I've also had characters fail to see me while scanning a room even though I was in plain sight. The enemy AI is pretty hit or miss, sometimes AI might not notice gunshots in the other room or might be able to kill the player through a door. It's a very interesting tale that doesn't spell everything out for the player but implies some extremely dark and horrible things are going on. You play as a nameless hitman receiving phone calls that are either thinly-veiled jobs or the psychotic hallucinations of your own mind. The storytelling aspect of Hotline Miami blends a minimalist approach with dialogue boxes and strange visuals to create a very surreal and disturbing experience. When You Get a Closer Look - It's as Dark as You Would Expect Levels can be approached either stealthily or in a reckless run-and-gun style, and sometimes one is needed more than the other.

Standing behind a door or corner, waiting for the right moment to strike creates a tension that feels like you're actually trying to kill several people on your own. Besides the ability to scan the area and don different animal masks for slight power ups, you're extremely vulnerable. Most enemies can be killed in one or two hits, but so can you. However, in real life violence is fast and disorienting, much like it's depicted in Hotline Miami and, despite how I felt, this design choice makes the game better.

In movies, television, and video games slow-motion is often used in violent scenes in order to show off how awesome a punch, sword slice, or gunshot wound looks. The fast-paced gameplay had a lot to do with my feelings of discomfort. The Psychotic '80s Aesthetic Gives Hotline Miami a Unique Look The sound design is amazing, with brutal sound effects and a wonderful electronic soundtrack that cuts to static at the end of each level to simulate the experience of 'crashing' after an intense high or adrenaline rush. Levels have a strange sway to them that makes it feel like a bad acid trip.

Many small details in the game's design contributed to my feelings of unease, tension, and disgust but somehow produced a really fun game as well.

But Hotline Miami does just that, and beautifully I might add.

Hotline miami sound effects