Hotline Miami Creators Break Down its Design & Legacy

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We talk to Dennaton Games about the design and legacy of Hotline Miami.
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Edited by Danny O'Dwyer
Filmed by Danny O'Dwyer
Gameplay Capture by Danny O'Dwyer
Captions by Denis Walsh
0:00 - Intro
1:40 - Founding Dennaton Games
4:14 - Super Carnage
6:22 - Hotline Miami
15:14 - Hotline Miami 2
24:56 - What's Next?
26:07 - Credits

[@NoclipDocs]

patreon.com/noclip ☎

[@artistalexanderrobbie]

These games are what got me into techno

[@emeraldcelestial1058]

Hotlinee 2 is way better than Hotline 1 the end.

[@paliszarok]

hm is good so yeah

[@RewdanSprites]

This is a great story thanks for covering noclip! 👍👍👍

[@emeraldcelestial1058]

@@pajanightbadger1713 yeah so get vaccinated

[@sodakick6884]

That uncomfortable pause before he says "It was horrible" breaks my heart. I can't imagine being harassed and threatened over bugs and high expectations. I loved both games so much. Hotline Miami 1+2 is one of the reasons I'm learning game development.

[@Kyrrial]

They were both phenomenal games. HM2 was only "bad" if you were looking to continue the "story" from the first one, which I think a lot of people were. It was just a different story, and if you went into it as a purely arcade game like they sort of envisioned, it was dope as hell, but a little different from the freedom the first one had. Regardless, they didn't deserve the hate they got in the slightest, and deserve even more praise for their work on both games. This documentary just makes me realize I need to go reply them now...

[@Franku40keks]

I believe it was a small loud minority not liking the game. It's always these people who are the most toxic.

[@ChestyMcGee]

@@Kyrrial i disagree that it can "only" be bad because of your story opinion. the opposite in fact. i replayed both for the first time since 2015 just last week because of this documentary being announced, and i really like the expanded story and "lore" of the second game. it's really cool. but imo they butchered the gameplay. personally i don't think the gun gameplay works to the game's strengths; levels are too big, sightlines too huge, constantly getting shot from off-screen. it slows the game down massively. the levels are more linear too which reduces your options. turns the game into a slow-moving dice-roll. they kinda elude to this in the documentary that it's fine that people might not like HM2 because it forces you to play in a certain way

[@whiteydiamond]

Lmao it comes with the job. Save your fake tears

[@oncedidmedea]

@@whiteydiamond this is such a bleak way of looking at things lmao

[@dfdfdsdfsdfsdfsdf]

These games had a huge impact on music as well. Seriously this (as well as the movie Drive) popularized synthwave and spawned dozens of artists in the 2010s. The artists themselves became known for their role in the game and got a huge boost in popularity from them. To this day those artists continue to innovate all in their own ways and I thank the game creators for introducing me and so many people to those guys.

[@ansc]

Would have loved to hear from some of the artist featured in the game as well

[@loaduscoolclipz5505]

real human bean... and a real hero..

[@JBF086]

I would have included Far Cry 3: blood dragon dlc. That game has such great soundtrack as well.

[@NyleGames]

Yeah I can remember listening to a Carpenter Brut song on KZbin that had 90 views just after the trailer for Hotline Miami 2 came out, now it has 3.1 million views.

[@wetfloo]

yep. still listening to Perturbator, each new album has been different from the last

[@ELSTINKO.]

10 years. That's insane. Such impactful games

[@ghtddkc]

The way he says “that was horrible” at 21:00 is so painful, you can feel him live through this dark moment again. Really cool to have a look back on those two games

[@Scarecrow9714]

I noticed that too, It's a shame because when I first played the sequel back in 2015 I enjoyed the game and had the same thoughts as the expectations he had on the game

[@abeldelatorre1382]

Ikr? I myself didn't liked the 2nd when I played it because I thought it was like way overcomplicated. It was only when I took the time to "get the bigger picture" in HM that I realised what the story was trying to tell me. Plus I know from recent years what the gaming community is capable of when they don't get their way, and it's not pretty :/ Really in my top 3 games of all time, hyped to see what they have been working on

[@justinbess1281]

@@abeldelatorre1382 I learned about hotline miami 2 through a friend of mine and when i first saw it i thought it was a good game and wanted to play the the first one, i play and beaten both. I tried beating the hard mode im still stuck on the same level, but i can say that I true3ly liked the second one better because I liked the gameplay and how it was more geared towards gunplay instead of melee like the first one. I also liked how you got to play as the russians after you demolished them in the first one. IDK what people were talking abt they were just being haters, and there was even a level design mode which allowed the game to continue on. You can tell the developers put alot of creative thought into the game and thats not really common with games nowadays, I wish they wouldve made a hotline miami 3.

[@DimiKaye]

This is the game that got me into synthwave. For that reason only it will have my unending respect but also as a game it's super badass. The gameplay, the story, the characters, the setting, everything clicked with me. It has a place on my top 10 favourite games ever.

[@Ztoky]

Omg Hotline also got me into New Synthwave! It also turned out to be my favourite music genre :)

[@DimiKaye]

@@Ztoky Yep, since the moment I discovered it I haven't stopped listening. I produce synthwave since 2015 so it's actually my life :D And its community is fantastic, probably the best music community out there.

[@leftovernoise]

I'm pretty sure it got literally thousands of us into synthwave

[@DimiKaye]

@@leftovernoise Yep. There are many that got into synthwave because of the film Drive, but to us it was this badass game :D

[@tastefullynerdy1161]

yeah, me too.

[@BLAHBLAH1000shop]

It PAINS me to hear the culture-change after they released the second game. A huge part why I see many people becoming game devs is the collaborative effort by both developers and fans. When you have a support group cheering you on and wishing you the best its inspiring and makes for a better game. The industry is now often associated with the grossest and most toxic individuals who ruin the fanbases they reside in. Insults, death threats, "dead game" mentality, the utter grime at the bottom of the barrel. It's unfair to the devs who just want to make art for enjoyment sake. I whole-heartedly wish the best for Jonatan and Dennis's upcoming game. Hopefully people will play it for what it is and not resort to expectations and comparisons to Hotline.

[@wolfumz]

It's sort of amazing how the audience's expectations change everything. People complained about the masks in HM2, but really, I think that was more about having the _perception_ and _feeling_ of having all these different styles to choose from, rather than players actually picking out a dozen masks or really exploring the variety. A bunch of the masks in HM1 were weak, 99% of players are not losing anything from the gameplay if you edit out the "stronger doors" power, or the "standing execution" power. It's like going to supermarket to buy some oreos. In one store, you find the oreos on a packed shelf, brimming with every cookie known to man, spanning the whole aisle. In another store, you find the oreos on a shelf with only three or four different cookies. No matter which store you visit, you still end up just buying the oreos. But in one of the stores, you had this fleeting illusory feeling that you would pick anything. In reality, though, having a dozen extra choices doesn't really change what your favorite cookie is. I don't know if this makes any sense.

[@maxip2395]

1000000% agree.

[@BuzzingGoober]

Oh no boohoo, let me shed a tear for some multimillionaires who got rich off a 2d indie game and are dealing with some baddies on the internet, boohoo.

[@BuzzingGoober]

@Mialisus lol what? I beat the game easily and liked it. But it doesn't mean I'm going to have sympathy for devs, over jack shit, when they're living the easy life.

[@BLAHBLAH1000shop]

@@BuzzingGoober You know these guys aren't Bobby Kotick right? lol They had some success making some games together and you're saying they should brunt hate and death threats for it? Surely you don't just hate them for making a living off a passion project.

[@broshmosh]

It's nice to hear these two speak so openly about how Hotline Miami 2 was received. They've not exactly avoided the press in the past, but letting the story speak for itself is one of NoClip's best features.

[@abluecircle7753]

wassup red C

[@foolstop4036]

I really had no idea HM2 had such a negative reception on release. I always thought it was a much better game compared to 1 because it was more complex, but also streamlined and many bugs were fixed. it was definitely a lot harder, but I like the difficulty.

[@EricBarbman]

Strange to me too : playing both back to back, I appreciated HM2 even more than the first one.

[@3AMpuke]

there was only one thing i didnt like about 2, thats the throwing stuff shit. it just doesnt have the same throwing as one in my opinion. but other than that it is an orgasm of a game

[@C4combinedCat]

if you didn't play the original then don't play the sequel, if you never got good at the original that's on you. something people don't understand when buying games i guess, hotline 2 will always be better than the original

[@vin8754]

Also I find the sequel to be way more replayable

[@CheeseYourself]

Cool thing I noticed recently: Dennaton mention that they didn't want the enemies to run away from the player because that could potentially ruin their combos, but they did experiment with the idea in Dead Ahead; after you complete the level and go back to the docks, you can see there are a few Colombians who got so scared of Manny killing everyone that they jumped overboard and got fished out by the police

[@tadhg8537]

Not really a gameplay thing though

[@swan777song]

Also if the enemy doesn’t have a weapon, they walk away from you

[@lalakcj]

Hotline Miami 2’s storytelling is unequivocally a masterpiece.

[@Ducksen]

These 2 have always been super inspiring to me, and this documentary only made me admire their work ethic even more. Looking forward to whenever their new game releases!

[@teomaster32]

are they working in something now ?

[@arkham_miami]

@@teomaster32 Hotline Miami 3: thick skin edition™

[@Goosehat2]

@@arkham_miami hotsex Milwaukee 3: wrong lube

[@noobbobux3840]

@@teomaster32 hotline miami 3: correct number

[@PXAbstraction]

I honestly had no idea Hotline Miami 2 got such a negative reception from some people. I did a Let's Play of it on my channel way back when I did those and I thought it was an absolute blast. I still adore both entries in the series and these games I can definitely say are what got me into synthwave. They're among the best there are and I can't wait to see what these guys do next.

[@HiBoa]

I know here in Australia it had this weird it did but didn't exist vibe to it. Most of this was because we got a bunch of the trailers and some of the hype before release, but then our classification board banned it for the opening scene. It then almost came back a little bit later with the definitive version they made, but that got banned too for the same reason so currently there still is no legal way to play it here. Most of us that played the first game have no clue what the critics rated it as we had no reason to find out.

[@luminosity01]

The problem with hm2 is the unfair nature of enemy placement and level design, seriously who likes getting killed offscreen by enemies you can't even see and lots of fat guys, dogs and hitscan? And those ammo refill mechanics is broken in hard mode. Luckily i have 100% both of them, but i'll be lying to say that 2 isn't a letdown in terms of fair gameplay.

[@emeraldcelestial1058]

Hotline 2 completely captivated me and my friends, so many memories of waking up on a floor and being passed a controller with a mad hangover, taking a valium, smoking a joint and cruising through the mission until I died and then pass the controller only to have a mini-nap until it was my turn again.

[@luminosity01]

@@Chiptunecat yeah man, linked me your steam profile so i could see you 100% both hotline miami then i could believe u

[@clipCommander101]

Imo, hotline miami 2 was a good game, but hotline miami 1 was a perfect game

[@janugur2241]

I love how in the first game they use the main mechanics of the game such as insta-death and the music shifting to just low drones when the level is cleared to first get you incredibly focused solely on winning and then throw a reality check on you. It just creates this feeling of having had an episode where you weren't actually yourself and now you're seeing the results. One of the best games imo when it comes to use it's gameplay mechanics to tell it's story.

[@Simte]

This title was of great importance. The influence of the aesthetic approach mixed with gameplay had a profound impact in gaming at the time.

[@grahamgilmore42]

Hotline Miami helped me through a weird time in my life. I was in my second year of university in 2012. I just moved a couple provinces (in Canada) a year earlier. And I was renting a place with total strangers. All I had was a mattress in my room and I just sat there with my laptop at night playing that game. As intense as it was, it was strangely comforting.

[@reNINTENDO]

For those who followed/knew Cactus back during his days on the GMC, it was not surprising at all that he ended up being a part of something so important in gaming. He was always pumping out amazing games at a lightning pace, and despite having a huge name in the community he was never shy to play some random person's game and give his feedback (myself included). He and Dennis are definitely inspirations and likely always will be. And my God the influence they've had on music and aesthetic. Seriously, ask probably anyone currently making something synthwave or neon/80-retro and if they don't say Hotline Miami was the inspiration, I bet the thing that inspired them was inspired by it.

[@SomeGuy-mt4hq]

To be fair, the aesthetic of hotline miami is heavily inspired by drive so that movie deserves credit too

[@novapane]

On the off chance Dennis or Jonaton ever trawl through here, I just wanted to say thanks for the amazing work and I'm glad you guys decided to keep trucking after the feedback on HM2. You made art whether that was your intent or not, and it's influenced millions! Keep being you.

[@Bluesky35102]

There was definately a before and after Hotline Miami (1&2) for me. That soundtrack especially changed my life

[@bruhhugo2183]

It's nice to see this game getting mentioned now. It's nice to know that the community is still alive

[@semyonboyk0]

I'm infinitely grateful to the developers, publishers, musicians, and everyone who was working on these games. They literally changed my life.

[@ClearSky16]

Man, you’re doing gods work here. All the best

[@Rinocapz]

These games especially hotline Miami 1 changed my life. I've played 1 right during a very dark period in my life and during my first playthrough I really felt I could connect with jacket. Not knowing what was happening in the future and the only thing I could do was to go forward through the chaos and the pain. To learn on the way and see what is at the end. Completing the game helped me feel released of bad energy that build up in the year before. Dennaton helped me stay sane. I'm so thankful to play their games.

[@Crowbar]

I remember seeing Hotline Miami on the Steam Store main page and thinking "how is an ugly game like this so popular?". Since it was cheap I gave it a try, because I was just so curious. It completely changed how I look at games afterwards.

[@BebehCookieIcecream]

Fucking dope

[@yu4rn]

_"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."_ 🏆

[@justanotherguy1122]

Never thought I'd hear a person call a pixel art game ugly.

[@cubo4397]

@@justanotherguy1122 Sadly these days if a game doesn't have hyperrealistic 4k graphics people even call them BAD games xd

[@cupriferouscatalyst3708]

@@justanotherguy1122 there are plenty of ugly pixel art games, both old and contemporary. And tbh from a purely technical standpoint the Hotline Miami graphics can definitely be seen as crude, with the inconsistency in dithering, AA, outline style, color palette and whatnot, but personally I think it just adds to the charm, being such a bold and brash pop art-esque style perfectly fits the violent gameplay, neon-soaked setting and surreal story.

[@Lonequacker]

Hotline Miami is still my favorite indie game of all time and honestly probably in my top 10 of all time. I know people had criticisms of 2 when it came out but I didn't know so many people hated it. I have nothing but respect and appreciation for Dennaton for what they did and can't wait for whatever they have next. The documentary Complex did about them a few years back is definitely worth a watch too.

[@Ovandal]

Fantastic video as always! Also 24:30 might have made me squeal a tiny bit

[@IBigDickI]

That video was great

[@mugfulofteo8885]

Oh my god the real??

[@babaguy04]

I played Hotline Miami 1 and 2 last year I think, I thought everyone loved 2 like I did I had no idea that a lot of people didn't like it

[@punished-burnt-ash]

Yeah me either. Hotline Miami 2 put so many things on the first game and added a huge story, it almost made first game look like a dlc thats about jacket. So I think it's not possible someone to like the first game and dislike the second one (especially just because it's hard). I mean insta-death and repeating the level until you get to solve it is one of the main aspects of the game, hating on developers because they made the game hard such a stupid and pathetic thing to do. Also that made me love it even more, because when you finish the hard mode or get an sS in one of the levels you get that feeling of accomplishment. I absolutely loved the second game.

[@IndigoPhoenix21]

Hotline Miami 2 is possibly the most underrated game I have ever played and easily in my top 10 of all time. I feel like Hotline Miami gets its flowers, and is absolutely deserving of them, but HM2...changed me. It took the themes, story and gameplay of the first and cranked it up. When I beat it, I was stuck in my chair, completing stunned, wrecked. It is such a powerful game. Also, the soundtracks for both are top tier. I don’t think there's a day in which I don’t listen to at least one song.

[@ConSocial94]

I cannot believe the hate that the sequel got. I absolutely loved playing through the Hotline 2! The difficult was high but so satisfying when you were able to beat a level

[@tomstonemale]

I don't know man, I thought the level design was bullshit. Nothing about the gameplay seem fit for bigger levels with windows everywhere. When I got tired of getting killed because someone shot me off screen, I cheese the game to the end since that AI is very mediocre with corners and doors.

[@NotLegato]

i gotta be honest, i never finished the second one because of how difficult it was. might come back to it, though.

[@FfoxW]

Came here to say just that! The difficulty drove me to excel

[@emeraldcelestial1058]

@@tomstonemale Regardless, Hot Line 2 is a masterpiece and infinitely more interesting, fun and visually unique than 99% of other games in the last ten years. Now tell me I've not played any other games and cry some other tune.

[@luminosity01]

@@emeraldcelestial1058 > infinitely more fun > insults people by telling them to cry about it cause that people speaks the facts lol sure...

[@X2Jason86]

I adore BOTH titles, their replayability, vibe and style are unmatched, and they're just FUN to play. And even if you didn't like someone's passion project or it wasn't quite what you hoped for, I still cannot wrap my brain around what causes someone to go online and send toxic death threats or comments towards these guys. Makes me so sad to hear about their negative experiences. Hoping for a HM3 one day, but really keen to see the new title they're working on too!

[@LAZ0R_]

Never knew people didn't like Hotline Miami 2. So sad to hear that cause i love it and more the story depths they added.

[@n_0cturnal]

same!

[@dropkickpherby6994]

Hotline Miami 2 for me was a variety of emotions. Some levels for me were my Favorite experiences in gaming, like when the samurai guy is in the disco! But then other levels felt, limiting. The prison level was infuriating as it introduced a new enemy type with a color palette identical to parts of the level, but overall I still loved the game. So sad some people can't be civil with their criticisms.

[@noided-insight537]

@@dropkickpherby6994 I adapted to that level pretty well, my mentality was "oh these are the dogs of this level"

[@zackmooretalks]

Hotline Miami is one of my favorite series of all-time, and I think these 2 dudes are a couple of the most clever, creative, and entertaining guys out there. The first is impeccable, but HM2 is a mind-blowing masterpiece which I have played at least a handful of times a month since its release. It made the first one better with how it tied it all together and has one of the lost intriguing and well-written storylines out there. It’s a masterpiece, and it kills me to see the unwarranted reception it received upon its release as it improved upon the original in every way, and provided a more fleshed out and compelling experience. The soundtrack is insane and perfectly matched to each level and I’m continuously in awe with how well done it is. For what it’s worth, you provided an experience that my brother and I revisit and discuss frequently, and that I still recommend to anyone who will listen. Thank you, gentlemen.

[@ShellComics]

Loved the doc! But I'm in shock about the reception to the second game! I thought it was well received! I loved it more than part 1. It sucks that the developers had a hard time :( But I absolutely ADORED the 2nd game and I replay "Death wish" at least once a month!!

[@BioDomeWithPaulyShor]

Hotline Miami 2 is still a really good game, but it's completely different from the first when it comes to level/encounter design. In the first game, if you knew where enemies would typically fire/congregate, you could get a "perfect" run of the level where you keep a combo going all the way to the door for a high score. I loved Hotline Miami 1 so much that I even had WR on a few individual levels at some point in time. That type of gameplay (move fast and hit hard) is discouraged in many of the levels in Hotline Miami 2, ESPECIALLY on hard mode. Instead of one or two people patrolling a hallway, there are 4-6 enemies with guns and bats. Want to inch forward bit by bit and slowly take all the enemies out? Surprise, a guy shot you through several windows from offscreen! It required an incredibly careful, methodical playstyle, which is not what some fans of Hotline Miami 1 were looking for in a sequel. That's not to excuse all of the hate that the devs got, that's ridiculous and shitty. I'm glad that they're back to having fun making games again.

[@ivanborges67]

Same, knowing that, is a surprise to me, I felt that the second game was even better than the first one, that was already one of my favorite games of all time, the music, the characters everything felt better to me

[@pooyataleb2514]

I didn't dislike the second game but it felt like the first game had a different atmosphere (which I liked way more)

[@yultimona]

@@BioDomeWithPaulyShor That's a fantastic way of putting it. The way I've always described the difference between the two games is that, while the first Hotline Miami had a good mixture of combat and problem solving, the second game feels more like a combat puzzle. If you loved the problem-solving of 1, you probably adored 2. On the other hand, if you were more in favor of the brute force that 1 provided, I can see 2 being a disappointment.

[@ChristianMeyer]

@@BioDomeWithPaulyShor you Hit the nail on the head. Offscreen kills was the thing that really put me off about 2. It seemed unfair and really disrupted the flow of the game!

[@robriley6135]

Hotline miami 2 blew me away on launch - easily one of my favourite games of all time. loved the challenge, loved the more intresting masks giving more variety, wish everyone could've felt the way i did about it.

[@Cesferort]

Before I played Hotline Miami and Talos Principle, I saw video games as mere entertainment. I had never played anything like those, HM explored love for violence and Talos talked about existential problems in ways I would never have thought of. As a result, I started playing much more indie titles and became interested in both game development and programming. I am now working on my first game as a solo dev and I can firmly say that my life choices would have been very different if it wasn't for HM, so thank you Dennaton I still consider the second installment as one of my favourites and I consider them both two of the best games ever. Can't wait for their next project to be released.

[@grimmud]

I love both parts of Hotline Miami. An unforgettable experience. Your game also drew my attention to the synthwave, for which I am very grateful. Respect for developers.

[@chupathingy13]

Two quick things. First, I can't believe this channel is as small as it is. Seeing this production value even with remote interviews is incredible. Second, I had no idea that the sequel was put under such scrutiny - that's news to me, and I adore these games and the intoxicating story they tell.

[@WalkOnNick]

I'm bummed to hear the response to the sequel hit them so hard. I remember also being disappointed by it but I still had a decent time. To me it wasn't that it was too difficult, though. It was more that I felt it made you cheese the gameplay a bit through the level design.

[@Nokia2k03]

these games changed my life and made me have an appreciation for small games and new aesthetics, they are some of my favorite games of all time.

[@IBigDickI]

Same

[@cryptidkisser]

HLM series is easily in my top 10. Loved 2 and I'm really sad the devs were hurt by the reception. Wouldn't change a thing about the games. They worked hard and I'm glad for their success.

[@RubsterWTF]

These games influenced everything when they came out. It changed not only Devolver, but the entire industry as a lot of games that came after would adopt the violence, difficulty and aesthetics in their own way. They also helped popularize the Synthwave sound in music that is still relevant today, as many of the artists that have appeared in the games are some of the most well regarded ones in the genere. I’m very grateful to everyone involved in the creation of Hotline Miami as they have helped me get trough some though times. Happy 10th anniversary!

[@DarshUK1]

Incredible indie gem with such an iconic soundtrack

[@UseTheLess00]

6 minutes in and I have to say I love they way you've managed to turn Zoom meetings into an uncanny Hotline Miami-esq experience!

[@ivangambino4135]

When dennis was talking about how he stopped going on forums, with the music, broke my heart

[@RustafRM]

Yeah, some levels of HM2 were pretty hard for me, but I liked to solve them. Great games overall, it is sad that some minority of gamers have spoke so harshly about the second game.

[@luminosity01]

some minority? they are speaking facts about the problem in the 2nd games lmao

[@Rh1n02]

@@luminosity01 lmao image thinking emailing the devs threats is seen as actual criticism for a game

[@luminosity01]

@@Rh1n02 what i meant is the majority of the complaint is the bullshit level design and difficulty in the 2nd game, and when i heard they got death threats over it, it was fucked up i never knew that. That said i *NEVER* support shit like death threats, hate mails, or insults

[@Rh1n02]

It's all good then there is some amount of common sense left on the internet

[@kieranhurst8543]

@@luminosity01 suuuuuure

[@youtubesellsyouraccountandlies]

just wanted to say having followed cactus since his early days i am overjoyed seeing all his old work in a new context. thank you so much for this.

[@STEWARTH713]

My favourite series, both games mean so much to me! Dennis and Jonatan are such good guys and really put blood, sweat and tears into these games. I can't wait for what ever they put out. Best of luck to them and a big thanks to Noclip for reaching out and doing all this, it's nice to see some behind the scenes stuff and to hear from Dennaton games.

[@ArtLike]

An absolute amazing duo right here, speaking from the heart. I don't even know if they realize how much influence their game had on an entire generation of people, myself included. It truly hurts me to hear that the reception to Hotline Miami 2, and the vitriol directed at them pushed them away from games. It actually gives the Hotline Miami 3 troll at the end of the 2nd game even more impact. Thank you to the NoClip team for making this. I've long wanted to hear the Dennaton team express themselves on why they stepped away from making games, as well as the hardships they endured while working on bringing us Hotline Miami. There are so many other questions I’d have for them, but a good lesson in this video is that people REALLY needs to be careful with how they conduct themselves online. There is absolute no reason to insult developers if you don’t like what they create. Don’t like it? Don’t play it.

[@ShiningEyeBrigade]

Thank you Dennis and Johnathan for sharing the ups and downs of your experiences. I’m so sorry you had to experience that mindless cruelty and disfunction. I greatly respect your process and intentions and wish you the best of luck on your new project. I’ll be keeping an eye out for it! And thank you, of course, NoClip, for bringing is this story.

[@Turabbo]

I know it must be frustrating, but honestly your interviews are always great, and you do a really good job with the visuals in edit. It's fresh right to the end

[@theme6530]

Thanks for the wonderful talk with the guys. Loved both 1 and 2 on release, eagerly wait for wait comes next. And love your documentaries, with covid and all you still manage to create something great and record all these wonderful stories. Thanks!

[@TheElari]

Yo! It's so cool to see you guys again after so long. I'll just say that the community around the *art* you two made is astonishingly awesome. I've met a lot of cool people thanks to the love we all share for Hotline Miami, and the memes. Especially the memes. You geniuses keep doing what you do, best regards and love from Argentina. ♥

[@Sexy_Nutella]

Hearing "Miami 2" in the opening minute just opened a floodgate of nostalgia in my brain. This game was so good from all aspects and was a big part of my gaming life when it came out. People dissecting the plot, discussing the themes, sharing their favourite soundtracks, and of course, making all those memes (GOTTA GET A GRIP). Thanks again for another excellent documentary.

[@kalesalad479]

This was a dope retrospective, cant wait to play whatever dennaton makes next.

[@CarterHerrigstad]

Hotline Miami series as a whole is a masterpiece. Thanks for making this video, it was an awesome viewing experience!

[@Reneator]

This was a great documentary/retrospective on the game with a lot of topics i can relate to. Really well done! Keep it up! HotlineMiami is a gem for me with epic music

[@MrCaptainrazor]

These guys actually did a masterpiece and made me fall in love with retrowave music. Thanks a lot to them!

[@vlct666]

Such nice and humble guys. HM2 was amazing and I am really looking forward to their next project.

[@Dexemplu]

I will never forget Jeff and Ryan saying about the first Hotline Miami that "this game is like bad drugs". I loved how appropriate that was, and how well the quote aged. Been a gamer for a long long time, and Hotline Miami has been an important series to me personally, it made me introspect and introduced me to phenomenal music. Can't wait to see the next game!

[@daryx.langdale]

10 years already? Damn. Kinda nice to know that a game that still seems so recent in the scope of things has since become an enormously influential part of video games broadly. They both deserve props for making the games they want to make, for the benefit of everyone else. I never played HM2 but hearing them talk about it made me quickly switch windows and hit the purchase button.

[@BIGPILGRIM420]

never really knew the second wasn't that well received, probably because it's one of my favorite games of all time, part of the unforgettable one-two punch of this series. thank you for the doc and thanks to them for making the games!

[@DeadWhiteButterflies]

OMFG, I have wanted you do do this since FOREVER. That, and my subtly campaigning in the comments to cover Devolver games more broadly, but I'm so happy to see this be a thing. I knew it would be a perfect fit for the NoClip treatment. No, I'm not crying, you're crying.

[@zovutnik]

Thanks for another brilliant documentary! As a person who make some offline product recently and on 2nd iteration faced with harsh critique and hands-downed on that... I mean that part resonated with me so well. Hotline Miami diptych is a truly masterpiece, and one of a kind game. Great to know that guys working on another project now, can't wait to hear more on that!

[@mveytia]

Very few games have ever made me as fucking pumped as Hotline Miami! Had a phenomenal experience playing it, and the creators should be so proud.

[@robracer97]

Thank you Dennaton for making these games

[@marv1nperator]

While the game never really clicked with me, I'm forever thankful for it getting me into Synthwave and for what it did to this music genre! The music was very influencial, as so many comments here show.

[@TimoBirnschein]

You just nail the theme of these videos every single time! I loved the 90' style TV interview!

[@BongShlong]

Great documentary as always, you guys are amazing at showing both the artistic and the very human side of the developers. Also the technical, sometimes logistical and 100x more aspects of gamedesign i would not have thought of before which makes me appreciate this art form just so much more.

[@SkelterHelter]

Hotline Miami 2 is a amazing game, one of my top games I ever played and I love it, it's just MORE, better, bigger levels, a more concise but interesting story, multiple protagonists separating the game with different gameplay scenarios and overall amazing twists. I find it weird people dislike because it has levels that are more gun focused when I think the biggest flaws of the first game is that the levels were to similar in layout and gameplay, 2 changed that and I adored for it.

[@Empyrean55]

God I'm so excited for what you guys bring this year!

[@schadenfreund]

As always top notch production - Dennis and Jonatan thank you for creating two out of three of my all time favorite games (the third one being Chrono Trigger). Good to see that you are well. Keep on rocking.

[@floydshaw937]

This was so amazing! Huge fans of Dennaton and cant wait to see their new project.

[@peppage]

It's incredible how Hotline Miami was such a banger when it came out 10 YEARS AGO, jeez.

[@OfTheOverflow]

Hotline Miami 2 is probably my favourite game of all time. And as an Australian, don't worry - I've found ways to purchase it multiple times lol.

[@shmello_]

I could literally copy and paste your comment and it would be 100% true.

[@deuzdeuz8115]

Great interview with top notch editing!

[@MrCabbidge]

Great video. Thanks for taking to these guys and sharing

[@suhfee]

hearing their response to the criticism is surprisingly intimate. i feel like these two are incredibly passionate, and maybe they got caught up in their ideas and how to expand the first. i’m excited for what they do next

[@toogoodinc]

This is my favorite game series of all time. I'm still listening to the soundtrack and replaying the first game 10 years later!

[@mdawni6933]

Danny, your original review of Hotline Miami was one of your high points and was the my reason to start following your work. good memories

[@LidDoor]

Loved finally hearing the devs speak about the games' development with you! Been a fan of HM since the beginning, and am one of the few people who liked the game and the story on launch, can't wait for the new game!

[@ColossalMcBuzz]

The difficulty being cheap was such an issue with Hotline Miami 2 for me. I remember looking ahead multiple times and not seeing any enemies, just to walk out and get shot by an enemy that I still couldn't see. I think the only game I rage quit more than HM2 was Battletoads. I'm honestly surprised with myself that I stuck with it until beating it. The music was awesome and the story line was cool, but I haven't been able to bring myself to play it again due to the cheap difficulty.

[@Rainbow_Crash69]

Hmmh weird, Every once in a while I play HM2 again just to speedrun the levels, the gameplay is extremely fun for me

[@owenc.q8514]

@@Rainbow_Crash69 yeah the only thing that stop me from finish the game was that the save file was erased by the game in ps3 and pc in the same fucking level also i got the only stealth trophy from the bodyguard level

[@EricJacobusOfficial]

The violence in these games is unique and shocking and fits with the difficulty. Wonder how much of that is affected by the metal scene. BTW HLM2 rocked and I totally don't hope the devs die (gamers can really suck).

[@sonks336]

Such an amazing game and great doc as always! ❤ btw small typo in the captions at 9:30 at 'your'.

[@Ashman-sw3be]

man, these two are such legends and have created two of some of the most essential and unique games of the 2010's, I'll forever love the ideas and heart behind their games, absolutely can't wait to see what they've been working on.

[@yotube155]

I'm definitely one of the ones that didn't like 2 as much as the first one, but it sucks that so many people were dicks about it. I felt like it missed some of what made the first special, but it does try some interesting stuff and it was still a *good* game, even if it wasn't *great*.

[@herusolares5320]

There's still a fanbase for Hotline Miami (heh, fans), and the unanswered questions provide a lot of opportunity for fanart. I, myself, am working on a non-profit comic project. It's still in it's early stages, but we're getting there!

[@synthnation9857]

Hotline Miami 1+2 really truly inspire me as a person, it's make me dig more deeper in the Synthwave music and Aesthetic, it's make me looking more at a little details in Video Games, like a visual storytelling throughout the level and the secret, and also makes me having (a little bit of...) patience and learning the pattern of games (at least when I play HM lmao) I just really wanna say thank you to all the people at Dennaton Games and all the Synthwave Artist that make the music for these games, you created my childhood and inspire me as I go on. Thank You very much :)

[@greenranger2422]

This was a DOPE video! THANK YOU for your work! I love Hotline Miami a bunch and was really anticipating the sequel but was slightly let down upon its release. Only recently did I play it on Twitch with some friends watching and I really appreciated it. It's cool to see that the Devs were really trying to do something special with the 2nd game. And I love their attitude about the work.

[@pedrohpf1990]

Interesting that they talk about wanting to reduce the second game's difficulty. I only played the second game and found its difficulty to be part of the fun of the game, trying to perfect a cenario and learning the routes of playing a certain level. Kinda like hitman, where you slowly learn to navigate a level and slowly perfect your play.

[@lastburning]

Exactly! It was kind of like a puzzle!

[@eijdsjns8602]

Ive never played hotline miami. But i fucking love their band. Its called fucking wearwolf asso and its so good

[@TheCyanSqueegee]

Play it. It's amazing. I want to check out the band though just because of the name.

[@eijdsjns8602]

@@TheCyanSqueegee yeah i plan to play it when i get a pc because ive heard a lot of good things about it

[@wade8537]

Fell in love with hotline miami 1&2 years ago and still adore the aesthetics, artstyle, gameplay, and storytelling to this day. Literally favorite games of all time and im obsessed with them, love to see passion pieces like this still being made in the current decade about these games, just goes to show the impact they had on the gaming industry. Truly magical pieces of art, thank you dennaton for creating these masterpieces.

LOVE the use of Perturbator in the video, I discovered his music while looking for sound inspiration for a game jam.

[@danieldalton]

This was amazing! The end part was kind of heartbreaking - I hope anybody that goes OTT on game forums and twitter threads watches this and sees that there are real people on the other end of their vitriol.

[@discoRyne]

Nice

[@Subtle_calamity]

I say with no hyperbole that these games changed my entire life and the way I look at games as a whole. I remember picking up hotline Miami 2 and absolutely falling in love with every aspect of it. It pushed me in a way games hadn’t at the time but I came out feeling incredibly accomplished and it breaks my heart to hear the guys speak about how it felt releasing the second game. I’m glad that they’re seeing now just how important hm2 was to I and so many others. The passion that exudes from them is incredibly inspiring and I will forever support whatever they decide to do next. Much love to devolver and Dennis and jonatan

[@thisninja11]

you guys have such an amazing sense of video direction. great video! It's really nice to see what they're up to.

[@glesgagreg2255]

I'm with Danny, prefer HM 2 to 1. Best licensed soundtrack of all time

[@less3594]

man, i just discovered this game through hotline miami 2 in december past year, the best thing i've ever played, it's amazing how the people remembers this game nowadays, it deserves more recognition :D

[@jackjac]

Such sympathetic two people. Really looking forward for their next game. An regarding the videostyle: I was amazed how you edited it to give it this retro look and make it more interesting, instead of a bland screenrecording.

[@Bambeakz]

Didn’t play part 2 much but damn what a shame that so called fans made them not want to return to the forums. Hopefully one day Death threats will be punished. Loved Hotline Miami 1 and that music brought be back. Have to get in to this again 😅