Masks

Boxes filled with masks in Resolution.

Masks are a type of unlockable item in both Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.

Hotline Miami Masks

At the beginning of most of Jacket's chapters in the first game, the player chooses a mask for him to wear. Jacket has 26 unlockable masks in total (27 on PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch), each providing a unique effect, except for the default mask, Richard. The effects include, but aren't limited to, making door slams lethal (Don Juan), inverting the player's walking controls (Nigel), and giving the player a drill at the start of the chapter (Carl). Masks can be unlocked by getting sufficiently high scores, as well as being found in certain chapters. The player can see whether one already has the mask for a given chapter in the chapter selection screen, although not all available masks will be shown there (e.g. Carl in Chapter 8.)

Jacket's Masks

1. Richard (Rooster)
   Default mask - Grants no special abilities.
2. Rasmus (Owl) - An Eye For Secrets
   Obtained by achieving a high score in The Metro - Highlights unlockable masks and puzzle pieces.
3. Tony (Tiger) - Fists of Fury
   Obtained by achieving a high score in No Talk - Instant executions and lethal punches.
4. Aubrey (Pig) - More Guns
   Obtained by achieving a high score in Overdose - Spawns more guns.
5. Don Juan (Horse) - Lethal Doors
   Obtained by achieving a high score in Decadence - Slamming doors into enemies will kill them, performing wall executions will give you a higher score.
6. Graham (Rabbit) - Walk Fast
   Obtained by achieving a high score in Tension - Gives Jacket a slight speed buff.
7. Dennis (Wolf) - Start With Knife
   Obtained by achieving a high score in Full House - Gives a knife at the beginning of the level.
8. George (Giraffe) - Look Further
   Obtained by achieving a high score in Clean Hit - Allows the player to look further when holding down Shift.
9. Ted (Dog) - Dogs Don't Attack
   Obtained by achieving a high score in Neighbors - Dogs sprint after Jacket, but will not attack.
10. Rufus (Elephant) - Survive One Bullet
    Obtained by achieving a high score in Push It - Gives Jacket a chance of surviving a bullet.
11. Rami (Camel) - Extra Ammo
    Obtained by achieving a high score in Crackdown - Adds 1/3 more bullets to the magazine.
12. Willem (Chimpanzee) - Rip And Steal
    Obtained by achieving a high score in Hot & Heavy - Steals enemies' weapons while performing a standing execution.
13. Peter (Unicorn) - Quiet Gunshots
    Obtained by achieving a high score in Deadline - Reduces the noise of gunshots.
14. Zack (Frog) - Longer Combo Window
    Obtained by achieving a high score in Assault - Makes the combo multiplier last longer.
15. Oscar (Mole) - Darkness
    Obtained by achieving a high score in Vengeance - The game gets a dark black-and-red filter.
16. Rick (Fox) - Good Shot
    Obtained by achieving a high score in Safehouse - Enemies will always die in one shot.
17. Brandon (Panther) - Walk Faster
    Obtained by achieving a high score in Fun & Games - Gives Jacket an even bigger speed buff.
18. Charlie (Octopus) - More Melee Weapons
    Obtained by finding in Safehouse - Spawns more melee weapons.
19. Louie (Chameleon) - Hard To Spot
    Obtained by finishing the game with the normal ending - Makes Jacket harder to be detected.
20. Phil (Fish/ To be more specific : Carp ) - French Translation
    Obtained by finding in Resolution - Makes a bad translation of all dialogue to French.
21. Nigel (Bat) - Reversed Controls
    Obtained by finishing the game with the secret ending - Reverses walking controls
22. Earl (Walrus) - Survive Two Bullets
    Obtained by finding in Overdose - Gives Jacket a chance to survive two bullets, but just like Rufus.
23. Jones (Alligator) - More Gore
    Obtained by finding in Full House - Increases the amount of gore.
24. Carl (Locust/Grasshopper) - Start With Drill
    Obtained by finding in Push It - Gives a drill at the beginning of the level.
25. Jake (Cobra) - Killing Throws
    Obtained by finding in Hot & Heavy - Throws kill enemies rather than knocking them down.
26. Richter (Rat) - Start With Silenced Uzi
    Obtained by finding in Assault - Gives a silenced uzi at the beginning of the level.
27. Russell (Bull) - Raging Bull
    (Exclusive to Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Vita, Switch and Stadia) Obtained by finding in The Metro - The game gets a black-and-white filter with the exception to the filter being blood.

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Masks

The Fans' Masks

1. Corey (Zebra) - Roll Dodge
   Starter Fan - Can perform a combat roll over doors and beneath gunfire.
2. Tony (Tiger) - Killing Punches, No Weapons
   Obtained by completing Down Under - Lethal punches, no weapons can be picked up.
3. Alex and Ash (Swans) - Chainsaw And Guns
   Obtained by completing Moving Up - Both Swans are controlled simultaneously, one carries a chainsaw, the other one can only use guns.
4. Mark (Bear) - Two Machine Guns
   Obtained by completing Execution - Can dual wield two MP5s and point them in different directions simultaneously.

Jake's Masks

1. Jake (Cobra) - Lethal Throws
   Default mask - Kills enemies when throwing weapons at them.
2. Irvin (Viper) - Nail Gun
   Obtained by completing Hard News - Gives a nail gun at the beginning of the level.
3. Dallas (Black Mamba) - Inner Warrior, No Weapons
   Obtained by completing Withdrawal - Lethal punches and can use nunchucks, no weapons can be picked up.

Martin Brown's Masks

1. Aubrey (Pig)
   Default mask - Grants no special abilities or bonus.

Richter's Masks

1. Richter (Rat)
   Default mask - Grants no special abilities or bonus.

Jacket's Masks

1. Richard (Rooster) - No Perks
   Grants no special abilities.
2. Tony (Tiger) - Fists of Fury
   Lethal punches.
3. Rasmus (Owl) - No Perks
   Grants no special abilities.
4. Don Juan (Horse) - Lethal Doors
   Slamming doors into enemies will kill them.
5. Aubrey (Pig) - Bring Shotgun
   Gives a double barrel at the beginning of the level.
6. Jake (Cobra) - Killing Throws
   Kills enemies when throwing weapons at them.
7. Graham (Rabbit) - Run Faster
   Makes Jacket faster.
8. Dennis (Wolf) - Start With Knife
   Gives a knife at the beginning of the level.
9. Ted (Dog) - Dogs Don't Attack
   Dogs sprint after Jacket, but will not attack.
10. Zack (Frog) - Longer Combo Window
    Makes the combo multiplier last longer.
11. George (Giraffe) - Look Further
    Allows the player to look further when holding down shift.
12. Phil (Fish) - No Perks
    Grants no special abilities.
13. Oscar (Mole) - Darkness
    The game gets a dark red filter.
14. Willem (Monkey) - Rip And Steal
    Steals enemies' weapons while performing a standing execution.
15. Carl (Locust/Grasshopper) - Start With Drill
    Gives a drill at the beginning of the level.
16. Rufus (Elephant) - Survive Three Bullets
    Jacket won't die when hit by the three bullets.
17. Rami (Camel) - Get More Ammo
    Adds 1/3 more bullets to the magazine.
18. Rick (Fox) - Good Shot
    Better accuracy.
19. Louie (Chameleon) - Hard To Spot
    Makes Jacket harder to be detected.
20. Brandon (Panther) - Run Fastest
    Makes Jacket even faster.
21. Earl (Walrus) - Survive Three Bullets
    Jacket won't die when hit by the first three bullets.
22. Charlie (Octopus) - No Perks
    Grants no special abilities.
23. Richter (Rat) - Start With Silenced Uzi
    Gives a silenced uzi at the beginning of the level.
24. Jones (Alligator) - More Gore
    Makes kills and executions bloodier.
25. Peter (Unicorn) - Quiet Gunshots
    Reduces the noise of gunshots.
26. Nigel (Bat) - Reversed Controls
    Reverses walking controls

Trivia

• The inclusion of animal masks was motivated by Dennis Wedin's childhood nightmares that revolved around Alice in Wonderland and The Wind in the Willows.
• Dennis originally planned to base the masks on horror villains (e.g. Jason's Hockey Mask, Clowns) until he decided on the animal theme.
• The inclusion of mask abilities wasn't originally intended until Nigel at Devolver Digital mistakenly advertised mask abilities in an interview. Dennaton hastily created all of the first game's mask abilities, and Dennis Wedin expressed regret that none required the player to play differently, and that the Tony Mask was overpowered. This led to the mask system getting completely overhauled in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.
• Jake gets his masks from FEDUP delivery service, as a FEDUP box is shown every time he unlocks a mask.
• The Fans get their masks from Laughter Masquerade and Funny Stuff, as a Laughter box is shown every time the player unlocks a new Fan.
• Tony states that his mask was the one worn by Jacket himself, which is unlikely as it would have been taken as evidence during Jacket's trial. It is more likely that the mask is the one worn by the man being interrogated in Tension.
• In Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, most of the masks from the first game return, now being used by several NPCs.
  • A bartender seen in the intro for Down Under can be seen wearing a Panda mask, and someone behind the bar going through the fridge is wearing a Dennis mask. Additionally, the Tony and Jake masks are lying on the bar.
  • In The Abyss level, Evan Wright finds a group of hobos wearing all the masks worn by Jacket in Hotline Miami.