Sprawling in both story and level design, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

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Hotline Miami 2’s style is a smooth continuation of the first game. It moves the setting ahead into the grungy ‘90s, but also occasionally whips us back to the mid-’80s in a feverish rollercoaster ride that further unfolds the twisted story. This is a deep dive into an engaging alternate history full of masked fanatics, mobsters, drugs, war, and a few haunting figures from the past. The soundtrack, dripping with nervous synth and a pulsing bass, is even better than the last one; a moodier and more expansive set of tracks merges appropriately with the symphony of door-busting, skull-crunching, and gun firing you’ll create yourself. Like the last game, the music is the fuel that drove me forward into each new challenge – and in Hotline Miami 2, there are plenty.

Hotline Miami 2 carries on the same top-down twitch-shooter gameplay and ultra-violent retro art style of the original, shifted only slightly to make things feel fresh. What’s changed most is the scale of the levels. Where Hotline Miami 1 had you shooting, stabbing, and bludgeoning enemies in a series of small rooms and hallways, Hotline Miami 2 isn’t afraid to drop you into vast, open areas, where danger lurks outside the boundaries of your screen. This is an interesting change of pace that demands a new, more cautious approach.

These large-levels can end up feeling a little too imposing for their own good. There were several points when clearing even half an area became a painstaking task, and in a game where all of that progress can be destroyed in an instant by an off-screen enemy with a shotgun, it’s really tough.

What saves it from being overly frustrating are a few new ways of dealing with distant threats: most notably an improved lock-on system. Pushing the lock-on button instantly targets the enemy closest to your cursor; if the enemy is outside your range of vision, a red arrow appears to point you to him until you either undo lock-on or track him down. It’s a slightly unfair advantage, but serves to balance out the leap in difficulty that comes with Hotline Miami 2’s more sizable maps.

The story has also grown into a layered multi-character saga that spans several years and involves a serial killer, a Russian gang war, and even an actual war. It’s less of an ambiguous mystery, but just as bizarre and fun to piece together. The more plot-driven approach means we don’t get as much freedom to choose how we tackle each level, because most are tied to a specific character. The upside is that it also allows room for Hotline Miami 2 to present new situations, interesting characters, and unpredictable events that break away from the typical expectations of a sequel.

Hotline Miami has always been known for its mindless killing, but in Hotline Miami 2, the dozen playable characters are defined by their personal motivations. You can play as a soldier who kills because he’s in a warzone, which is a very different reason from the copycat killers who recreate the crimes of the original Hotline Miami character. This saves it from falling into gross repetition or suffering from style over substance. It also means that Hotline Miami 2 can explore new scenarios, thanks to character-specific goals. Loading

One character, in a shocking twist for Hotline Miami, can actually get through a level without killing anybody (unless you manage to send him into a murderous rage). Knocking someone down and picking up their guns results in an animation of you rendering the weapons non-lethal. Playing through these levels is very close to the lethal ones, mechanically speaking, but it’s still an interesting example of a character’s personality changing things up.

While many levels are bound to a particular character, there are a few that do offer some choice, either variations of a mask or other accessories that grant different abilities. The carnage wreaked by the chainsaw- and gun-wielding brother-sister duo in Swan masks was especially fun to play, but I also enjoyed the sequences featuring characters who don’t even wear masks at all. In terms of story, a restraint like this makes sense and is a great way to get us closer to what’s happening and why, but in terms of gameplay, it can feel limiting. It’s a trade-off; a negotiation between some of Hotline Miami 2’s more arcade-like aspects and a more fully fleshed-out story that allows for the exploration of several different tones and moods.

Fortunately, an unlockable Hard Mode prevents some loss in replay value. This new difficulty mode mirrors level layouts, adds more enemies, and removes the ability to lock on – all excellent tweaks if you love a challenge. An early version of the Hotline Miami map editor is also included, which is already easy to use and is a great way for the community to expand the life of Hotline Miami 2.