Hotline Miami Soundtrack Review

• Name: Hotline Miami OST
• Label: Devolver Digital
• Composer(s): Various Artists
• Number of Tracks: 22

Hotline Miami isn't the kind of game I thought I'd ever be playing. While I don't mind playing violent games, over-the-top violence isn't a selling point for me when considering games to buy. I did hear how awesome the soundtrack for Hotline Miami was though and since I'm a bit of a fan when it comes to 80s and 90s music, I took notice.

However, that's about all I did. I didn't think it would be worth buying a game just in order to experience an awesome soundtrack, even though I think good soundtracks are crucial in building that emotional attachment and pleasure you have when playing a game. That issue would soon pass though since thanks to my friend Luke, I was gifted not only the game, but also the soundtrack so I can now experience how good both the game is and the soundtrack (a review for the game will be coming soon :)).

The soundtrack doesn't disappoint. There are a decent number of tracks on this album including one that wasn't even used in the game (Perturbator's "Vengeance"). Usually when I see a lot of tracks though I think "Man, there's going to be a lot of filler here", which means there's going to be a couple of really awesome tracks with a lot of tracks that don't really warrant a mention (unless you're into ambient stuff). This is what happened with my review of the Skyrim soundtrack and while my score of 5/10 might seem pretty harsh (considering how epic the good tracks are), I seriously doubt most people will be listening to half the stuff on it, because there's a lot of ambient tracks there.

Hotline Miami's soundtrack doesn't have the same problem. It does help that the soundtrack is a tribute to 80s and 90s synthpop, techno and game music but what's even more amazing is how the tracks all have a consistently awesome retro sound to them, and the fact that they're all done by separate artists! No mean feat. Even the stuff I don't really like I can at least appreciate, such as Sun Araw's work with the main title theme, "Horse Steppin'" and the reggae beats you hear each time your character wakes up to "Deep Cover".

There are a lot of good tracks on this album, but my personal favourites include Scattle's badass "Knock Knock", Jasper Byrne's groovy "Hotline" (now with MOAR COWBELL) and Scattle's "It's Safe Now" which has to be the funkiest track on the album. However, even these tracks cannot match the brilliance that is Perturbator's "Miami Disco". If you took the best elements of Italo Disco and MOD music by Alexander Brandon (think Deus Ex's soundtrack), "Miami Disco" would be the result. Whenever I think Hotline Miami, I think of this track - it should be the game's anthem.

Score - 8/10

Not only is Hotline Miami's soundtrack perfectly suited for the game it was composed for, it should satisfy any fans of gaming that were most active in the 80s and 90s. Or guys who happen to like wearing white polyster suits, driving DMC DeLoreans with synthpop blasting through the stereo.

You can grab different tracks off this album from the respective artist pages but if you want the whole deal, I believe the only way to do so is to purchase the soundtrack as DLC for the game off Steam for $10. Considering the soundtrack is the same price as the game, I think this is further evidence of how good it is.