One of the most memorable tunes from Hotline Miami is the song “Hydrogen” by M O O N. This is intense and aerobic, and gets you into the frame of mind that something is about to go down. Which, in Hotline Miami, is something that happens with aplomb.

Hydrogen feels ferocious. The bass is simple repeating the same note again and again. The rhythms skips thick and brooding. Never has an instrumental song sounded so dangerous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNE2oCZH_4k

Compared to the previous song I mentioned, “Miami” by Jasper Byrne is lackadaisical. It feels like a calm, soothing summer wind. It’s a momentary comedown before the action starts. But there’s still and undercurrent of moodiness at the focus, as though something is wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKuA-m_6eOo

If a song were a colour, “Knock Knock” by Scattle would be a purple neon. Again, there’s that brooding mood – that gives you that overwhelming sense of horror. It skips along with synths that throb in and out. You know something is going to happen, and true to Hotline Miami, the game delivers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o4LKzaMaOo

“Silver Lights” by Coconuts is a slight departure from the rest of the Hotline Miami soundtrack. It seems less of a disco song and more like something post-punk in the vein of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. But it fits in so well with the game. In Hotline Miami, when this song comes on, you learn something unsavoury about your character.

This is so well-done!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F43446x_nYQ

“Daisuke” by El Huervo is also a departure from the rest of Hotline Miami’s soundtrack. This one has a more trip hop feel that’s heavy on atmospherics. The guitar is subtle. The piano sneaks up on you. And there’s that slow beat that plays just behind everything else. It’s a momentary break from the action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL_pBJN_O3M

There’s something haunting about “Electric Dreams” by Perturbator. A feeling that something isn’t right. Again, I think it’s the basses doing. The synths give a rising, almost swooning sense of finality. This is just layers and layers of neon-drenched goodness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pne9yGB7KZM

One of the best aspects of Hotline Miami is the feeling of disorientation. A large part of this is the song “Deep Cover” by Sun Araw. If any song encapsulated a hangover, this would be it. Now I don’t like the feeling of being hung over. It’s not something I’d like to revisit. Nevertheless, this works so well for the story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-s9LdQPXF4

To me, “Paris” by M O O N is what Hotline Miami truly is about. The moment you hear this song, you know the action is about to start. And whatever action this will be, it will be violent and bloody. This is the sound of a man who’s about to execute a plan with bad intentions.

I’ll be honest. If I’m ever in a club and this song is playing, I’m getting out of there. Because you know something going down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wXRvvGr8Ug

“A New Morning” by Eirik Suhrke has an almost yacht rock sensibility about it – as though it could be the backdrop to a Michael McDonald song. But with much more synth! But of course, it’s that guitar-like sound that really makes the song what it is.

Short but sweet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhJYlpZu_1g

For some reason, “Inner Animal” by Scattle really reminds me of “Oh Yeah” by Yello – which is well-known from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. But with way more tension and danger. Again, what makes this soundtrack so good, so perfect is the mood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyw32Ttkn4s

Now we get to my favourite song on the Hotline Miami soundtrack: “Crystals” by M O O N. It starts off being funky fresh. Something that could be sampled by some 80s rappers. But then the slow bass starts rumbling, and the reverb kicks in. Then you realize we’re in business. That something violent is going to happen, and people will die.

To me, this is the best song on what has proven to be a legendary video game soundtrack – something so good, you don’t even need to play the game to get what it’s about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVblOqZBlJw

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s been a lot of great soundtracks in video games. Street Fighter II is legendary. The Streets of Rage 2 soundtrack is truly a New Jack swing classic.

But I find myself pining for the Hotline Miami soundtrack – wishing there would be something else that encapsulates such a defining mood in a video game. But there hasn’t been.

From what I can see, this has been a once-in-a-generation soundtrack. Not even the sequel could live up to the original Hotline Miami’s music.

When your hear a distinct sound and immediately know what it’s all about, you know that something incredible has been created.