About Hotline Miami
Hotline Miami is a top-down shooter released for Windows in October 2012. It was the first commercial game from Dennaton Games, the duo of Jonatan Söderström, who programmed it and wrote the story, and Dennis Wedin, who drew the graphics. Devolver Digital published it, and versions for OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita followed in 2013, with a PlayStation 4 port in 2014.
The game is set in Miami in 1989. A silent protagonist that fans call Jacket gets messages on his answering machine sending him to addresses across the city, where he has to kill every member of the Russian mafia inside. Both he and his enemies die from a single hit, so each floor becomes a quick puzzle of doors, thrown weapons and timing, and you restart instantly when it goes wrong. Before each chapter you choose an animal mask that grants an ability, and your score and play style unlock new masks and weapons. The story grows stranger as Jacket loses his grip on reality, and the electronic soundtrack is a big part of its reputation. A sequel, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, came out in 2015.
How it runs in your browser
Pressing Play opens mdecombax’s port on GitHub Pages in a new tab. Its notes describe it as a technical conversion of the original GameMaker 7 game to GameMaker’s modern HTML5 runtime, drawing with WebGL and playing sound through Web Audio. The title screen, the prologue and chapters 0 to 21 are listed as included, and the soundtrack credits name Sun Araw, M.O.O.N., Perturbator, Jasper Byrne, Scattle, El Huervo, Elliott Berlin and Eirik Suhrke. There’s no account and nothing to install, but the main game script alone is about 46 MB, so the first load takes a moment.
Saves are kept in your browser’s local storage. They stay on that browser and device, and clearing site data will erase them.
On 3 November 2026, in desktop Chrome, the port loaded to the game’s title screen, with its Russian-lettered logo and the Start Game, Continue, Options and Exit Game menu. We didn’t play a chapter.
Controls and devices
The port’s notes list the controls. Move with W, A, S and D (Z, Q, S and D on a French AZERTY keyboard) or the arrow keys. Aim with the mouse and click the left button to attack or shoot. The right button or Space throws a weapon, picks one up or finishes off a downed enemy. Hold Shift to look further ahead, press R to restart and press Escape or P to pause.
You need a mouse to aim, and touch controls aren’t mentioned, so use a desktop or laptop.
Who it’s for
It suits players who know the game and want a quick run through a chapter, and newcomers curious about one of the most influential indie games of the 2010s. It’s graphically violent, so it isn’t one for younger players. For another top-down crime game in a browser, try GTA 2.
Is Hotline Miami Free, Safe and Official?
Can I play Hotline Miami online for free?
mdecombax’s fan port runs Hotline Miami in a browser tab with no download and no account. It’s unofficial and isn’t made or endorsed by Devolver Digital or Dennaton Games, who still sell the game.
Is this the full Hotline Miami?
The port’s notes say the title screen, the prologue and chapters 0 to 21 are all included. We loaded it to the main menu but didn’t play a chapter.
Does Hotline Miami save my progress in the browser?
The port’s notes say saves are kept in your browser’s local storage, so clearing your site data or switching browsers will lose them.
