consumer.
Katana Zero is one of the games inspired by Hotline Miami and I'd say it could work as HM-3. It's story is also a cryptic tale of war veterans struggling with addiction and being no longer needed by the people who created them in the first place.
It's also a better example of a developer able to focus on a theme in a story without viewing it as real life revolutionary political praxis and getting upset when players like the game instead of giving up their hobby
@@Lazypackmuleare we actually turning around on Hotline Miami because it was "woke all along" now? Is that what you're telling me?
@@just_matt214 Please quote where I said anything about the game itself
Also please explain how you disagree with the core concept of the video you're currently replying to and think the mindset of the fans never ever came into conflict with the devs
@@Lazypackmule I'm not? Maybe i misread your original comment, in which case i'm glad i did because my hunch there was really dumb.
@Lazypackmule All media is left-wing and that is completely okay.
Phenomenal video essay, really nice work. HM2 ironically elevated the series to a work of art it seems a lot of people didn't initially see. This was a great added viewpoint on the series
Thank you! Please check out my newest video if you can :)
One of the best videos on HM I've ever seen, great work. Also reminded me that I need to get around to watching Fight Club.
There will never be another "Hotline Miami" game, but I always smile seeing a reference or a game taking inspiration from the franchise, especially when those games are not trying to succeed HM, but are instead trying to stand on their own and tell their own stories.
Thank you! I think you’ll come away from the movie seeing a fair amount of similarities between it and Hotline Miami, even if they’re subtle ones. I love seeing other games put their own spin on the formula, it’s so cool to see it inspiring other developers even a decade later.
One of my favorites is Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. The game's creator was inspired to make indie games again after having gone corporate because of HM, and he reached out to Dennaton and ended up becoming good friends with the two lads, adding a sequence of Hotline Miami arcade cabinets in the final level where you get HL2 style cinematics of Travis talking to Richard/Don Juan/Rasmus, Jacket, and Beard. Interestingly, when Travis brings Jacket up to Beard, he tells him not to mention his name, as he's tired and "looking for a place to die". Seems to relate heavily to the themes of this video! Plus Jacket gets to have a semi-happy ending, agreeing to hang out with Travis, kill some people, drink some beers, and play some fucked up games before deciding if he really wants to die just yet.
Bro dropped one of the best HLM content and thought we wouldn't notice.
I appreciate the support, thank you!
Honestly I have seen like a fanart mockup of Fallout as Hotline Miami and yeah after what happened a full on post-apocalyptic Hotline Miami successor would be fun to see.
As an actual comment, I did want to say; it isn't fair to say we all "didn't get" hotline miami and HM2 because we wanted more. You know why we wanted more? Because they're some of the best designed shooters we've EVER played.
These games ARE an outlet for violent urges, but, news flash, that's a good thing. Especially for people who struggle with their anger and the like.
It's quite literally impossible to go through HM1 and 2 without understanding the themes. We need more games willing to tackle them! Like, you know... another hotline miami?
It's pretentious to say people just didn't get it. We did get it. That's why we were drawn in, why we got attached to a character who doesn't even speak and wears literal masks. Why we felt so fulfilled by these games, and why we are so frustrated by everything else we've played for not living up to it.
People have already brought up Superhot here, and I think it's true with that game as well.
It's perfectly reasonable to want them to make more games. Dennaton are AMAZING at making games. I agree that the story of Hotline Miami itself is over, but that doesn't mean the format and the gameplay have to be wiped from the face of the earth.
4:52 what a brilliant opportunity it was to cut straight to the question "DO YOU LIKE HURTING OTHER PEOPLE" asked by Richard in the dark room voiced by the most sinister voice imaginable
Ending the video with that Hotline Miami-esque Pixies cover was the perfect icing on the cake.
Love & Forgetting actually got made into a Hotline Miami 2 level editor campaign complete with multiple endings, but only a pseudo-cityscape to move around in. From what I've seen it's very well-made, but has the concession of being reduced to what the level editor allows.
I’ll have to check that out! Thank you!
I've come back to this essay a few times and it really knocks me on my ass every time. Its so well written and puts forth one of the strongest cases for game design as a vehicle for storytelling that I've seen. The ludonarrative harmony on display in these games is incredible and I'm enthralled by the dev's ability to tell such a potent anti-war story. Thanks so much for this essay, and I hope to see more interesting things from you!
Don’t tell anyone but I have a video in the final stages of editing right now that should be posted by the end of the month :D
@ShyCorn I just stumbled upon you and man your video is one of the best one I saw in years
Thanks
Thank you so much! I hope you like my other videos too :)
I Love how you added “Where is my mind?” At the end of the video, referencing fight club, and the 16 bit esque style of Hotline Miami. This video hit a lot of points that many videos don’t, excellent job.
I’m really glad to hear people noticed that! Thank you so much :)
This was one of the best videos I have ever seen, the writing, the editing, the pacing, everything about this was perfect. The video changed my entire outlook on not only Hotline Miami as a whole, but also if the third game should even come out, since there is nothing to talk about. I hope your channel grows a lot more in the future, you deserve it.
That means a ton to hear, thank you so much. I just want to continue making content that resonates with people like this :)
This is probably the best video about HM2 that i've seen; you managed to do something that Jacob Geller admitted he could not. I've always been a massive fan of the message behind this game, without really knowing how to put it into words or even 100% "getting it" myself. the plot twist with the bad reviews at the end tied the analysis together really well in a way that I never would have thought of, and as a whole described how i felt about the game perfectly.
The lil thing you did was awesome with the switch
The reviews being for fight club was rather clever
Cuddos to you, i look forward to seeing what else gou can produce in fhe future
this is one of the best videos about the franchise, thank for this
Thank you for such a kind comment! I’m really happy to see this resonating with so many people.
An absolutely great video! It really grabbed my attention. The topics were discussed with genuine understanding, the comparison to Fight Club was clever, and you gave me another perspective on the franchise. Much respect to you and great work! Thank you for this video!
I’m so glad you liked it! Please share it around online, that helps a ton!
This needs way more views! Extremely insightful and well-made vid
That means a ton, thank you! Please share it around online if you can :D
141k views in a month! Congrats!
Omg that song during your credits roll lol I can’t believe it. What a twist in the third act too, well done!
I’m really glad you liked it, thank you!
MAN what a video loved it!!! Subscribed!
My friends always call me insane because RUN by iamthekidyouknowwhatiman is one of my favourite songs lmao
I’m glad you liked it! Thank you so much! I’ve almost always got songs from the Hotline Miami soundtrack playing in my daily rotation, I can’t blame ya!
that track makes you transcend reality
@@poymannyng1845facts man hey if you like Run listen to this variation of it
I stopped at 24:01 to write this but if I remember correctly, one of the developers said they made the map creator in the first place was for fans to make Hotline Miami 3 for themselves. Though I am bummed out about HM3 never being made and Midnight Animal being cancelled, I do at least appreciate the Devs for making the map creator and the dev for Midnight Animal for at least attempting to make a third game. People will never understand that making a game or creating a story is easy. It takes time, LOTS of time and patience to even come up with both. You ever wonder why games made by big timers like Ubisoft or Activision suck ass these days but a single guy can make a farming/dating sim and get overwhelming positive on Steam? Because unlike those two assholes this guy ACTUALLY tries. As a huge fan of HM 1 and 2 I will always appreciate what they gave us. I’m sure we all wish for more but we just have to understand that these two awesome dudes are only human.
Well said!
I think it would be funny if the devs hyped up the third ones "release" make a polished demo, a new engine, new storylines and cutscenes, and then just snatch it away and say "Did you really think we were actually making a third game? You gotta get a grip." and then grip everywhere.
I dunno about that. I get the idea, but going to the lengths of basically starting a Hotline Miami 3, creating a new engine, writing a new story, programing those cutscenes, creating promo materials, all for the sake of trolling the player base?
That would just be a waste of everyone's time and more important, a waste of resources. That would be like Toby Fox deciding to release a fake chapter 3 of Deltarune, only to then annouce it was a troll, and decide to purge everything relating to Deltarune. All of that effort and passion, gone. All for the sake of trolling the player.
@@Drax69420that and it’s distasteful and pathetically petty behavior.
Was a joke but okay
@@jerryogpack Your good, just kinda figured it was semi serious due to the topic of the vid. But hope you weren't too mad by what i said
@@Drax69420 To be fair, it would be very funny
Man you did the video I've dreamed of making, really good!
Thank you so much! I’m really glad you liked it!
Masterfully crafted vid, deserves to be archived so we don't lose this one, like a few others before it
Thank you! That means a lot!
@@ShyCorn no thank you for making it fr, very well done
Just because people don't understand a work the way the artist made it doen't make this interpretation wrong. "He's litterally me" and "violence is bad" are both valid interpretations of the work. Of course what you explain is what the developpers want the players to feel, but it's not necessarily what they will feel. Hapens a lot with cinema too. For example you can see Barbie as both a satire of modern femisism or a women empowering work. And that's fine.
I think the devs genuinely got a bit too upset over people interpreting and playing "wrong". Large amounts of the second game are them spelling it out, both in gameplay and in cutscenes
one of the best videos ive watched in months
Immediately know what this is gonna be about and watching it anyway. Favorite game of my 30 years of playing vidya. Thanks for talking about this.
Hopefully I was able to include a surprise or two in my talking points for ya! Thanks for watching!
Instantly subscribed, this was amazing! Looking forward to seeing you grow
That means a ton to hear, thank you so much! Please share the channel around online if you can to help it grow!
No problem! @@ShyCorn
I loved your video thank you for showing people that there is more to these games than only fast paced shooters. I think that you covered the point of the story very well. And thank you for using some of my gameplay. I was happy and surprised to see it and I’m glad that you were able to show more people than I originally intended to show to. Overall this was a great video thank you for making it!
I’m really glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you so much!
@@ShyCorn Of course keep making awesome content!
This game helped me understand myself as a person so much I was your standard angry teenager/young adult because of an unpleasant time in school/life had a really bad temper that I kept secret I really liked violence for the sake of it and would chase after it as I got more desensitized to it then I found hotline miami beat it and studied it to the point of obsession when it kind of all clicked this game and more importantly its ending was where I was going to end up seeing a "what if" scenario of how it would play out for me really mellowed me out no more asking insane questions because I finally had an answer this series will forever be a part of me in ways I might never understand to this day I still get misty eyed whenever I see the nuke go off not sure why
Thanks Jonathan and Dennis
I think this is a sentiment shared amongst many fans of the series. Pouring through comments of videos while making this one really puts things in perspective, and to see that in the comments here as well makes me feel like I did something right. I’m the same way when the nuke drops, and I think it’ll be a long while before another game can match that feeling.
Hmm idk I think my anger is justified when you look at how the American people have had the wool pulled over their eyes and bent over a barrel for so long
Gonna be honest chief this sounds like a highly exaggerated retelling of your completely normal teen angst to sound more edgy and cool.
Same thing but HM actually gave me the little push I needed to grow some balls
@@VainSick I feel like nowadays everybody is encouraged to get chemically castrated if they feel any emotion like anger which leaves only the bad people to have that emotion
It's unexpected to see a HM3 video in 2024 but it's even more unexpected to hear about MA. I didn't realize its been almost 9 years since the original announcement. There were so many other successor mods to HM2 I remember from around then that met the same fate. Patriots, Bloodlife, Tokyo 2041, even Shibuya lol. It's fun to remember all the features these mods had, dynamic music and lighting, destructible environments, all the random super power-type effects Make Me Real had. It's easy to see how so many of these mods were just kids playing around making their dream game all "I wanna make Hotline Miami but its edgy and dark and Holland, 1945 plays" (replay The Document of Midnight Animal if only to hear the songs chosen) the entire modding scene for these games is cute in retrospect, especially seeing as how most of the more qualified developers have seen to move on from the series, after using it for a play space and testing ground (Spncryn and Pi0h coming to mind).
It was totally unexpected that there would still be such an audience for this video in 2024 as well. Thank you for watching!
I just gotta say, this is eerily relevant to the BioShock fandom. I've seen so many people unironically praise Andrew Ryan's ideas and actions, even though we see the direct results of his actions in real time
Thank you! This was a fantastic video essay on HM. I really appreciate your insights into the story and showing me the depth of one of my favorite games of all time.
I’m glad you liked it! Thank you!
its telling that you heart every comment except the ones challenging your opinion.
It says a lot about your maturity and willing to engage with differing viewpoints
I’ve interacted with quite a few folks who offer really well thought out constructive criticisms on either the writing, editing, or both. I’m always open to improving, I just choose not to let the conversation devolve into hostility with the less-than-constructive comments.
@@ShyCornthe faith/connotation/framing of critical comments tells u a lot about how it would end if u interacted, whether it comes from a place of care or not. and if the original commenter doesn’t care, why should you, yk? keep it up mane ❤.
what a well written piece! i thought i had finally understood hotline miami from a narrative perspective but this really changed my perspective. amazing job!
I loved these games, and I didn't catch a LOT of the storytelling/statements. I feel dumb, and I'm glad you made this.
No need to feel dumb! We all engage with media differently, that’s a huge part of why I love making these!
The moment you confessed to the reviews not being from the games, it felt like something in my brain popped in the best way. Phenomenal video from top to bottom, man.
I’m glad that resonated with so many people, thank you so much!
it was a Super Eyepatch Wolf level twist. I don't remember the exact video, but he did a very similar thing, and I was blown away both times
That’s a huge compliment, thank you!
Finished this and said "this was great!" Well written, great analysis. Loved drawing the parallel to fight club. A fascinating distinction can be made between someone liking, or loving Fight club and Hotline Miami, and it being their FAVOURITE piece of media.
When someone likes it, I can think, 'okay, this person engaged with the media, and enjoyed the experience.'
When it's someone's favourite? I have to ask if they understood the point.
I really appreciate that, thank you!
This was an amazing video and a great way to end 2023. I played hotline miami and hotline miami 2 in 2022 and both games are incredible. At first i wasnt a fan of the ending of hm2 but as time went on i realized that its truly a great ending to a great game with no sequel needed.
Ok, I love Hotline Miami's story - I think it's some of the most ambitious game writing I've ever seen - but this video is up its own rear. Using one anecdotal example of a fangame to claim fans missed the point? And how can you ignore the hypocrisy of praising the game's tight and satisfying design (even acknowledgong the gameplay potential of Midnight Animal), only to then admonish fans for wanting more of it?
What it all comes down to is that HM is a fun game that has rock-solid game design at it's foundation. People don't engage with the story as much because it's minimalistic, a bit cryptic and hard to parse.
I'm not even opposed to the main point of your essay. It's true that people misunderstand the messages behind media and just want to consume more product - but Hotline Miami is not remotely unique in that regard. In fact, most games with any cultural significance have that annoying subset of fans who speculate about potential sequels, even when the series has reached a satisfying conclusion. Fan media literacy is low across the board, and the Hotline Miami fandom is definitely not the worst example.
On the other hand, if you wanted a MUCH better target of ridicule, you should have mentioned how every fast-paced, arcadey action game with a cool soundtrack, gore and fast time-to-kill is now labelled a "Hotline Miami, but". Katana Zero is "Hotline Miami but side-scrolling". Anger Foot is "Hotline Miami but first person". OTXO is "Hotline Miami but rogue-like". The authors of these clickbaity titles are the real people who miss the point of HM - they view it as a simple aesthetic that can be slapped onto anything, completely ignoring the writing which made the game meaningful.
It's true that it seems many of Hotline Miami's fans do not read more deeply into the underlying antiviolence message of a game that, if not exactly glorifies violence, then certainly makes it fun, but there's one thing you - and perhaps Dennaton Games themselves, although I don't think they're that far up their own asses - may be forgetting in all this, just based on this video. It is possible to understand a work's message and disagree with it, or simply _not care._ You do not have to embrace the underlying themes of a work to enjoy that work.
I personally don't believe notions like "death of the author" offer some all-powerful lens to read subtext or intrinsic meaning into a work where the creator never intended it, but on a personal level? It's perfectly possible to look into a narrative and what it attempts to say and draw different conclusions from that of its maker simply based on one's own ideals and experiences.
Absolutely, I think the author’s original intent and the reader’s personal interpretation can coexist.
You truly never miss with a video shyc0rn👍keep up the good work
You are one hell of a story-teller. Your knowledgeability of the text is impressive, and the theatricality of your presentation here is pitch perfect. The twist with the reviews left me floored (great use of Where Is My Mind!). Great work!
That means a ton, thank you so much :D
This video is really well made and captures a lot of my own feelings around HM and the death of media literacy. Really, the vid is about more than just HM, but media literacy as a whole. Another good example of a "literally me" character and their story misinterpreted and warped is Officer K from Bladerunner 2049, where the movie tries to say "you don't need to be special to do good" its misinterpreted and twisted into some edgy "nothing matters" take, something that the movie itself tries to criticise multiple times.
Also Taxi driver, good lord the number of people who misinterpret that movie.
People *should* extrapolate their own meaning from art. That’s not a bad thing at all. It doesn’t really matter what the intended message is, it matters how it impacts the watcher/player.
makes me think of how Dark Souls 3 was about how the fans and creators both need to move on and how clinging to dark souls would just lead to it becoming a husk of what it once was
and people still clamour for a dark souls 4
I don't think most of the fans who wanted more wanted more narrative. They just wanted more game to play. You can appreciate something for reasons utterly detached from the story the author is trying to tell. Yeah, there are probably people out there who truly did miss the point of the story and want more of that. But I think suggesting all the players who want a HM3 don't 'get it' is a bit much.
Your own comment states that a huge portion of the fanbase didn't 'get it'. They literally didn't catch the moral commentary the game was making.
Which is fine, it's a video game. But they in fact, didn't get the point.
@@surkhabsingh5856 Some people are bad at understanding stories, yeah. I'm just saying that "I want to play more of this video game in which the gameplay you are doing is framed as being morally bad within the fiction of the game world." is not an inherently contradictory or commentary-blind opinion to hold, but this video seems to imply that the players who want more are inherently ignorant as to the game's meaning.
@s0niKu Okay, i get your point. That's fair.
I loved the essay man, I think you're one of the first people to discuss this specific aspect of the games, and it's that a lot of people miss the message. It's not an issue exclusive to Hotline Miami, just look at the "literally me" phenomenon, but I had never heard anyone talk about it from the Hotline Miami point of view
Glad you liked it! I know there’s probably other games that would’ve fit the subject just fine, but Hotline Miami really stuck out to me. Thank you for watching!
What if we’re not “missing the message” what if we outright reject it in favor of our own conclusions? A lot of fanbases don’t “miss the message” we simply don’t care about the intended message of the devs, we extrapolate our own meanings.
@@quagmoe7879 there are situations where that's the case and that's fine. I mean it more in cases where people blatantly miss the point, like when people saw Liberty Prime in Fallout and thought "Yeah man show the commies how it's done" and not "Wow, the America from these games went so overboard that they ended the planet, and this killing machine became just a mockery of what they once tried to do". With Hotline Miami it's similar sometimes
@@Axl4325 UA-cam deleted my reply to you for whatever reason but basically I said that I know what the intended message was from the Fallout writers about the red scare and American jingoism but I just ignore those meanings in favor of ones I prefer. There was more to my thought but frankly I don’t want to have to rewrite everything. I think you get what I’m trying to say anyways. Something something death of the author.
And just like that- I have found yet another amazing channel to subscribe to! Good Shit!
Thank you! I’m really glad you enjoyed it!
@@ShyCorn Just watched 3 more of your videos. Really enjoyed your opinions on the endings of Rockstar games! Happy 2024 and may your channel grow/reach new heights
Nice video it was nicely spaced and well edited. I'm gonna be honest I thought that this video was going to be hot garbage sense every time I see someone say media literacy it is usually some of the most midia literate takes I've ever seen. Another thing that i wanted to point out is that it seems to me that people that want to have more sequels or expansions to a finished work come from a place or selfish desire rather than not understanding that the story cannot reasonably continue.
I’m glad to have surprised you then! I really appreciate your kind words, I try my best to write effectively for these videos. I certainly can’t blame people for wanting more of something they enjoyed, but there is something to be said for staying true to the original story/theme and letting things end naturally. Thank you for watching!
Hotline Miami changed my life, the ending changed how I see things. I understood the point, I played the self indulging HM3 games, just to see a happier ending for the characters who don't deserve a happy ending, violence breeds more violence afterall it is their fault, no?
But to answer the question. I liked it, I liked hurting other people (in game), and it's my extension my lust for blood that caused a nuclear holocaust. HLM3 cannot exist, but I did enjoy the self indulging fanmade campaigns that give the characters the unrealistic happy ending I craved. Still does not change that this franchise showed me how much violence can escalate.
Woah, insant sub. The effort and quality you put into this video is amazing and it feels so rewarding to find another person who recognises the intricacies of hotline Miami and the genius behind its narrative. I can't wait to see you as a regular youtuber in my feed!
Thank you so much! I’m definitely trying to post more regularly, so I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
I couldn’t finish Hotline Miami 2 I’m ashamed to say. It’s question of “Do you like hurting other people?” Really stuck with me.
Bro you are you serious
The hurting people question is in the first game not the second. Going by that I really hope this is just a lie told for attention and not serious because if so, that's just kinda sad
Corny
It ain't like red dead 2 bro, they are literally just pixels that turn red when you hit them
@@Subsandwich981 yeah, Hotline Miami (the 1st game atleast) is an incredibly surface level commentary on violence in video games. Genuinely don’t understand how people can take it’s message so seriously or feel any sort of guilt
Hotline Miami was a passion project for them, and iirc they were really burnt out after it. All I want is for those guys to be doing okay, and making whatever they as artists want to make. I'm glad we got the two games, they're fond memories.
I don't think wanting more of something that was intentionally designed to be fun is a sign of failure in media literacy. I can't say for sure how many people "understood" the first or second game, but the first game was intentionally pretty vague (unless you solved the puzzle to get the alternate ending) as to what was going on in the background of the violence. You're definitely meant to reflect on the violence after the levels are over, but the main focus gameplay-wise is definitely on you having fun. I don't view this as a negative. Everyone gets something different out of art, and I do feel like your video demonstrates this as we both have different readings of two things in particular.
The first thing I noticed we differ on is whether Jacket is hallucinating or reliving the first half of the game's events via a coma dream. I'd say he's reliving the events in a coma, as one of the question's the masked people ask is "where are you right now?" along with him seeing himself in a hospital bed.
Second thing is whether or not Jacket feels guilty. I'd say no for two reasons. Reason one is that he goes right back to killing as soon as he gets out of the hospital, and reason two is his appearance in the second game. In Hotline Miami 2 he appears completely relaxed both in court and prison, and in a sense checked out mentally as he plays with some kind of stress ball in every scene hes in.
I guess my point in writing this is that i think author's intent doesn't matter as much as opposed to what you get out of it on a personal level. Jacket is an intentionally empty character I would say, and I read this as intentional considering every character you play as in the second game has very clear motivations that they sometimes directly say in regards to why they are killing people. While I do believe there is such a thing as missing the point (see: people who idolize Walter White), I don't think there's such a thing as a 100% correct reading or take on a piece of art. Especially with something as foggy and hazy as the Hotline Miami series.
Anyhow I appreciate the effort you put into this essay, and it was interesting seeing your perspective on games. Thanks for reading if you do end up reading this ^_^
This a very well crafted video, but the parts where you talk about fans misunderstanding the game just reek with elitism. I feel like you could've explained the underlying message, and the fact that majority of people don't understand what the game is trying to say, without making them feel like they somehow played or interpreted the game "the wrong way". Liking HM for its meta commentary and characters is fine, and liking HM because shotgun to the head go boom is fine too. Otherwise, very good work :)
Media illiteracy is when people don't understand or interpret things the way that I do!
These themes are always so pretentious because they’re skin deep, self serving, and are like a midwits gambit. So what, we like hurting other people, what now? What is there to say after that, other than some Aesop ass moral about digging two graves? Oh wait, there isn’t anything to say afterwards, because it only impacts those who have the same perception of “dangerous writing” as the author and makes them feel clever for it.
If it’s too dangerous and gratuitous for you, you didn’t get it. If it isn’t dangerous enough for you, you didn’t get it. It’s not so much designed to have a deep theme, as it is designed to have a theme that lands for a narrow sliver the author themself is in, and jerk them off for it.
The closest thing we getting to another game is the 1-800 cult game being developed rn
"Do you like making awesome UA-cam videos , Shycorn?"
I’m glad you liked it! Please share it around online if you can! Thank you for watching :D
@@ShyCorn I sure will man keep making these bangers we will always watch them
The music and editing style is just perfection good job man!
Thank you!
Hotline Miami's view in pop culture is the exact same as Punisher's. It's a property that's trying to dissuade ultraviolence but all the fans see in it is ultraviolence for the sake of ultraviolence.
Amazing!
After watching Jake Geller’s video on Hotline Miami, half of which is spent complaining about ‘how I can’t understand hotline Miami!’ it’s refreshing to see a video which does the opposite. Concise, to the point, and nuanced.