Hotline Miami

Hotline Miami drops you into pixel-art rooms lit up in neon, and every one of them wants you dead. You move and shoot from directly above, which means you can see the whole layout before you commit to a door, and you will need that view - most runs end in a second or two if you walk in blind. Weapons are picked up mid-fight rather than chosen ahead of time, so a level that starts with a pistol might end with whatever the last enemy was carrying. Reloading takes a beat you cannot always afford, and the 80s synth soundtrack keeps pushing the pace even when you should be slowing down to plan the next room.

How to play

Move through each building floor by floor, clearing every enemy in a room before the exit unlocks. Aim with the mouse and fire to drop enemies fast, since most of them can kill you just as quickly. Pick up dropped weapons to swap your loadout mid-level, and reload before you push into the next room rather than mid-fight. On mobile, steer with the left joystick and aim and fire with the right one.

Controls

WASD to move, left mouse button to shoot, R to reload, and 1, 2, 3 to switch between carried weapons. On mobile, the left joystick moves and the right joystick aims and fires, with a tap on the weapon slot to select it.