The following is a list of early features cut from the final versions of Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.
Hotline Miami[]
Weapons[]
- The Super Carnage prototype had several weapons which never appeared in further versions such as the: Hand Grenade, Plank, Rocket Launcher and Minigun, and Automatic Shotgun.
- The Sniper Rifle (or a hunting rifle) and Flamethrower (Jokingly referred to as a Toaster) concepts were abandoned for Hotline Miami, before later reappearing in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number as unlockable weapons for The Soldier.
- According to some developer text in the Cocaine Cowboy files, the Wine Bottle, Vinyl Record and Chair (apparently some kind of firearm) were considered but ultimately dropped.
- At some point, a toy watergun MP5 was intended to be usable (likely as a joke weapon) according to unused sprites from Cocaine Cowboy.
- The text also mentions that the Chainsaw was intended to make an appearance in the first game before being shelved and made exclusive to Gang Dodgers and Alex Davis.
- A Taser was removed. It makes a reappearance in Hotline Miami 2.
- The Sledgehammer was larger, had a brown grip and was mainly grey.
- The Fire Axe went through two design variations before the final design. The first was originally a solid steel axe with grey handle, the second was similar to the final fire axe but the head was straight instead of curved.
- All weapons had no source of ammunition in the Super Carnage prototype.
NPCs[]
- Originally dogs could bark to alert enemies in the beta. This returned as a non-alerting spotting sound in Hotline Miami 2.
- Sprites for still dogs are included in the Cocaine Cowboy files, it is unknown if they were intended as idle animations or for after dogs killing the player.
- The Russian Mafia originally was supposed to wear a teal Varsity jacket, and jeans, inspired by Beverly Hills Cop. The Costume would return (albeit modified, and with a dark teal, and grey hoodie) for the Gang Enemies.
- The AI was more reactive. For example, when you shot an enemy a nearby enemy would notice and rush to your position as well. This appeared in the final build but rarely happens.
- Instead of being Fat, Thug enemies were originally intended to be extremely buff white Russian Mobsters with Brass Knuckles before the design was changed to being Fat and Black in Black and Pink clothing.
- SWAT Officers were originally intended to be killable, and have death sprites in the Cocaine Cowboy files.
- Apparently the Mafia had an earlier Light Green shirt, Black suit, tan skin aesthetic, and were intended to use Machetes at one point. Though it's more likely the design was intended for a cut NPC or Enemy. The tan skin for Russians would later return for The Henchman and Russian Military enemies in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.
Masks[]
- The Aubrey Mask was intended to start with a gun. This functionality would later reappear in Hotline Miami 2 Wrong Number's level editor when selecting the mask.
- The Tony Mask was originally considered to instantly kill knocked down enemies instead of having killing fists.
- The Rick Mask originally had the ability to find secrets, before that functionality was given to the Rasmus mask, and the former gained improved guns accuracy.
- Originally there were plans for more than just Animal masks to appear (such as Hockey masks) however they were cut due to Dennis wanting to build off of his childhood fear of anthromorphic animals.
- One such face covering purple mask still exists in the Decadence Build (can be selected by pressing M in the mask selection screen)
Levels[]
- Several chapters were cut from the first game, and partially reused in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number such as the second floor of Homicide.
- A Hotel Level was removed from Hotline Miami.
Design[]
- Hotline Miami was originally called Cocaine Cowboy, and before that it was Super Carnage.
- Jacket had grey hair in the Cocaine Cowboy prototype.
- There was a First Prototype of Hotline Miami. This prototype is unknown, and little evidence exists of it except from the words of Dennis Wedin; apparently, it was first designed in 2004.
Cut Email Chain[]
In the files for Hotline Miami, an email chain between the Biker and The Janitors was planned instead of the final confrontation, some of the ideas were expanded upon in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number:
"I think it's reasonable to assume that these killings are part of a secret anti-communist organization working to rid our nation of left wing politics and supporters. If you look at the names and occupation of all the victims they have either been Russian or politically active pro coalitionists. The war clearly isn't over, anyone who hasn't been brain washed by the right wing protesters can easily make the connection here; it's fairly obvious!" - Email 1, Biker
"You somehow fail to mention that all the victims have been associated to organized crime, and that any politicians caught up in this mess may very well be collateral damage. I think you're trying to hard to force your own political agenda into your deduction. This place is not the place to be discussing politics, there's way better places for you if that's what you're after!" - Reply 1, Janitor #1
"Hey now, let's not completely rule out his theory. Failing to explain certain aspects of these cases doesn't automatically disprove anything!" - Reply 1, Janitor #2
""His" theory? Did you completely rule out that I could be a woman? Women are just as capable of using modern technology as men, I'll have you know. Furthermore I have heard from sources that wish to remain anonymous that at least two of the five dead dead suspects were known members of an underground anti-coalition organization tightly linked to the KUA. But go ahead, stick your head in the sand if you want!" - Email 2, Biker
"And we're supposed to trust your "anonymous sources"? Why has none of the news outlets mentioned a word about this, then? The gosh darn Russians practically own them all by now. You'd think something like that might be of interest to them, no?"- 'Reply 2,' Janitor #1
"It's quite possible they don't want to have people associate organized crime with communism, isn't it? Not that anyone could possibly have failed to notice what influence the Russian culture has had on our society anyways." - 'Reply 2,' Janitor #2
"Can't say I'm buying the persecution angle though... Seems a bit far fetched if you ask me." - Email 3, Biker
Sounds[]
- The gameplay of Cocaine Cowboy used the original version of Lady by Chromatics
- Nearly every sound in the prototypes were replaced, some of these sounds can be heard in trailers for the game.
- The door sounds were reused from the beta door sounds from Super Carnage.
- The Silenced Pistol sound used was the same as the one from Counter Strike: Global Offensive. The sound later returned for the Silenced Heavy Pistol in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.
Other[]
- What would become the Russian-American Coalition (RAC) in Wrong Number, was originally known as the "KUA".
- A Co-Op mode was worked on during the Cocaine Cowboy phase, before ultimately being removed due to technical issues and lack of development time.
- An unused Shotgun death sprite exists for Jacket where his groin has been shot out exists in the Decadence Build.
Hotline Miami 2[]
Weapons[]
- The Skorpion was removed in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.
- It was most likely available in No Mercy due to a bug with a 9mm spawning with 20 rounds and being slower than the Uzi, on par with the Skorpion.
- Several Hotline Miami weapons that weren't in HLM2 can be found in the Weapons.png file.
- Jake was able to use the MP5.
- Evan was going to be able to use the Magnum.
- The Silenced Uzi was considered to return for Richter, its sprites are still located in the Player_Rat.png file. The Silenced Uzi however returned as a Richter mask-only weapon for Jacket.
- It was considered at one point to re-add the Sledgehammer as a unique weapon for The Hammer, but this was never done.
NPCs[]
- The Artificial Intelligence to gun fire in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number was originally identical to the first game.
- The Inspector was originally going to be the witness at the First Trial intro instead of the Police Chief.
- The Photographer that takes the photo of Jacket and Beard was originally meant to talk, his facial sprite is essentially the Tattoo Artist with a helmet and shaded eyes.
Sound[]
- The 9mm in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number had a different sound.
- Several songs were removed: WouJuno by Trizzle, Beams (Used in the Demo "Game Over" screen), Bardo States (beams2) by Salvia Plath, Disclosure by Tempel (present as the XMB theme for PS3, PS4 and PSV), Pursuit by Scattle (A Remix of Bloodline), Jungle3, Don't cry for Me, Vemon, Teddy and Remixes/Edited versions of the Songs, Run, New Wave Hookers, Remorse, Richard, and Hotline Theme.
- Mandalas in my Coffee was originally going to play in the Soldier's levels intros.
- Dont Cry For Me was also considered to play in the Soldier's levels intros.
- There used to be a sound effect called sndPounding that would play in the Pig Butcher interview when Martin starts talking about killing kids.
Levels[]
- There used to be a Thug on the second floor of First Blood
- The Abyss was called Shelter.
- The phone in the first floor of Midnight Animal wasn't there.
- Before Hard Mode was implemented, the Hard Mode version of House Call was going to be the Normal Mode version
- The Bar of Broken Heroes was originally going to be the Act 5 intro and the song that played in there was Tempel.
- Demolition was originally called "Stay Down".
- The sewer map was originally called BAJSKORV (Literally Swedish for "poop sausage")
- First Trial was originally called Trial & Error (Probably changed because the Shogun's Clan font doesn't have a '&' symbol)
Playable Characters[]
- The Dallas mask used to grant a Random Perk.
- The Irvin mask used to grant an "Invincible" perk.
- Mark's original tag line was "BIG AND TOUGH"
- Corey's original tag line was "FAST AND FLEXIBLE"
- All Player characters in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number could walk faster, and use melee weapons faster.
- Corey was originally able to enter a stage multiple ways, the sprites can still be found in the Player_Zebra.png File.
- According to Dennis Wedin, this ability wasn't fun enough, so they left it out.
- Manny Pardo had the ability to gather evidence and confront other 1991 playable characters, pinning the crimes on them.
- Evan Wright was originally called "The Dad" an average joe/family man, who would neglect his family to seek out the Darkness of Miami and destroy it to protect his loved ones, only to gradually go insane.
Other[]
- There was a third gamemode considered called Extreme and later Easy.
- The first act was considered to be called "INTRODUCTIONS" or "BAD BLOOD"
- The second act was considered to be called "BLOOD&SWEAT"
- The third act was considered to be called "BEGIN&END"
- The Midnight Animal film title originally said "A Film by Devolver Digital" instead of Galaxy Films
Dialogue[]
- The Director originally had some dialogue that he would say to Martin after he got shot before the level ended
"my_id.line1[0]="MARTIN, ARE YOU OK?" my_id.line2[0]="SAY SOMETHING..." my_id.line1[1]="..." my_id.line2[1]="" my_id.line1[2]="MARTIN?" my_id.line2[2]=""
- The Henchman's conversation with the Fans had a few extra lines of dialogue at the end
"my_id.line1[4]="I'm not looking for trouble... Haha..." my_id.line2[4]="You know? Right?""
- The original dialogue by the General in the Casualties was different
"my_id.line1[0]="ANIMALS!" my_id.line2[0]="..." my_id.line1[1]="THAT'S ALL WE ARE!" my_id.line2[1]="A BUNCH OF GODDAMN ANIMALS!" my_id.line1[2]="THEY'RE SENDING US OUT TO SLAUGHTER" my_id.line2[2]="OR BE SLAUGHTERED..." my_id.line1[3]="AND HERE WE SIT UNTIL THEY TELL US" my_id.line2[3]="WHAT TO DO, AND HOW TO DO IT!" my_id.line1[4]="NO WILL OF OUR OWN. JUST MINDLESS" my_id.line2[4]="OBEDIENCE!" my_id.line1[5]="WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY WE'RE" my_id.line2[5]="FIGHTING NOW, DO WE?"
- Jake was intended to have a silent dialogue during his interrogation by Petrov.