Hotline Miami - The Lore Explained

An explanation of the game's story for people who cannot keep up with the anachronic order of chapters.

Introduction

As a truth universally acknowledged, the Hotline Miami saga uses an anachronic order of chapters to convey the story (or, in layman's terms, the chapters are not presented from-oldest-to-latest, but often just all over the place). While really cool and unique, it proves to be hard for some people to truly understand what happens and when it happens. I've decided to write down all the chapters and events in the Hotline Miami saga on a timeline and sort them in chronological order for the sake of those people.

WARNING: This guide will effectively spoil the events of Hotline Miami, The Digital Comic and Wrong Number. If you haven't finished the games yet and you don't want to spoil yourself the ending and/or important plot events, turn this page off now.

This is not a guide to the game - this is a guide to understanding Hotline Miami's lore.

I hope you enjoy reading this guide! :)

UPDATE: Holy smokes, this write-up has surpassed 1,000 likes and 10,000 unique views! I'd like to thank you all for taking your time to read this and giving your feedback! I really appreciate it! :D

Cast of the game

A short list of major characters in the Hotline Miami saga. Please let me know if I missed someone or something in the comment section down below!

• Jacket - the protagonist of the first game.
  
• Richard - the mysterious rooster figure; generally considered the equivalent of Death in the HM universe.
  
• Beard - (nicknamed The Soldier in the level editor) - lieutenant of Ghost Wolves, Jacket's unit from the Hawaiian conflict.
  
• Richter Berg - (nicknamed The Rat in the level editor) the man forced into obeying 50 Blessings' orders; murderer of the Hooker in the first game. His only seen family is his mother, Rosa.
  
• Hooker - Jacket's de facto girlfriend in the first game.
  
• The Fans - a group of friends who served in the Hawaiian war - Tony (tiger mask), Corey (zebra mask), Mark (bear mask), Alex Davis and Ash Davis (swan masks) [Alex is the chainsaw-wielding sister, Ash is the gun-using brother].
  
• The Son - son of the Russian Mafia's underboss. He appears as a playable character in HM2.
  
• The Father - the first's game's final boss. His weapons of choice are two SMGs.
  
• The Boss - Ivan Lebedev, a crippled mafia leader whom Jacket executes at the end of the first game.
  
• The Henchman - a minor Russian Mafia member who wants to get out of the mafia business.
  
• Jake - (nicknamed The Cobra in the level editor) - a stereotypical redneck who helps 50 Blessings because he sees their actions as patriotism.
  
• Manny Pardo - (nicknamed The Cop in the level editor) - a hard-boiled detective who abuses his badge as a way of getting out of trouble.
  
• Evan Wright - (nicknamed The Writer in the level editor) a man who is trying to write a book about crimes indirectly carried out by 50 Blessings.

NOTE:

No, Beard's name is not Ben Smith, nor is it James or even Nicklas. He uses several different aliases in his appearances, with none of them ever being confirmed to be the actual name. Please do not refer to this issue in the comments section.

Brief introduction to the story

Hotline Miami takes place in a timeline alternate to ours. The main difference between reality and the game is the fact that USA is not a superpower - its “role” is taken by Russia, which has access to nuclear missiles. This has the United States under a constant threat of a global thermonuclear war with the global superpower.

1985 - The Hawaiian Conflict

In 1985, USA is involved in an armed conflict with Russia. The battles are set on Hawaiian grounds, with Ghost Wolves assaulting Russian military outposts on March 17th (Ambush), a mansion overtaken by Russian forces on October 25th (Stronghold), and a power plant on October 30th (Casualties), which is mentioned to be their last mission in this conflict before they are sent back home.

In the intro to Ambush, you can see the Fans sitting in the same bar as the Ghost Wolves, however they do not interact with each other. You can recognize them by their builds and their hair. From left to right, they're Alex, Ash, Corey, Mark and Tony.



In the same scene, Evan asks Beard and Jacket if he can take a picture of them. The same picture is later mentioned in the storyline.



The most notable scene is Casualties. In the intro, Beard's team commander mentions that he is going to be promoted to General position. In the scene itself, Barnes (one of Beard’s squadmates) dies and Jacket, who served with Beard in the same unit, is injured by a booby-trapped elevator, which makes Beard have to carry him to the evacuation zone. When in there, Jacket takes a photo of them together for himself, with Beard saying the phrase which Jacket later associates with him: "it's on the house".

1986 - "We don't want another San Fran"

On April 3rd, in the outro to the Casualties scene, Beard is seen talking over the phone with Jacket, mentioning a photo they took of each other a year back and if Jacket is eventually going to send Beard the copies. He puts the call on hold, telling Jacket that something is happening outside of the store and he wants to take a look. Mere seconds later, he and the rest of San Francisco are wiped out in a nuclear missile launched by Russia. This event, due to its very controversial nature, presumably kickstarts the 50 Blessings's existence.

Beard's death is the most plausible explanation behind Jacket's PTSD and his hallucinations of Beard being a store clerk and saying one of the last phrases Jacket remembers him saying - "it's on the house".

1987 - The year that never happened

This year is only mentioned in the Digital Comic’s fifth issue, which details the Ghost Wolves’ assault on a Russian military outpost in the Paradise Hotel on August 10th. It is a huge discrepancy in the lore, as Beard dies in 1986, which obviously prevents him from participating in the attack, so the chapter is most likely not canon.

1989 - The original killing spree

Without a doubt, most of the saga's events take place in this year, with 1991 coming in second on the list.

The year starts with April 2nd, showing us Richter's first job for 50 Blessings (First Blood). The game shows us that he, just like Jacket, obeyed 50 Blessings' orders because of fear of their threats becoming real.

A day later, on April 3rd, Jacket is tasked with the first job for 50 Blessings - retrieving a briefcase from the Russian mobsters in a metro (The Metro). The sudden return to killing after his participation in the war makes him literally and visibly throw up (much to the player's disgust).

Jacket and Richter did their jobs in a similar time frame, with the chapters mostly crossing over each other with their dates. Jacket executes 50 Blessings's orders on April 8th (No Talk), April 16th (Overdose) and April 25th (Decadence), while Richter did his jobs on April 10th (Demolition) and April 23rd (House Call). As a side mention, Jake's first chronological appearance falls on April 25th, where we see him unknowingly obey the 50B phonecall in the scene Hard News.

The Wrong Number Digital Comic's issue 2 happens on April 27th, when Jake receives the 50B pamphlets, and on May 2nd, when Jake is "rewarded" by the 50 Blessings for his actions during the protest march with a mask of his own.
This creates a minor time discrepancy in the lore, as Jake's first scene takes place before he receives the snake mask.

The rest of Jacket's sprees that occured separately from Richter's were on: May 5th (Tension), May 11th (Full House), May 13th (Clean Hit), May 23rd (Neighbors), May 27th (Push It), May 31st (Crackdown), June 3rd (Hot & Heavy), June 8th (Deadline). On June 8th, upon returning to his house, he is shot by Richter on 50 Blessings' orders.

Following Deadline's outro's events, Jacket is hospitalized for 6 weeks and 4 days (46 days). He wakes up from his coma on July 21st (Trauma) and escapes the hospital while still dizzy. He returns to his house to change into his regular attire and then slaughter his way through the Miami police department, in order to find clues regarding his case and who is responsible for the mafia activity and his involvement in this.
Worth mentioning is, the Hooker's remains can be seen stuffed in the fridge, although it's unknown if it's Richter who committed this deed or if it's just someone else who broke into the house during Jacket's absence.



At the precinct, Jacket encounters Richter, who is under arrest. While he does beat him up, he lets him live (as opposed to the game giving the player a possibility to outright kill him in revenge for The Hooker's death), possibly because of Richter explaining that he was manipulated just as much as Jacket was.

Two days later, on July 23rd, Jacket makes his way to a Russian club mentioned in the police case files to find the mafia boss and kill him. He instead finds the owner of the club, who, while begging for mercy, gives Jacket the address. He is killed as Jacket doesn't bat an eye on his pleas.

Later on July 23rd, he assaults the Russian Mafia's main base. There, he kills three minor thugs, the Father's bodyguard and the Father himself, then makes his way up to the Boss's room, where he executes him with a point blank headshot.

After killing the Boss, Jacket goes to the balcony, lights a cigarette and throws away a photo. Said photo is the same one taken by Evan in the intro to Ambush, and the one which Beard let Jacket keep for himself. Following the moment of calmness, he is arrested by the Miami police. His arrest is shown in the first issue of the Wrong Number Digital Comic.

Footnotes

Interestingly enough, Hot & Heavy happens on the same day as HM2's Withdrawal does (June 3rd). Depending on the player's performance, Jake will either be dragged off by the Russian mafia for questioning and then killed for not revealing anything, or, if he survived the last floor of Withdrawal, will be executed by a 50 Blessings member for knowing too much. As Jake's corpse is found in a building controlled by Russians, it means that in the canon, Jake didn't make it out alive and instead he died while assaulting the Russians. His body was found by Jacket on the same day Jake died.



It is worth mentioning that Biker's storyline intertwines with Jacket's, with him doing a gig on a Chinese restaurant on May 13th (Safehouse), the same day as Clean Hit. He later slaughters a Russian club on May 16th (Fun & Games). He finally grows tired of the orders, so he decides to find out the truth about the killings and who is giving him the directions.

On May 23rd, he goes to the Phonehom company to find out the phone call registry (Prankcall). Due to the Janitors' interference, Jacket is dispatched after Biker, who is deemed to be past his usefulness. Jacket's point of view is flawed, as his memories claim that he broke Biker's skull with a golf club. The second game proves that Biker actually survived their battle at Phonehom, though not unscratched, as proved by a bruise on his face.

The next day's exact events depend on the player's playthrough and whether they have found all the puzzle pieces to access the Janitors' computer. Judging by Evan's hidden conversation with Biker in the Bar of Broken Heroes, he did not find the password and the revelation of a greater conspiracy sent him insane as he decided to flee to the desert and simply wander around for a long time to find peace.

1990 - Prison riots

On July 20th (Release), Richter is visited by the two Janitors who orchestrated the calls in the first game on behalf of 50 Blessings. They thank him for his (unwilling) cooperation and say that he is no longer useful to them. When Richter is escorted out of the meeting room, the prison riots begin, which allows him to get out of imprisonment while disguised in a prison guard outfit.

The prison riots have been presumably orchestrated by 50 Blessings in order to eliminate Richter. This theory is supported by the fact that the mini-boss prisoner Richter fights at the beginning of the chapter has two tattoos on his head: one consists of the initials "50B" and the other one is the 50B logo.

Richter's story ends with him fleeing to Hawaii after the prison riots. Following the conversation, Evan covers the plane ticket's costs for Richter's mother, so she can join her son in Hawaii.

1991 - Repercussions of Jacket's sins

The first mention of the Fans and who they are appears in the Wrong Number Digital Comic's fourth issue, in which they attack a Russian warehouse on October 9th, presumably with no reason other than boredom. The level does not seem to appear in the game nor is it later alluded to in the game.

Manny Pardo's first chronological appearance is on October 25th (Homicide). He makes his way through a gang-controlled shopping centre, as an introduction to the character - reckless, badge-abusing cop who is just as crooked as the people he's fighting.

The Fans make their first in-game appearance in the second game's first scene - Down Under (October 31st). Their presentation is preserved from the Digital Comic and the trailers - a bunch of friends who murder people for fun and in following of their idol's actions.

Jacket is put on trial on November 5th (First Trial). There, the players are accustomed with Evan - a writer that aims to write a book about the murders carried out by the 50 Blessings agents at all costs, even if it means risking his life. The Fans can also be briefly seen protesting outside the building without their masks, with the Biker standing alongside in silence.



On November 11th (Subway), Evan takes the metro and is forced to take out a street gang that is trying to claim the subway station as their territory.

As the story progresses by seven days, The Son appears for the first time chronologically, on November 18th (Seizure). He attempts to satisfy his father, unable to cope with the fact that he's been dead for over two years. The attempt is, namely, an attack at a Colombian Cartel controlled strip club.

Three days after the attack (November 21st, No Mercy), The Henchman asks The Son if he can get out of the mafia business. The Son allows him to quit, but under one condition - he performs one last job for the Russians. He does the hit and takes the bag of money found there for himself. The Henchman drives with the bag to his home and hides the money under his bed.

The next day (November 22nd), he finds that the bag of money is gone. His SO leaves a note on the kitchen table that she apologizes and claims that he would have done the same - meaning she has left him and ran away with the money. The desperate Henchman tries to call her again from a Russian controlled building, which has been targeted by the Fans. He is murdered by all the Fans, with the exception of Tony, who decides to simply watch the killing (Execution).

On December 2nd, the Fans perform a house call for one of their friends; namely they are tasked with rescuing a girl from a gang house (Moving Up). When they make it to the girl, she states that the gang members were her friends and she threatens the character who met her with a gun.
The attack does not have any greater impact on the story itself, but it serves as somewhat of a comparison between the Fans and Jacket, where the Fans "save" a girl from people she was friends with, and Jacket saved the Hooker from the snuff film producer and the Russian Mafia.

December 7th marks the Son's attempt at a Colombian Cartel controlled bank (Blood Money). The heist comes to an end in the vault, where he hallucinates his father and his boss being disappointed in him, ending with Richard shaming the Son's deeds.

December 9th is yet another one of the Fans' gigs (Into The Pit). They discover a street gang melting bodies in acid baths in the sewers. Despite the inhumanity of the act, the acid baths are never mentioned in the story again.

One day later, on December 10th, Manny Pardo single-handedly murders the entire crew of a Colombian boat in the city docks, estimated for about 90 people on it (Dead Ahead). When he is done with the job and getting off the boat, his colleagues scold him for his recklessness and rushing head first into the combat, however he does not care about their responses to the act he has just committed.

On December 14th, the Son launches a final attack on the Colombian Cartel, effectively ending all their operations and the cartel itself (Take Over).

The penultimate day of the storyline, December 20th, is encompassed in two scenes - Death Wish and Apocalypse. The Son unknowingly provides the fans with an address of a newly acquisited building over a cellphone they stole from the Henchman. They promptly slaughter everyone in the building, but in the end, the Son murders Mark and Corey off-screen and Alex & Ash on the roof. (Death Wish)

After Death Wish's events take place, Manny murders Tony, who is the last man standing out of all the Fans, cornered in a room with several SWAT units guarding outside, the only reason being Manny's jealousness about all the attention they received.

When Manny goes back home, he has a dream where he is found out to be the Miami Mutilator by his colleagues (Caught) due to him leaving a gun with his fingerprints at the crime scene. In the dream, he slaughters his entire department. When he wakes up, he makes sure the gun from the dream is still in his possession; this way he reassures himself he's not dreaming and that the dream wasn't a prophetic one.

The last scene has the player return to playing as the Son on December 20th. Overcome by the feeling of success after obliterating the last of the Colombian Cartel, he overdoses on drug pills and goes on a massive bad trip (Apocalypse), which results in death of several of his goons and the Fans themselves (which he hallucinates as demons) - effectively proving that Apocalypse is the Son's point of view on his own drug-fueled rampage. Ultimately he walks off the roof on a rainbow, when in reality he falls off the building to his death. His dead body can be seen in the outro to Death Wish, laying under a white sheet.

1991, part 2 - The epilogue

The final day in the Hotline Miami saga is December 28th, 1991, which takes place in the outro of Apocalypse. The camera shows Richter and his mother sitting in a beach house in Hawaii, watching TV. The channel is just about to air the interview with Martin Brown, when suddenly the program is interrupted by a national emergency broadcast. The announcer says that during a meeting, a rogue general has staged a coup d'état and assassinated the presidents of USA and Russia. The killing is said to be seen as an act of war towards Russia as the announcer says that the repercussions of this may be very severe. The signal then cuts out.

While not confirmed word by word in the game, the rogue general who murders the two presidents is the same person who commandeered the Ghost Wolves in the Hawaiian conflict. In fact, he is the creator of 50 Blessings. The fact is revealed in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot in the intro to the scene Casualties. In his quarters, you can see a bloody drawing of the 50B logo on the American flag. The general himself also wears a panther mask, but this fact is brushed off as his drunken episode. The theme of masked murderers obviously becomes a main trait of the 50 Blessings's operations later on in the storyline.



Once the TV cuts out, Richter's mother is "overtaken" by Richard, who starts conversing with Richter about his actions. Once Richard mentions that "no one can stop this now" and "no one has enough time", Richter calmly responds that since he cannot stop it, there's nothing to worry about. Their conversation is abruptly ended by a nuclear missile barrage launched by Russia hitting the American grounds, destroying the beach house and killing them both, as well as most of the USA's population.

The Miami Mutilator and Manny Pardo

Manny Pardo's behaviour in his final scene, "Caught", may appear to some as out of place, as if he was freaking out and going insane. However, a closer examination of his actions proves that he does have a reason to be panicking - he is the man branded by the citizens of Miami as the Miami Mutilator and the scene "Caught" is actually taking place in his nightmare. This section will explain the claim.

In the intro to "Dead Ahead", we see him visit Alex's house where he asks her if she knows where Ash is. While not too hidden, a detail is often overlooked by some people - when he goes inside Alex's house, he plants a wallet under the kitchen table.



Additionally, in his car's trunk there is a cuffed man shaking around in panic.



During the story line, Manny is called in to examine several crime scenes in between the game's levels. One of them, in particular, matches the things which we see in the intro to "Dead Ahead". The victim is described to be missing a wallet (which Manny planted as evidence to pin the crime on Alex)...



...and having cuff marks around his hands (the constraints which he was in while in the trunk).



The moment in "Caught" where the Commissioner scolds Manny for his crimes and tells him to turn himself in, just as the entire scene itself, is Manny's psyche imagining a scenario which is very likely to occur once he is caught red-handed.

Martin Brown's role in the story

The most probable reason behind Martin Brown's inclusion in the cast is just a show of what impact has Jacket made on Miami and its citizens.

However, there is a theory which, despite not being confirmed to be canon, is in my opinion interesting enough to include it here.
The theory says that Martin Brown is an "alter-ego" of Manny Pardo, and the whole actor-in-a-slash-film theme is merely a projection of Manny's mind to make him feel less guilty by thinking that someone else is actually carrying out the imagined killings.

The evidence that supports the theory is, as follows:

-sometimes Manny will hallucinate a film crew being around him; this might be Manny's imagination crossing over with his conscious self.
-Martin and Manny use the same execution animations (i.e. stomping the head to pieces).
-both characters use a unique animation of holding a shotgun in only one hand when suddenly turning around.
-"pardo" is Spanish for "brown" (gray-brown[www.spanishdict.com], to be exact).

Please do not read this as a confirmation or the official story. It is not confirmed to be a part of the canon. This is only a fan theory.

I failed to find any dates in the second game and the comic that would indicate the time of Martin Brown's chapters. The only date I found was in the Wrong Number Digital Comic, issue 3 - September 23rd, 1991. However, it seemed to look more like it's a date of the events happening in his movie and not in the game's timeline.

If you do find anything that would correctly place the chapters on a timeline, please let me know in the comment section below! :)

The Abyss

At this point it's no secret that Hotline Miami 2 contains a bonus chapter called "The Abyss". In it, you play as Evan, who visits the abandoned 50 Blessings headquarters.

Quite a few people have asked me about Abyss and why isn't it included in this explanation. The reason is simple: The Abyss is non-canon. It's not a part of the story arc, since the way to obtain it directly contradicts the canon events.

I'll try to put it simple. To unlock Abyss, you have to finish Jake's last level's last floor (Withdrawal) without dying. This will allow you to go back to the 50 Blessings HQ and snatch a floppy drive from the desk. Shortly after, Jake is executed by a 50B member for knowing too much about them.

In the outro, Evan visits the police evidence locker under Manny's watch. If you died on the last floor of Withdrawal (as the canon timeline goes, since if you do get killed, Jake will be dragged off by a Russian Mafia member for questioning and then executed in a room of the building from Hot & Heavy), Jake will obviously not have the floppy drive. However, if you did complete the floor in the first try, Evan will be able to collect the floppy with the info, thus unlocking Abyss.

To summarize - to even be able to access The Abyss, you have to go against the canon timeline.

Barebones timeline of the chapters

In case you just want to see what happens in what order instead of reading through stuff, feel free to read this list!

March 17th, 1985 === HM2 - Ambush
October 25th, 1985 === HM2 - Stronghold
October 30th, 1985 === HM2 - Casualties
April 3rd, 1986 === HM2 - Casualties (outro)
August 10th, 1987 === Wrong Number Digital Comic, issue 5 (most likely not canon)
April 2nd, 1989 === HM2 - First Blood
April 3rd, 1989 === HM1 - The Metro
April 8th, 1989 === HM1 - No Talk
April 10th, 1989 === HM2 - Demolition
April 16th, 1989 === HM1 - Overdose
April 23rd, 1989 === HM2 - House Call
April 25th, 1989 === HM1 - Decadence
April 25th, 1989 === HM2 - Hard News
April 27th, 1989 === Wrong Number Digital Comic, issue 2 (conflicts with events of Hard News)
May 2nd, 1989 === Wrong Number Digital Comic, issue 2
May 5th, 1989 === HM1 - Tension
May 11th, 1989 === HM1 - Full House
May 13th, 1989 === HM1 - Clean Hit
May 13th, 1989 === HM1 - Safehouse
May 16th, 1989 === HM1 - Fun & Games
May 23rd, 1989 === HM1 - Neighbors
May 23rd, 1989 === HM1 - Prankcall
May 24th, 1989 === HM1 - Resolution (one of the outcomes is not canon)
May 27th, 1989 === HM1 - Push It
May 31st, 1989 === HM1 - Crackdown
June 3rd, 1989 === HM2 - Withdrawal (one of the outcomes is not canon)
June 3rd, 1989 === HM1 - Hot & Heavy
June 8th, 1989 === HM1 - Deadline
July 21st, 1989 === HM1 - Trauma
July 21st, 1989 === HM1 - Assault
July 23rd, 1989 === HM1 - Vengeance
July 23rd, 1989 === HM1 - Showdown
July 23rd, 1989 === Wrong Number Digital Comic, issue 1
July 20th, 1990 === HM2 - Release
October 9th, 1991 === Wrong Number Digital Comic, issue 4
October 25th, 1991 === HM2 - Homicide
October 31st, 1991 === HM2 - Down Under
November 5th, 1991 === HM2 - First Trial
November 11th, 1991 === HM2 - Subway
November 18th, 1991 === HM2 - Seizure
November 21st, 1991 === HM2 - No Mercy
November 22nd, 1991 === HM2 - Execution
December 2nd, 1991 === HM2 - Moving Up
December 7th, 1991 === HM2 - Blood Money
December 9th, 1991 === HM2 - Into The Pit
December 10th, 1991 === HM2 - Dead Ahead
December 14th, 1991 === HM2 - Take Over
December 20th, 1991 === HM2 - Death Wish
December 20th, 1991 === HM2 - Apocalypse
December 20th, 1991 === HM2 - Caught
December 28th, 1991 === HM2 - Apocalypse (outro)

The end

Thank you for reading through this! I hope that I have managed to clear up any inconsistencies in the game's timeline. However, if I missed something, feel free to let me know in the comment section below!

Many thanks to anyone and everyone who contributed to clearing up any mistakes in this guide!

If you liked the guide, please give it a like and share it with others! :D

[Raun15]

hello i have idea to make hotline miami but multiplayer deathmatch game

[nosvaugh]

i agree

[E-VVh0re]

Story still barely makes sense in my head, good read though.

[pepe1.]

Daamn. Thx for explanation. Story of second part is so tragic jeez

[E-102]

Tryhards missing the point when they only get an A ranking:

[slug boy]

game bad cant have full haptic feed sex with the rooster mask

[Squig]

This lore explanation just shows how well crafted the story and it's characters and pieces are. Amazing guide bro!

[Drown]

Lol, all good, thanks!

[myamai]

@Drown: Respectfully, I'd recommend doing your own research instead of basing the script of your potential video on something I wrote 5 years ago when I was still a teenager :V

[Abysmal_Ben]

no i dont believe so