Choose Hotline Miami
Choose Hotline Miami if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. On Steam, it's currently about 33% cheaper on the Steam Store. 40,733 Steam reviews back the pick.
Hotline Miami vs Katana ZERO
Hotline Miami and Katana ZERO both land in Action, Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Indie on Steam. Hotline Miami (2012) is 7 years older than Katana ZERO (2019). Katana ZERO scores higher on Steam reviews (98% positive) than Hotline Miami (96.7% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Katana ZERO
Choose Katana ZERO if it's the newer release (2019) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 22,408 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Hotline Miami and Katana ZERO sit in Action and Indie on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (96.7% vs 98% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Hotline Miami |  Katana ZERO | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2012 | 2019 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 14.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 96.7% positive (40,733 reviews) | 98% positive (22,408 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Dennaton Games | Askiisoft |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Hotline Miami (2012) is 7 years older than Katana ZERO (2019).
- Katana ZERO scores higher on Steam reviews (98% positive) than Hotline Miami (96.7% positive).
- Hotline Miami is currently ~33% cheaper on Steam than Katana ZERO (9.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
Hotline Miami vs Katana ZERO — FAQ
- Which is better, Hotline Miami or Katana ZERO?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Hotline Miami sits at 96.7% positive (40,733 reviews), Katana ZERO at 98% (22,408). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Hotline Miami or Katana ZERO first?
- If you want chronology, Hotline Miami (2012) came out before Katana ZERO (2019). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Hotline Miami and Katana ZERO similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do Hotline Miami and Katana ZERO both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.