Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Reviews
It's a great game. One I almost hate. One I find spiteful and cruel and perhaps even somewhat abhorrent. A game that's beautiful as well as hideous, that makes me feel queasy while keeping me thoroughly fascinated. Like a bizarre medical experiment, or a mime silently eating its own hands.
While not as groundbreaking as the original, Wrong Number brings more of what made Hotline Miami so great: puzzles, fast-paced action and a soundtrack that can't be contained.
'Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number' delivers the same frenzied gameplay and thoughtful approach to plotting, but the overall experience is undeniably bigger in scope.
Wrong Number is the right call for anyone looking for just more of the same, but some problematic focus on the wrong things keep it from feeling as fresh and exciting as the original. You should still buy the soundtrack, though.
Hotline Miami 2 is a messy, aimless sequel and a step back from the original. Many of its levels feel like crafted set-pieces rather than playgrounds for violent expression, and your scope for creativity is stifled as a result. When you're deep in the moment, chaining kills as that remarkable soundtrack vibrates through your headphones, it feels fantastic. But it struggles to hold onto that feeling as firmly as the first game, diluting the purity of its compelling core loop with an endless parade of under-developed ideas.
When it's good, Dennaton's subversive, hyper-violent sequel is outstanding, but questionable design decisions and a confused story means it does not have the precision of its predecessor.
It's a clear choice when deciding if you should pick up Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. If you liked the first game or just want something with some over-the-top violence, this is definitely worth a purchase. A story David Lynch would be proud of, great music, and twitch-action gameplay are even more reasons to pick this up and give it a shot. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you can handle the extremely mature content then by all means, enjoy tackling this wild ride. I'm sure it'll grab a hold of you and only let go long enough to bash your head in with a wooden bat.
Although Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is more narratively ambitious than its prequel, something has been lost in the transition. The levels, while good for the most part, simply do not match up those seen in the original game. Nevertheless, Wrong Number still stands as an excellent closing act for the series all the same.
For fans of the series, there's a lot more Hotline Miami to play here and it still has its moments. For newcomers or people that didn't get into the first game, it may be a difficult one to get on board with.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is certainly worth giving a go if you revel in action and the thrill of risk/reward situations. While newcomers may be left in the dark, fans of the first game will most likely complete it feeling pleased and satisfied. All things considered, Dennaton Games' second Hotline outing isn't quite as spectacular as it could have been – thanks to some flaws in its level design – but that isn't enough to make it anything less than great.
Hotline Miami 2 is certainly worth a purchase from anybody who played the original over and over, but don't expect it to hit the same heights. Wrong Number? If only.
For those of us who sit our backsides firmly in that camp, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is bloody - very bloody - good fun.
Hotline Miami 2 is everything you would expect out of the sequel. It's still as violent as ever before and best of all, it's still incredibly fun. With multiple playable characters, an interesting story, a phenomenal soundtrack, and intense gameplay, I have a feeling that Hotline Miami 2 will be on my top 10 list of games when 2015 comes to a close. Aside from a couple of issues, Hotline Miami 2 is incredibly fun and is a game that shouldn't be missed.
Not as good as the original, Hotline Miami 2 delivers a flawed dose of the high speed ultra violence that's fun but not essential.
Even though Hotline Miami 2 asks much of what the original title asked of players, specifically if they "liked hurting people," the tough questions and even harsher consequences made me want to keep looking, even if it was unbearable and uncomfortable to do so at times.
Altogether Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is everything the first game was, with improvements that change and evolve the game enough to feel like its own bloodthirsty monster. Playing as a variety of characters keeps your skills sharp and there are a ton of levels to master and enjoy. If extreme violence isn't your cup of tea, then you're probably not even still reading this, but if you enjoy a dark, yet neon story full of crime and murder, along with a rage inducing challenge, then Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a bloody good time.
I wanted to like Hotline Miami 2. I adored the first game, and everything the trailers promised - new weapons, enemies, mechanics, and violence, oodles of violence - looked excellent. However, it's just not as enjoyable. The first game felt like a focussed blast of adrenaline. Hotline Miami 2's always stopping and starting, its new characters feel rough and buggy, and the new reliance on guns restricts how you can approach combat.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number still sits atop the same solid, brutally violent core that made the first game a success, but it inherits all of its predecessor's flaws as well, and buries them within a bloated, altogether less satisfying experience. While the sequel isn't without its occasional charms, there's no doubt Hotline Miami would be destined for a greater legacy had it called it quits after the first spree.
Hotline Miami 2 boasts a much larger scope than its predecessor but to its detriment the game insists on channelling players through an optimal path. A competent follow-up.
So is it worth playing? Definitely. Will it shock and awe players? Only those who are coming to this series for the first time. It's more of the same, but that's no bad thing, and if you're a returning player to this franchise, prepare to be frustrated, enraged and enthralled all over again.