Summary
Hotline Miamiwas one of publisher Devolver Digital’s first breakout success stories. The game, developed by Dennaton Games, is a frantic, fast-paced shooter with a vaporwave soundtrack and a 80s psychedelic aesthetic and theme.
Hotline Miamiis notorious for its fluid, chaotic gameplay, pounding music, and cryptic narrative. Its gameplay is also particularly deadly and unforgiving, with players frequently having to hit the retry button as they make their way through any of the game’s challenging levels.Hotline Miamihas gone on to imspire many other game developers, with some adapting elements from their inspiration into theseotherHotline Miami-esque games.
8Midnight Fight Express
Intense, Fast-Paced Combat
This top-down, 3D action game plays like a combination ofHotline MiamiandSifu. The game’s beat ‘em up style gameplay has an emphasis on hand-to-hand and melee combat that will likely appeal to fans of classic beat ‘em ups and the methodical action ofSifu, but the general feel and nonstop action makeMidnight Fight Expressa great choice forHotline Miamifans.
SImilarly toHotline Miami, success inMidnight Fight Expressboils down to fast reaction times and quick-thinking. Despite being melee-focused,Midnight Fight Expressdoes feature a variety of powerful guns that can turn the tide of combat in an instant, for better or worse.
7Intravenous
Fast-Paced Gunplay
This combination of hardcore stealth and high-octane firefights takes clear inspiration from old-school stealth games likeSplinter Celland top-down shooters likeHotline Miami. AlthoughIntravenousplays more like the former, the game’s gunplay is smooth, fast-paced, and likely to appease fans ofHotline Miami’stop-down action.
Intravenousis a brutally challenging and unforgiving game, which fans ofHotline Miamiwill likely appreciate. Despite having plenty of gun-fighting action,Intravenousoften encourages stealth on the part of the player, and so it may not appeal to allHotline Miamifans.
This brutal top-down shooter, also published by Devolver Digital, features a pulsing soundtrack and a stark color palette driven by dark colors and bright reds. The game’s cyberpunk themes and aesthetic, fast-paced action, and frantic music make for an experience that cuts close to theHotline Miamibone.
UnlikeHotline Miami,RUINERfeatures several gadgets that players can use to give themselves a leg-up over their enemies.RUINERalso features an upgrade system, whichHotline Miamilacks outside of its various mask unlocks.
5APE OUT
Breakneck Pace
Featuring a uniquely clean-cut, flat-color aesthetic and a simple narrative,APE OUTisn’t entirely similar toHotline Miami, but its gameplay is remarkably close. InAPE OUT, players take on the role of an escaped ape, barreling through various environments and taking out anyone in their path.
AmongAPE OUT’sdevelopers is Bennett Foddy, and the game even shares a publisher withHotline Miamiinthe form of Devolver Digital. The stylized, flat-color palette and jazz soundtrack make for a truly distinctive experience, but fans ofHotline Miamiwill likely get a kick out ofAPE OUT’ssimilarly breakneck pace.
Developed by Suspicious Developments, a game studio headed up by Tom Francis (whose previous work includes the popularGunpoint),Heat Signatureis a combination of top-down shooters, Roguelikes, andeven immersive sims. In the game, players take on the role of a semi-random spacefarer with their own personal mission and traits.
Heat Signaturetasks players with taking on and completing missions to earn cash and buy better equipment. Each mission largely revolves around the player boarding and infiltrating a spacecraft using the tools and gadgets available to them, as well as their own ingenuity. However, when a fight inevitably breaks out, the fast-paced gunfights and unforgiving melee combat play similarly to games likeHotline Miami.
Post Voidis a psychedelic first-person shooter with an old-school look and feel that plays at a reckless pace. Despite being a first-person shooter, there’s plenty to like here for fans ofHotline Miami’sfrantic action.Post Voidis a Roguelike that tasks players with jetting through tight corridors and claustrophobic rooms, taking down enemies with lightning-fast reactions and making it to the end of the level before their health runs out.
The challenge, however, is that the player’s health is represented by a constantly-draining jar of liquid. Taking hits from enemies makes this liquid drain faster, but if players aren’t fast enough, they’ll die even without taking direct damage. This forces players to move fast in order to succeed, ensuring the pace never lets up.
2The Hong Kong Massacre
A Blend Of Insipirations
The Hong Kong Massacreplays somewhat like a combination ofHotlineMiamiandthe classic third-person shooter,Max Payne. The game features a top-down perspective, fast-paced gunfights, and a bullet-time mechanic that creates some truly cinematic moments.
The Hong Kong Massacre, as its title may suggest, plays almost likea video game adaptationof classic Hong Kong action cinema, such as John Woo’sHard Boiled. Similarly toMax Payne, this title allows players to dodge and dive in slow-motion, turning itsHotline Miami-style action sequences into methodical shootouts.
Featuringa black-and-white aestheticpunctuated by bursts of blood-red,OTXOis a heavily stylized top-down shooter that wears itsHotline Miamiinfluences on its sleeve. Similarly toThe Hong Kong Massacre,OTXOalso features a bullet-time slow-motion mechanic that helps it to stand apart from its influences.
UnlikeHotline Miami,OTXOisan action Roguelikewith permanent death and a variety of upgrades to acquire during each run. This, among other intricacies, makesOTXOa distinctive interpretation ofHotline Miami’siconic action, while still being a clear inspiration.
