Hotline Miami: Complete Guide

Everything you need to clear Dennaton's 1989 neon massacre: the controls, how one-hit-kill combat really works, masks, scoring, secrets, and the story's hidden ending.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final Steam build (the game is complete and no longer receives content updates; the most recent Steam news in August 2026 was a bundle with Kusan: City of Wolves). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. Everything dies in one hit, including you. A single bullet, punch-to-the-ground plus finisher, or thrown weapon is enough. Treat every enemy as lethal.
2. Restarting is instant and expected. Floors restart in a second. Dying fifty times on a floor is normal; learning the layout is the point.
3. Knock enemies down, then finish them. Punches, door slams and thrown weapons knock enemies over. Press the execute key on a downed enemy to finish them, or they will stand back up.
4. Doors are weapons. Opening a door into an enemy knocks them down. It is one of your best openers.
5. Guns are loud. Firing alerts enemies within earshot and they come running. Sometimes that is exactly what you want: stand beside a door and let them come to you.
6. Throw your empty gun. An unloaded firearm thrown at an enemy knocks them down. Never carry an empty gun around.
7. Masks change your rules. Before each chapter you pick an animal mask. Many give real gameplay perks.
8. Score does not matter for finishing. It matters for unlocking masks and weapons. Clear the floor first; worry about grades later.

Controls (PC, keyboard and mouse)

Defaults can be changed in the options menu; these are the standard bindings:

Controller play is supported on Steam, but mouse aim is far more precise for gun sections.

How Combat Actually Works

Melee

• Blunt weapons (bats, pipes, pool cues) knock enemies down or kill with a hit; edged weapons (knives, katanas, machetes) usually kill outright.
• Unarmed punches knock enemies down. You then need to execute them with Space, which takes a moment and leaves you exposed.
• Melee is silent. Clearing rooms with melee keeps the rest of the floor calm.

Firearms

• Pistols, shotguns, SMGs and rifles kill in one hit but have limited ammo and make noise.
• Shotguns spread and can drop several enemies in a hallway.
• After firing, stay put for a second and watch which doors enemies will come through. Pre-aim that doorway.

Doors and corners

• Opening a door into someone standing behind it knocks them down. Push through, then execute.
• Peek with Shift before entering a room. Knowing where the gunman is standing wins most rooms.
• Enemies have fixed patrol routes, so wait at corners and time your entry when they turn away.

Dogs and special enemies

• Dogs run fast and close distance before you can react. Meet them with a melee weapon or a gun rather than bare fists.
• Fat enemies survive normal melee knockdowns and need a gun or a finisher sequence.
• Enemies with guns should always be your first target in a room.

A Repeatable Floor-Clearing Routine

Every floor can be approached with the same five-step habit:

1. Pause at the entrance and look ahead with Shift. Count the enemies you can see and note who holds a gun.
2. Pick your first target. Almost always the nearest armed enemy, or the one whose patrol will spot you first.
3. Open with a knockdown. A door slam, a thrown weapon or a punch from behind. Then execute immediately.
4. Grab the best weapon on the floor. Upgrade from fists to a bat, from a bat to a gun, as you go.
5. Clear toward a safe corner. End each room with your back to a wall and a clear view of every door, then repeat.

When a floor goes wrong, restart instantly rather than limping on. Floors are short; a clean run is faster than a messy one.

Weapon Tier Cheat Sheet

Masks

At the start of each chapter, Jacket chooses a mask. Most are unlocked by finishing chapters or earning good scores, and some are hidden in levels. Well-known examples:

Recommended defaults:

• Tony for melee-focused players. Lethal punches remove the risky execute animation.
• Don Juan for door-heavy buildings.
• Dennis when you want a guaranteed silent weapon from the first room.

Scoring and Grades

At the end of each chapter you receive points and a letter grade. Points come from:

• Kills. Every enemy is worth points.
• Execution method. Varied and more brutal kill methods earn bonuses.
• Combos. Killing enemies in quick succession builds a combo bonus.
• Playstyle bonuses. The end screen tallies extra categories based on how you played, such as how varied and how bold you were, and tags you with a playstyle label ("coward" and "sadist" are two).

High grades unlock additional masks and weapons that can appear at the start of levels. If you want everything unlocked, replay early chapters once you understand the game; your first attempts will not score well and that is fine.

Chapter Structure and the Story

• The campaign has nineteen chapters. It begins with a prologue and a tutorial framed by strange conversations in a room with three masked figures.
• You play as the unnamed man fans call Jacket. Each chapter starts at his apartment, where an answering-machine message gives a coded job, followed by driving to the address and clearing the building floor by floor.
• After each job you visit a store or restaurant run by a recurring clerk, Beard, whose scenes shift as Jacket's mind unravels. Along the way Jacket also rescues a girl who moves in with him.
• The three masked figures, Richard, Rasmus and Don Juan, question Jacket between chapters ("Do you like hurting other people?").
• Late in the game you switch to a second protagonist for a stretch, Biker, whose chapters play differently and answer some of the story's questions. Biker fights only with blades, so you cannot fall back on picking up guns: rely on throws, door slams and tight corners.
• The final chapters reveal the organization behind the phone calls, 50 Blessings.

Secret ending

Scattered through the chapters are hidden puzzle letters, one per level, usually tucked into odd corners. Collect them all to assemble the password that cracks 50 Blessings' computer late in Biker's storyline, which unlocks the full epilogue and explains much more of what is really going on. Without the password, Biker is mocked and leaves without the truth. Using the Rasmus mask makes the letters easier to spot.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Running into a room blind. Always peek with Shift first.
• Standing in doorways. Doorways are where enemies can see and shoot you from multiple angles.
• Firing guns in the middle of a floor. Every nearby enemy converges. Fire only when you have a defensible spot.
• Forgetting to finish knocked-down enemies. They get back up and kill you from behind.
• Carrying an empty gun. Throw it for a knockdown and grab a new weapon.
• Chasing high scores on a first playthrough. Learn the building, then optimize.
• Ignoring dogs. They are fast; deal with them before engaging humans.

Advanced Tips

• Lure and ambush. Make noise (a single shot, a thrown weapon hitting a wall), then wait beside a door with a melee weapon. Enemies file through one at a time.
• Door-slam chaining. With Don Juan, a floor of doors becomes a floor of instant kills.
• Throw, then execute. A thrown weapon knocks an enemy down at range; close the distance and finish them before they stand.
• Use lock-on for guns. Middle-click lock-on snaps your aim to a target, making long corridors and moving enemies much easier.
• Plan the first three seconds. Most deaths happen right after entering a floor. Memorize where the first armed enemy stands.
• Weapon swapping at the right moment. Right-click to swap for a better weapon lying on the ground mid-fight; a shotgun beats a pipe every time.
• Replaying chapters. Chapters can be replayed from the main menu, so unlocks and letters are never permanently missable.

Running It on a Modern PC

• The game runs on almost any hardware. If the display or input misbehaves, check the Steam Betas tab in the game's properties; older builds have historically been offered there.
• Set a sensible mouse sensitivity in the options; the default can feel fast on high-DPI mice.
• The soundtrack is a big part of the experience. Keep the music up.

FAQ

How long is Hotline Miami? A short campaign; first-time clears typically take a few evenings, with much more time if you chase grades and secrets.

Is there a way to make it easier? Masks are the main difficulty lever. Tony and Dennis make melee far more forgiving.

How do I get the secret ending? Collect every hidden puzzle letter throughout the chapters, then enter the finished password on 50 Blessings' computer during Biker's final section.

Who is Jacket? The unnamed protagonist, nicknamed after his letterman jacket. The game deliberately keeps his motives murky.

Do I need to play Hotline Miami before Hotline Miami 2? Yes, ideally. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number continues and recontextualizes the first game's story.

What platforms is it on? Windows (October 2012), then Mac, Linux, PS3/Vita, PS4, Switch (2019), Xbox One (2020), and PS5/Xbox Series X/S (October 2023). The console versions are commonly sold together with Hotline Miami 2 as the Hotline Miami Collection.

Are there achievements? Yes. Many are specific challenges rather than progress markers, for example killing two enemies with a single brick throw. Read the list before a replay so you can set them up deliberately.

Is Hotline Miami still sold on Steam? Yes. As of August 2026 it was also offered in a Steam bundle with Kusan: City of Wolves.

Sources

• Steam store page (app 219150)
• Steam news for Hotline Miami
• Hotline Miami – Wikipedia
• Devolver Digital