Action · October 23, 2012
Hotline Miami (2012)
Hotline Miami is a high-octane action game overflowing with raw brutality, hard-boiled gunplay and skull crushing close combat. Set in an alternative 1989 Miami, you will assume the role of a mysterious antihero on a murderous rampage against the shady underworld at the behest of voices on your answering machine. Soon you'll find yourself struggling to get a grip of what is going on and why you are prone to these acts of violence. Rely on your wits to choreograph your way through seemingly impossible situations as you constantly find yourself outnumbered by vicious enemies. The action is unrelenting and every shot is deadly so each move must be quick and decisive if you hope to survive and unveil the sinister forces driving the bloodshed. Hotline Miami’s unmistakable visual style, a driving soundtrack, and a surreal chain of events will have you question your own thirst for blood while pushing you to the limits with a brutally unforgiving challenge.
Action releases from 2012
71 Action titles launched in 2012 — top 6 by review volume.
Position in Action
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 106.7k Steam reviews | Top 6% in Action |
| Positive rating | 97% positive | Genre average: 83% — this title sits in top 5% |
| Metacritic | 85/100 | Genre average 77 — top 19% of Action titles |
| Concurrent peak | 404 players | Top 17% in Action by live player count |
| Engagement hours | 8 h average | Top 53% for session depth among Action |
Peer Action titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Great Soundtrack · 2.6k
- Violent · 2.1k
- Action · 2.0k
- Indie · 1.6k
- Pixel Graphics · 1.6k
- Top-Down · 1.5k
- Gore · 1.5k
- 1980s · 1.5k
- Fast-Paced · 1.4k
- Retro · 1.2k
- Psychedelic · 1.2k
- Difficult · 1.0k
- Singleplayer · 892
- Surreal · 708
- 2D · 637
Reception Metrics
Steam community
97%Overwhelmingly Positive · 106.7k reviews
103.5k positive · 3.2k negative
Metacritic
85/100 critic aggregate
Metacritic user score
8.3/10
Curator recommendations
100.5k
Peak concurrent players
404
Press Quotes
“Hotline Miami is an immaculate super-violent top-down action game.” 10/10 – Eurogamer “You could argue that HOTLINE MIAMI is brilliant, vital, a tactical and aesthetic masterpiece as well as a pixel-art odyssey of ice-cold violence. It is.” Rock Paper Shotgun “It's a game time-traveled in directly from the fear-center of Tipper Gore's brain, circa 1989. It's pure, unadulterated nihilism with a candy-coated shell. And I'll be damned if it isn't one of the most intoxicating games of this year.” 5/5…
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (7)
- English
- French
- German
- Spanish - Spain
- Portuguese - Brazil
- Russian
- Polish
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
8h
short (5–15 hours)
Median
4h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
2h
Current engagement
Achievements
35
Steam unlocks available
Features & Capabilities
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Trading Cards
- Steam Cloud
- Steam Leaderboards
Input & Comfort
- Full controller support
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Release & Availability
| Release date | Oct 23, 2012 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Dennaton Games |
| Publisher | Devolver Digital |
| Base price | $1.99 -80% |
| Required age | 17+ |
| DLC / Add-ons | 1 released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support · [email protected] |
Editions & Packages
Buy Hotline Miami