The Guitar Hero part is that you’re advancing through the level in a straight line with no way of stopping. The Hotline Miami part is everything else. Enemies run into position, take aim and fire, and you have to punch and shoot them to pieces while dodging their return fire. That this is all tied to music - you get more points for striking to the beat - causes you to slip into a flow state. Thoughts disappear with the steady, propulsive rhythm of the action, even as it introduces enemies in armour that need shooting two or three times instead of just once. Shoot, shoot, shoot, punch, reload, shoot shoot, reload, on and on, like a line dancing John Wick.
