Building up to the ever-so-violent sequel, Hotline Miami comes to life with six minutes of animal-masked vigilante justice.
For the past two years, fans have been clamoring for a sequel to Hotline Miami, the ultra-violent 2D killfest from 2012. While Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number has been announced, we’ve yet to get a solid release date. Regardless, Dennaton Games’ sequel is getting some sweet, sweet promotion with this new live-action short courtesy of Machinima and director James Shaughnessy called "Do You Like to Hurt People?"
The short ties in with Hotline Miami 2, taking place about a year after the events of the first game. In that first game, an unnamed man in an animal mask went on a killing spree against the mob for no reason other than being told to by a mysterious caller. Over time, his mind deteriorated from his rampant murder spree and we found out that he’s part of some kind of political conspiracy. A post-credits scenario showed an alternate timeline with a secret ending that spells out what the conspiracy is all about.
Now that protagonist is a straight-up serial killer called the Pig Butcher. The game will feature various storylines where you can play as the Pig Butcher, a detective, a redneck, mobster, crime writer, and a group called “The Fans.” The Fans are a gang of copycats in animal masks who – in a reference to certain fans of the first game – want the sequel to be just like the original in virtually every aspect. Through violent vigilante justice, the group hopes to get the attention and guidance of the party that gave the Pig Butcher his direction the first time around.
The short stars Tony (the Tiger) of the gang as he visits and drug den in Miami on New Year’s Eve. Naturally, there’s going to be a whole lot of carnage.
It’s a return to form for Hotline Miami. While the series has featured stylized graphics that feel very reminiscent of 8-bit and 16-bit games of yesteryear, they’ve constantly been promoting the games through live-action ads that suggest how visceral these colorful sprites can get in spirit. They’ve even inspired a bevy of fan films.
Here’s hoping we get some more of these in the coming months.
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