Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

    Game » consists of 4 releases. Released Mar 10, 2015

    The sequel to Dennaton's hit 2D action game moves the neon murder from the '80s to a '90s setting, and concludes the series.

    So I Just Played: Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

    Avatar image for tarfuin
    tarfuin

    72

    Forum Posts

    81

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 0

    Edited By tarfuin

    In the indie games world, sequels are hard. really hard. No matter what you do, everything about your new game will always be compared against your first one. This is true of AAA games as well, but they're working on longer timelines and bigger scale, so there's more they can iterate on. The important thing is to recognize what made your first game popular, and find a way to capture that magic again, it's no small order.

    The original Hotline: Miami was special for a few reasons. First, the music was absolutely INCREDIBLE! The music perfectly matched the look and feel of the game itself. It nicely complemented the frenetic gameplay and the drug-fueled hyper violent 80's theme oozing from every corner of the screen. That 80's theming also made Hotline Maimi special. It was like some sort of mix between Scarface and A Clockwork Orange, yet somehow worse, and darker. The gameplay was fast and rewarding, making you think and plan ahead, only to have those plans hit the wall along with shards of your skull.

    You know the saying, “Best laid plans of psychopaths and killers”
    You know the saying, “Best laid plans of psychopaths and killers”

    Hotline Miami 2 does the best it can to build on the strengths of the first game. Unfortunately, it often builds in the wrong direction.

    In many ways, Hotline Miami 2 feels like a direct continuation of the first game. The difficulty ramps up almost immediately to the point where it's all but assumed that players of this game are already well versed in the controls and mechanics. I was amazed how quickly things escalated the become pretty darn difficult. I'm talking like the 2nd level here. I feel for anyone wading into the second game as their intro to the series, you're in for a bit of an adjustment period. Now, extra difficulty can definitely be a good thing. Its the way in which the game is more difficult that bothers me.

    Things are a lot harder in Hotline Miami 2 simply because everything is so much bigger than in the first game. Each level is about the size of three original game levels, meaning you need to string together a longer run of perfection to actually complete a stage, as a single shot from any enemy can still send you right back to the beginning. More than that though, the rooms themselves are also WAY bigger. They're so much bigger that getting shot by an off-screen character is a very real worry at pretty much all times. Even when using the extended look function, you are often not able to see far enough to comfortably move forward.

    Haven't even walked in the door and already I'm apprehensive.
    Haven't even walked in the door and already I'm apprehensive.

    This change in environment size leads to a few changes in the way you need to approach each level, and they're all to the detriment of the experience. First, you're going to be using guns a lot more. In the first Hotline Miami I used guns as a last resort. I much preferred to burst into rooms with my knife flailing, taking out everyone before they even saw me coming. That's not going to work in this game, because there are often six guys in a single room, the room is too big to burst into to surprise everyone, and the enemies at the far end of the room have one-shot-kill shotguns that they're deadly accurate with.

    The other change to my gameplay style that I despised was passivity. When levels can easily contain 20+ enemies and each run takes several minutes, you're going to be MUCH more careful about not screwing up and dying part way through an attempt. Part of the fun of the first game was thinking up a crazy strategy, then bursting into a room and trying it out. When it worked it felt absolutely amazing, and when it didn't it was hilarious. When each attempt is hyper difficult and dying would mean having to start all over from 20 enemies ago, I'm just not going to take any crazy risks. This led to a lot of luring enemies around a corner and stabbing them in the neck. The basic body-pile strategy is very effective, but it also feels cheesy. I felt guilty when doing this in the first game. It felt essential in this game.

    Can't argue with the result!
    Can't argue with the result!

    It might seem a little harsh. When it comes right down to it, the moment to moment combat still feels good. The aesthetic is still cool and unique. The storytelling is hypnotic and oddly intriguing, and that's not even to mention the music. The music is unquestionably the best part of Hotline Miami 2. I applaud them greatly for deviating quite a bit from the extremely well regarded music of the first game. Between the two games there's actually quite a bit of variety. Many of the tracks this time around are a bit more mellow and slow-paced than in the first, which actually mirrors the gameplay in some ways.

    Overall, I'm a bit disappointed. I loved the first Hotline Miami and was really looking forward to this one. It was kind of a harsh epiphany this time around as I started to realize I wasn't enjoying myself as much. Usually beating a level wasn't cause for excitement, but rather exasperated relief that I was done with that particular ordeal. If beating a level in a game makes me think "Oh thank god! I'm so glad I don't have to do that again" there's probably something a little off.

    Avatar image for nickhead
    nickhead

    1305

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 2

    User Lists: 10

    I definitely think this game is hard right off the bat, and your point about drawing in new players makes sense - I just don't know who would even be interested in this without ever playing the first? There were totally some levels that made me feel relieved like you said, but I'm making my way back through for score attack/hard mode and it feels like I can run and gun. That's probably because I have a general feel for the map the second time through, but it still gives me that thrill of charging headfirst and aiming for combos instead of just beating the level. Then, rinse and repeat and I'm getting higher scores.

    I plan to go back to the first though and see if it really feels any different. Maybe it has been long enough for me that I forget just how chaotic it was compared to Wrong Number.

    Avatar image for bisonhero
    BisonHero

    12787

    Forum Posts

    625

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 2

    Preach it.

    While @nickhead is right about it being possible to run and gun through some levels, it definitely takes way more attempts to find the one or two approach angles where that's even remotely viable. One of the later levels with The Son, I was able to take the deadly punches option and find a route through one floor where I ended up with something like a x21 combo, which was awesome, but even when I found a route where that was possible, I still had to try it like 50 times because most of the time I would get blasted somewhere late in the combo by a gun guard on a random patrol path who happened to wander into one of the hallways that I really wish he wouldn't.

    It just feels like many levels have one or two right paths, instead of many more approaches being viable in the first game, which was the fun of it. Even in the first game when the levels were "easier", you still had to have good reflexes to succeed. There were scenarios where there would be 2 gun guards in a room, so if you had a melee weapon, you could enter the room and quickly kill the closest guard, throw your weapon at the other gun guard, then deal with anybody else in the room with your fists or whatever weapon you can find. I feel like the number of scenarios where I can do fun stuff like that in Hotline Miami 2 is significantly diminished, because usually there are 3 or more guys with guns, and one of them is probably on the other side of a glass window so that strategy is extra unlikely to work.

    I know that there are ways to do slick combos through the levels, but it just seems like finding them is going to be WAY more trial and error than the first game. But until you figure that out, most players will just have to bait gun enemies by quickly ducking out from behind a corner/doorway, then wait for the gun guy to follow you. It works, but those are the least fun moments in the game because they don't feel fluid or creative, it's just you abusing the simple AI. Like, 95% of players will never reattempt the missions enough that they actually figure out the incredibly specific ways you can fluidly combo the whole floor. Only 1.4% of Steam players ever got an A+ on all the levels in the first game, and it's looking to be a lower number on Hotline Miami 2. I think a lot of people just play through the game once, and I think a lot of the levels aren't fun at all unless you go back and master them by dying like 100 times until you can get an A+ on them.

    And that's a design flaw. The levels should be fun whether you're playing them just for completion for the story, or going back to get an A+ and really trying to rack up combos. Instead, I think most levels in Hotline Miami 2 are tedious and boring if you're just playing for completion because you have to be SO methodical and cautious.

    Avatar image for fear_the_booboo
    Fear_the_Booboo

    1228

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 3

    I'm with you, though the problem the level design creates is more on the feeling side (read: artsy-fartsy) for me.

    What made Hotline so great was how at the end of each level it does that record scratch moment and make you walk through the deceased while the music is stopped. The first one was always somewhere in between gratification and culpabilisation. Said record scratch moment worked because the game was so fast that it did not let you think, you where in it, killing people on the rhythm of the thumping music. Only at the end would you realise what was done. I loved that, it was a commentary on violence in videogames without telling you you should feel bad or happy about it, because it made you feel both end of the spectrum.

    Now, with the sluggish pace of the second one, that moment just does not work, because you have time to think. I know that with perfect routes you can finish most levels in less than a minute, but it'll take way more tinkering to get there. The speed that made the first Hotline's aesthetic works for me is not there anymore.

    And yes, I know I'm reading deep into it and that most people don't care about most of that stuff. That's my take on it, anyway.

    Avatar image for ekajarmstro
    ekajarmstro

    456

    Forum Posts

    21

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #4  Edited By ekajarmstro

    So far Hotline Miami 2 is my game of the year.

    Avatar image for tarfuin
    tarfuin

    72

    Forum Posts

    81

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 0

    @ekajarmstro: That's good. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I've only just started it, but Ori and the Blind Forest is my early favourite.

    Avatar image for rongalaxy
    RonGalaxy

    4937

    Forum Posts

    48

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 1

    #6  Edited By RonGalaxy

    When I beat it for the first time, I had feelings that could be described as "disappointed", but then I beat it on hard and really started picking up the idiosyncrasies of the story and I fell in love with it.

    The gameplay issues people have been describing are, I feel, entirely intentional. A big difference in this game is that you are playing as multiple characters, and Dennaton designed each level around the respective characters personality. That's why some levels feel frantic/careless, and others feel more plotting.

    I've learned from the reaction to this game that people really aren't fans of using guns in Hotline Miami. I, personally, don't mind using them to get through specific levels, but I can understand the frustration those people feel. They want it to feel like the first game, and that's fine. To me, it wouldn't make thematic sense for characters like Evan, The Henchman, The Soldier, almost all of the characters (except for The Fans, Pig Butcher, and The Son) to have levels that feel exactly like Jacket's levels. Jacket is a (spoiler warning for hotline miami 2) war veteran with ptsd, possible other mental illnesses, and might be on hardcore drugs. It makes sense for his play style to feel crazy and careless because he probably feels like he has nothing to lose. Most of the characters in Hotline Miami 2 aren't unhinged like he is, so their levels aren't designed like his are, don't play like he does, and it sets them apart; individually defines them.

    Maybe it's bad gameplay design, but I think it's great. It feels like Dennaton put a lot of focus on the story in this game and the gameplay was there to feed into the story they were telling, which is the opposite in the first game. I think maybe that's why they're making the level editor, so people can get the hotline miami fix they crave, one that HLM2 doesn't entirely provide. It provides something different, but equally commendable (to me, at least). I'm a sucker for interesting characters and good world building, and HLM2 does a great job at developing both of those and creating a crazy ass ride.

    Avatar image for tarfuin
    tarfuin

    72

    Forum Posts

    81

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 0

    #7  Edited By tarfuin

    @bisonhero: 21x combo?! Wow. I think the highest I ever got was like 4-5. I think a "C" was pretty much the highest score I got on any level, although I wasn't really going for score attack.

    @rongalaxy: Totally agree with a lot of what you're saying. At no point did I think Hotline Miami 2 wasn't a "good" game. It just wasn't enjoyable for me like the first one was. I do agree that the design and variety of a lot of the levels was unique and fit each of the characters nicely. It wasn't really the design aesthetic I didn't like, it was the layout.

    As an aside. I've been posting an odd review of mine here and there on the forums for quite a while and I'm always overwhelmingly impressed with the mature, respectful, and intelligent discourse that results. This is the reason the Giant Bomb community is the best!

    Avatar image for ry_ry
    Ry_Ry

    1929

    Forum Posts

    153

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    OMFG that boat level.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.