Since the campaign isn't finished it is impossible to understand what is going on. Here I will try to explain what the story was going to be. The campaign wasn't supposed to have a story, but I thought that adding a story might be nice, but I had some problems.

- If I were to make an intro and an outro for every level then that would be 140 (200 if completed) scenes that I would have to do, no thanks.

- How could I create a story where it wasn't required to see so that the player could pick and choose what levels they wanted to play without being bogged down by a story. Since this is a collection (THC stands for The Hotline Collection) and not a story campaign.

- I wanted to sprinkle a vague story in there for players who played the whole thing

Now you may have noticed that when a level with a cutscene starts it does not play the normal transition but plays the normal city level transition. This happens because every 5 or 6 levels has an intro but no outro. So for some reason it does that. I would also show the level name so I had to create a mod that made the numbers 3 or 4 invisible and then name the levels that.

Anyway what is the story about?

In this timeline Manny Pardo has been given a "second chance" and has been kicked out of the cycle the other characters are in (Hotline Miami 2). In this world Pardo creates and stars in movies. His most famous being Hotline Miami, which depicts the first game. The events of Hotline Miami and Wrong Number never happen in this timeline. The war in Hawaii also does not happen. Pardo believes that some of these events have happened, or that they happened but in different ways (that is why in one scene Pardo is confused when watching the TV and they talk about the Russio-American coalition "saving" the world saying that he "needs to read the news more"). Pardo eventually cannot tell what reality he is experiencing.

The story takes place in 1995, 4 years after the annihilation of HLM2's world. Pardo now lives in Tampa Bay instead of Miami and is now a retired film maker instead of a detective. Bored and out of work he decides to buy a video game containing a stupendous amount of levels. Every level (what you play) has violence that never seems to end, but Pardo gets hooked to it.

While Pardo is getting used to the game (playing the easiest levels) he get's a phone call from Evan, though not the same Evan we know in HLM2. This Evan still writes, but this time he writes scripts. He helped Pardo write up his films and has been somewhat of a friend to him. He tells Pardo the bosses at Galaxy Film want to create a "new flick". Pardo is hesitant but accepts to listen over some drinks. The proposed plan is that the bosses at Galaxy Film want to create Hotline Miami 3 (mirroring what some fans want), Pardo believes that the 2nd should be the end (what the developers want). He then tells Evan about his "latest film" and that he will not ruin his legacy.

Evan accepts defeat and scraps his rough drafts for the film. Unknown to Pardo though the bosses at Galaxy Film have heard about his refusal to create the film.

Pardo now enjoying his retirement spends time outside or playing that new fancy game he bought. He even visits a store to buy a new TV to play his game on. He talks to the young man who seems to despise Russians. But short on money and not wanting to continue his conversation he leaves empty handed (this is the beginning of Pardo's warping of two realities). One night he arrives home to see a letter from Galaxy Film inviting him out to their headquarters in Manhattan. With nothing else going on he accepts.

Once arriving he makes his way to the bar and starts talking to old acquaintances, the security guard sent to check on him is not pleased with the state he is in a demands he goes to his suite to sober up. The next day he arrives and talks to the Boss. The Boss believes that it would benefit everyone if they rebooted the Hotline Miami franchise to attract new "viewers". Pardo once again declines. The Boss is somewhat shocked, with a sterner voice accepts that a deal cannot be made and that Pardo is free to leave.

However the Boss is not one to let go easily and sends one of his middle men to try and negotiate a deal. While this is underway Pardo has been playing the video game for a long time, somewhat addicted to it. He eventually gets a phone call telling him to meet at a location and then the call hangs up (like the 50 Blessings phone calls). Confused Pardo decides to investigate it.

He drives up to the address and enters the empty building, with boxes strewn around the place. He goes to the second floor where he meets a man. The man makes an offer that can benefit them both (since both are now running out of money, Pardo has no work and Galaxy Film do not have any films to produce). Pardo accepts under the guise that he has full control over the project and that Galaxy Film just funds it. Galaxy film has a plan however, since they know the reason Pardo is out of work was because of his "latest film" and can't risk him being around.

The next scene depicts a man in an Owl mask walking through an run down building where he encounters an old man (the General). The man in the mask taunts the old man saying "I was expecting more resistance". The old man doesn't seem to care and has given up. He tells the man in the mask to just do what he came here to do (similar to Jackets encounter with the Grandfather). Before we see what happens the camera cuts. Manny wraps up filming for the day. A man in a suit is concerned stating that the film "seems a bit boring". Pardo believes the film is going to be perfect. The man (and the Boss) has set up an interview for Manny to attend. Pardo believes this is to boost the hype for the upcoming film, however this is not the case.

Evan arrives to watch the interview. Pardo and the Host start talking, but the conversation quickly starts turning against Pardo. The host cracks some subtle jokes, mostly relating to his "last film" and what it had caused to his reputation. The Host seems to very much like Hotline Miami, but criticises Pardo and the sequel (Wrong Number). The conversation eventually devolves into a mockery of Manny Pardo. The show closes with Pardo saying his infamous line "I was born with thick skin".

Pardo's career is now in shambles. He decides to close himself inside his house and to only venture out at night. Now he is more than addicted to the video game, it helps him cope with the stress of his situation. This event causes Pardo to see things that are not really happening and to have night terrors. One night he decides to visit the TV shop he was at a few weeks ago. Noticeably there is now a new owner. When asked the owner states that the previous owner was "being aggressive to customers" (killing Russian mobsters). The man recognises Pardo as the man from the TV. The owner claims that he will scare away his customers merely by his presence in the store. Pardo leaves after being threatened.

This is where the story ends in the unfinished campaign.

This to note:

- The Boss and his associates are mirroring the fans who liked the first game but did not like the second. They also mirror fans who want a third game.

- Pardo is himself. He likes the way the story is and wouldn't change it. He is the star of the show.

- Evan mirrors players who create their own "scripts" and are okay in knowing what they create won't be considered the "true story".

- The Inspector (the man in the TV shop) acts as somewhat of a reality check. He is trying to stop Pardo from living in this fantasy land by reminding him of the reality he actually lived and that he did awful things. He kills the previous owner (who is actually the man with the wolf mask who dies in HLM1) just for being connected to 50 Blessings. Like how Pardo killed the fans since they were trying to mimic 50 Blessings.

So what happened after? Heres a very rough idea.

The story would end with Pardo spending more time playing the game than facing the outside world. He eventually gets a reality check when the things that haunt him start appearing inside his house (like the Richard sequences). He completes level 99 but then he gets frustrated when he can't locate level 100. His Magnum starts taunting him, he realises the truth of what is happening. The Magnum tells him to get a move on "Super Star" and that the last level wasn't actually a game anymore. Losing his mind he goes on a slaughter to claim his award (I made some really cool LSD sprites, but never got to adding that mission).

The slaughter doesn't actually take place and is instead his interpretation of fighting though the bull-♥♥♥♥ and finally creating his masterpiece. He get's awarded for his masterpiece and retires for good.

The final scene takes place on a beach, Pardo is chilling. But the the SWAT rush him and go in to arrest him claiming he has "been found guilty". Pardo remains lying watching the sunset. The Inspector moves from out of a car and walks to Pardo. Time pauses as the two talk. Pardo comes to peace with what comes next. Nuclear annihilation wipes them all out.