Hotline Miami 2 is very important to me. It has been for five years.
There are a lot of people who dislike it, and despite my personal love, I can see the issues they have. Still, the flaws to be found are nothing compared to its strong narrative and abundance of style. This game is a masterclass in worldbuilding, storytelling, pacing, and presentation.
Maybe it seems like a strange choice of media to put so much emotional stake in, but teens have latched onto stranger things. I find HLM2 to be a powerful, strangely intimate experience, one that deserves more love than it’s gotten since release.


SHORT REVIEW

Visuals: 5/5
Sound: 5.5/5
Story: 5.5/5
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Worldbuilding: 5/5
Overall game score: 5/5 [5.1/5]


IN-DEPTH REVIEW

Visuals:
HLM2’s look is nearly identical to HLM1, the neatest improvement being that you can now run over severed heads and basketballs to roll them around. Despite that, the game still finds a way to make notable improvements in its overall art direction, particularly in settings and visual effects; [SPOILERS] the levels range from a Hawaii warzone, to a dim, flashing Disco club, to a series of drug-induced hallucinations. [SPOILER ENDING] There’s a lot more creativity injected into the locations and their presentation, largely due to expanded cast and their individual stories.
The characters themselves are also very well-designed. Many of them sport a signature mask to reflect their true nature; this gives each a memorable silhouette, as well as providing the audience with a better understanding of characters that must share the stage with so many others. Take for example, the neo-confederate Jake, who wears a snake mask. It harkens to the ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ flag, as well as his skeevy ideals. Or there’s Tony, the confident badass of The Fans, who dons a tiger mask (purportedly worn by Jacket himself.) You could theorize that this symbolizes his strength and cunning, as well as his devotion to Jacket.
Though they’re not often shown in-game because of the top-down view, the cast’s outfits and full-body looks are just as interesting. Their comic art and fanart has always stuck with me. From Corey’s teal and orange Miami Dolphins getup, to Manny’s classic rugged detective ensemble, they each stand out with ease.
Moving on to the technical side of things. I won’t harp too much on the fantastic job that HLM does on visual clarity, since I’ve already covered that in my first review. All you need to know is that HLM2 continues to excel in using visuals to benefit gameplay. The bold outlines and coherent effects help players understand what’s happening on a moment-to-moment basis.
What I WOULD like to discuss is how much the visual style of HLM means to me personally. As an artist myself, these games demonstrate a belief that I hold dear - that your art does not need to be conventionally appealing to speak to an audience, or to flawlessly portray your intentions.
HLM’s appearance is certainly a bit strange. But the 80s aesthetics, stomach-turning gore, and attention to detail make it more intriguing than anything. Even the character portraits, which are quite ‘ugly’, have a certain charm. They eerily remind me of police sketches, as both skirt the line of uncanny valley to burn a face into your mind. I would not remember the characters’ appearances so vividly if not for this.
At the end of the day, despite its unusual appearance, there’s so much to appreciate about this duology’s art direction. None of it is because of perfectly realistic work, or a smooth, flowing style. It has its own style, and it makes use of it wonderfully.
Overall, 5/5.

Sound:
There is simply no denying that HLM2 has one of the best soundtracks of all time. Being three times the length and featuring many new artists, it’s arguably even better than HLM1’s. Each song manages to perfectly capture the essence and aesthetic of the game - from the electric sensation of Sexualizer to the chaotic and unsettling Run.
You don’t need me to tell you that music has always been the soul of HLM. As such, it comes as no surprise that the story’s grand finale would culminate in a track that not only perfectly fits the moment, but is possibly the best in the series. It deserves its own recognition.
There’s nothing I can say that will do this soundtrack justice, though. Even if you don’t plan to play HLM2, or you hate it with a burning passion, or you don’t listen to game music often, just trust me. Give this one a listen (or re-listen.) I promise it’s worth it.
Overall, 5/5.

Story:
I love HLM1’s story. It’s character-driven, surreal, and surprisingly complex. Through it, we're glimpses of a nation on the brink of war, ripe with nationalism and xenophobia. Yet that’s never the focus. Instead, the focus is on the protagonist. Jacket.
Jacket is a seemingly normal man that is roped into something much larger than him. Despite his average lifestyle, he’s shown to be combat-efficient and incredibly violent when set loose. Yet he also has moments of great compassion, and possesses a strong sense of loyalty.
Jacket is fascinating. He’s a very strongly developed character, and all without ever speaking a word of dialogue. Through actions alone, HLM1 perfectly portrays a man on a grizzly downward spiral. And although a lot of the dirty details are left open to interpretation, HLM1’s conclusion was satisfying enough; it would be difficult to build upon the Jacket narrative in any meaningful way.
So, instead, HLM2 does a complete 180. It’s no longer about Jacket’s personal narrative. Instead, it’s about the big picture. It hones in on the themes that were lingering in the background of HLM2, while also portraying how Jacket’s actions have had ripple effects on the Miami community.
HLM2’s cast is expanded dramatically to a whopping 13 playable protagonists. And these new protagonists are each catalysts for the themes, in their own unique ways. This is no longer a personal story of one man. It’s about 13 starkly different people who are caught up in the aftermath of that man’s actions. It’s about the different ways in which these people view and utilize violence. It’s about war, nationalism, the flaws of capitalism… it’s even about HLM fans themselves, and how all different types of people reacted to HLM1.
And even though Jacket is only there for a few short scenes, he remains the pin that holds the entire story together. Evan, a desperate journalist fixated on writing a novel about Jacket, goes to extreme lengths to reach his goals. The Fans are a group of copycat killers who worship Jacket as a hero, continuing the work of slaughtering Russians by the dozens. Manny, who is revealed to be a serial killer himself, is indubitably jealous of the attention Jacket’s case receives over his Miami Mutilator persona. The Son is picking at the last remnants of his Father’s empire, the very empire that Jacket took down in HLM1.
Possibly the most controversial plot device of HLM2, though, are the time jumps. While the first game has a few of these, they’re nothing compared to what the sequel implements. Many players view it as messy and confusing - but I heavily disagree with these assertions. Although this structure is a bit more difficult to wrap your head around, it allows for fantastic story pacing. The devs are given complete control over which moments to use as climaxes and cliffhangers.
Take, for example, Final Cut, the last chapter of act one. Here, we follow actor Martin Brown as he vicariously lives out violent fantasies through the movie he’s filming. And although we don’t know exactly when this takes place, what we do know is that Martin dies very suddenly in an on-set accident.
Even though Martin is the protagonist with arguably the least plot influence, the moment itself serves as one of the most important in the entire game. It draws the player in early-on, of course - but even more crucial is what it communicates to us. No one is safe. Anything can happen.
We never find out whether Martin’s death was a murder or an accident. That’s another thing to get used to with Hotline Miami; very little is spelled out for you. You’re left thinking and theorizing, fitting the puzzle pieces together to create your own version of events.
Yet, there are so many real, emotional stories to juxtapose the mindfuck. We are given a deeply intimate peek into the lives of complete strangers, people dealing with sympathetic personal issues. There are themes of family, and the expectations they place upon you. There’s betrayal, and there’s fierce loyalty. Protecting the ones you love, but losing them anyways. Brotherhood.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still about nationalism, xenophobia, and violence. The war is not getting better, it’s only getting worse. So does anything we do ultimately matter? Is it all futile?
No, it does matter. Because, even if one day we’ll all die, our actions affect other people while they’re still here. We’re all human - including those that are unjustly seen otherwise due to bigotry. Maybe our species’ self-inflicted violence would be avoided if we took the time to see that.
Overall, 5.5/5.

Gameplay:
HLM 1 and 2’s mechanics are near-identical, to the point that all core elements are unchanged. Everything dies in one hit, you press R to restart, and you adapt your playstyle. The only big difference is the addition of many new weapons, which all feel great.
But two details - two very important parts of the bigger picture - were altered in a major way. In fact, it’s such a drastic difference that HLM2 feels like a brand new experience. So let’s talk about the level design and the enemy placement.
The biggest factor here is how much open space was introduced. This leaves you exposed to enemies much more often than in the first, where the rooms were claustrophobic and puzzle-like in the way they fit together. If you’re quiet, you have time to throw together a loose plan before bursting into each contained area. But HLM2 takes the opposite approach, instead relying on fast reflexes - and a lot of restarts - to learn about enemies you weren’t aware of.
A lot of people hate this change, and I can’t say I fully blame them. Off-screen kills lend to a sense of artificial difficulty in a few spots. But I must say that I still enjoy this version of the HLM formula. I find so much to love about playing it every time I pick it up.
The thing is that the developers don’t just throw you into a giant room with no clue of what to do - at least, not too often. On the contrary, they very competently apply this design philosophy to the core gameplay of HLM. Levels like Deathwish and No Mercy perfect it.
And it’s all because of geometry and size. Think about it this way - HLM1 rooms are pieced together perfectly like puzzle pieces, with some narrow hallways here and there to fill in gaps. Meanwhile, HLM2 levels usually have a ‘central’ room, which takes up a large part of the map. Other, smaller rooms are scattered around within it.
Another notable change made is how characters’ personalities are expressed through gameplay. In 1, Jacket takes the role of an everyman - his generic fighting style is modified only through what mask you equip. And even though we do get a taste of some character-based kits with Biker in the epilogue, it’s only for a few short levels.
But HLM2 doesn’t need everymen. Instead, there’s 13 protagonists, all of whom have their own personal approach to violence. Take Evan. He’s a journalist-turned-writer, a nonviolent man that has ventured into the dark underbelly of Miami for research; after hearing that description, it makes complete sense that Evan won’t use deadly weapons and incapacitates enemies instead of killing them.
There’s also Alex and Ash, a pair of chainsaw and gun-wielding siblings. They’re controlled at the same time, moving together, attacking individually with the left and right mouse buttons. They work cooperatively and watch each other’s backs, something that shows a deep trust between the two.
And then we have a character like The Son, who has three different unlockable playstyles. One is based off of the Bodyguard from HLM1, its icon showing her broken sunglasses, and The Son wielding her katana in combat. Another is inherited from his father, and shows a bullet engraved with the date 8/23/89. This is the day that Showdown takes place in HLM1, the day that Jacket kills The Father, The Grandfather, and The Bodyguard. We see the deep loyalty that The Son feels to family, even to those that have died. This is something expressed further through his commitment to making them proud.
At the end of the day, even though there are definitely flaws in HLM2’s gameplay, I still think that it’s very fun. What it lacks in clear-cut combat, it makes up for in ingenuity and character work. There are still a lot of great levels, too, ones that are specifically designed for the playstyles of whatever protagonist you’re controlling.
HLM2 set out to make a different kind of experience, something separate from HLM1, and I’d say that it overwhelmingly succeeded.
Overall, 4.5/5.

Worldbuilding:
In HLM1, players were given small glimpses of a world ravaged by war and nationalism. These surroundings change the course of Jacket’s life, as he is roped into a mass genocide scheme spearheaded by an organization known as 50 Blessings. Yet, even though these themes are just as important to the game’s messaging, the narrative ultimately stays focused on Jacket as a character.
In HLM2, you are actively participating in said war. You’re rebuilding the Russian mafia’s empire from the ground-up. You’re taking out an entire ship of Colombian cartel. You’re witnessing the direct unraveling of the planet.
It’s not that this type of action-packed storytelling is better. The first game perfects a personalized character arc with a silent protagonist. The surreal nature of everything adds so much style to the game, too, and the setting is perfectly integrated into this. HLM2 just serves to paint a clearer picture of its society.
And it still has plenty of intimate arcs, too. Evan’s storyline is ultimately about whether he should prioritize his family or his work, leading to the only player choice of the game. We’re shown how Richter was forced to work for 50 Blessings after they threatened the life of his ill mother, whom he cares for. Hell, The Henchman mainly serves to humanize the enemies you’re killing by the dozens.
But, again, as much as HLM2 is about its characters, it’s also about the bigger picture. It’s the end of everything these people know. The rotating cast provides us with 13 different perspectives into this world, balancing the protagonists with the external events happening around them.
And even though we get explanations for some of HLM1’s mysteries - and we learn a lot more about its world - HLM’s trademark surreal presentation never leaves. There are just as many new questions posed by 2, providing us with new theories, ideas, and trivia.
There are dozens of little details to notice, too, adding to the lore surrounding HLM. Each scene is packed with things for you to notice - Biker’s presence at Jacket’s trial, Alex’s ‘paraphernalia’, the living victim in the trunk of Manny’s car. Everything is so impressively fleshed out; it gives us a new level of insight into both the protagonists and the setting.
It’s everything it needs to be, and more. HLM2’s story and world build upon everything laid out by the first game. Yet, it still provides its own unique perspective of them. There’s something new to learn on every replay. There are a multitude of intriguing characters to explore. There are endless plot points and little details to theorize about. It’s perfect.
Overall, 5/5.

Overall game score: 5/5 [5.1/5]. I honestly, truly think this is one of the most underrated games of all time. Yes, HLM2 occasionally trips up. But its flaws are overshadowed by new ideas, captivating music, engrossing stories & characters, superb levels, and pure style. If you haven’t given HLM2 a try yet, I highly recommend it. If you didn’t like it the first time, replay it on an easier difficulty, and lose yourself in the narrative and music.
At the very least, give the soundtrack a listen.

Since the game is a bit too high IQ for me and thus would require from me to put an effort in writing an actual write-up, ill just throw in some incoherent ramblings I had on discord since recent chainsaw man chapter got me in good old hotline miami mood

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Hotline Miami blurs the line between human and inhuman, whether 'humans are still animals or not' idea is just an excuse, is their humanity a pretense or is it their animalistic behaviour thats a pretense?

anyway you can see Hotline Miami 2 cast as different type of characters that could have been protagonists of the sequel and I think after coming up for so many backstories, writer had an idea to make meta commentary and the subversion on the concept of sequels

difference in level design in contrast to the first installment makes it rather obvious that not a single individual from the ensemble cast is really up to being 'Jacket' that is an idea. On top of them having their individual type of gameplay to reflect their psyche, they all are also a bit too methodical and calculating to their approach to murder and are not as much into delirium when compared to Jacket who was merely seeing things in coma a lot of times and hence his dreamscape being a bit less realistic.

you see Jacket and how his behaviour influences different type of deranged people with their own masks and animals to live with and not only they can never live up to the standards of how Jacket is being idolized and immortalized, but they also never really grasp that whatever they take out from it is not the reality. reality is more fucked up but they get reality check, memento mori and reminded of their mortality

oh the game also has 'recorded' type of presentation when you are supposed to 'eject' the game for it to end, as if it was some cassete shit
it can be interpreted as scattered records to understand the truth on your own (sorta like Higurashi)
but its also usually used to visualize sociopathy (like in Kane and Lynch 2, where 'camera' is basically behaving like a camera man constantly following the main character behind)
there are a lot of interpretable shit

the monster The Son fought in the end was basically him killing The Fans but he was tripping, thinking he was entering valhalla but merely killed himself, he achieved catharsis only in his delusions while just randomly killed himself in reality. fan trip is also probably a result of him projecting jacket into the fans. they are inspired by jacket and were comrades to him in the war (son doesnt know this but its still relevant to the fans' character) and them wearing masks and then targeting the russian stronghold in the finale probably influenced sons mind in that regard

in hotline, we see jackets daily life and how he behaves extensively. his home is mostly empty. we do not see him interact with anyone up until he saves the girl kidnapped by the russians. there doesnt seem to him having anything whatsoever that doesnt make his life completely barren. we dont even see him doing his actual job and his life outside of his apartment and hits on the mafia. these all build up for his sociopathy, making it seem as if he is unable to connect with anyone or be able to complete anything outside of his violent missions. him being mute may just a trope. regarding the events of the games, beard and jacket served together in hawaii and jackets life is then saved by beard. later both of them are discharged and are assumed to have maintained contact with each other. however, towards the end of the war, russians nuke san fransisco, where beard is located. jacket is devastated by beards death, as he sees him in his dreams in the hospital, indicating that he formed a close friendship. this however may be interpreted in a different manner. it may be that due to jackets completely barren life and his unresponsive character, he simply may have exacerbated beards connection and attitude towards him, which build up his sociopathy and social ineptitude even more. after the nuking of sanfran, russia and america governments form a coalition to put a stop to future conflict, and america is humiliated. huge waves of russian immigrants flood america. this flooding is implied by the fact that bolshevik russia was an economical shithole while america was prosperous in the 80s. russians taking advantage of this as well as the indiscriminate bombings and humiliations in the war heightens tensions between the russian immigrants and american citizens. the russian mafia expanding in various parts of the country complicates this even further. the general from beard missions founds 50 blessings organization with other individuals who are disillusioned

with the american governments handling of the things. they attract others into their organization by putting up a patriotic front, but the exact motivations and mannerisms of the higher ups is left to different interpretations with the janitors and the generals behaviour. going back to jacket, as 50 blessings starts recruiting or forcing others to hit russian locales to further their so called patriotic front, jacket is also recruited. jacket accepts everything that is thrown at him. he doesnt ask questions. he doesnt wonder why he is doing what he is doing. he simply seems to not care. he brutalizes russians and their american associates (politicians, fat black enemies in levels, 3rd party drug dealers) without a hint of emotion. the major interpretation is that jacket despises russians because of them killing beard. whether jackets relationship with beard was genuinely mutual or it was his sociopathy and delusions manifesting as early as the hawaiian conflict is up to your interpretation. but in the very first level, despite not showing a single hint of character and personality when killing the russians, he beats a homeless man because of him being a witness to his operation and kills him. and then he pukes. jacket is so far removed psychologically that he feels genuine remorse and/or shock for killing any other guy, but his behaviour is twisted with the russians. he does not have any relationships, and is a complete recluse. he is unable to connect with anyone but then finds the girl tortured, raped and drugged in one of the russians dens and starts an intimate relationship with her. because of her presence, he starts to clean his apartment and seems to correct his errors more often. they eventually are implied to even have sex. the girl may be way over his head because of the trauma she recieved, and such situations cause people to haywire in the head, ie create feelings for people who rescued them instinctually. but jacket does not give a fuck.

he simply relishes in the girls affection for him and either tries to genuinely correct himself or deludes himself due to his erratic psychology. again, this double interpretation is due to jackets sociopathic nature already established with his treatment of the russians regardless of which way you wanna pull it, and so you can either view a lot of stuff he does as genuine or irrational. the latter part i have mostly not seen being said in any hotline community, but i dont interact with them anyways. yet all of that we see is unreliable anyway, because richter shot jacket and jacket was in the hospital dreaming of all the events that transpired before him waking up. this part concludes jackets sociopathy which the video talks about. his ignorance is his other major side of his character. not once does jacket question the authority that tells him to bomb this and kill that. he doesnt give the slightest fuck about why he is doing any of the things he is doing. he never even tries to pick up the pieces together even when there are major hints right in front of him. richter, jake, the original tiger mask guy and plenty of others can be found throughout the levels tortured or murdered by the russians or locked up. they were doing the exact same thing as jacket did, but he never even cared, he didnt even make an effort to notice. richter pleads uselessly to jacket but when he does he also alludes to 50 blessings and how they are connected to everything. instead jacket refuses to listen, and thinks that it was the russians all along. since he doesnt give a shit, he makes up his mind on how the events transpired and concludes that there were rivaling russian factions that wanted to destroy the other ones, and that jacket was simply used by one of them against the other. he stands on trial and gives that statement to the judge. that is his ignorance. instead of trying to get a grip and focus on what is really happening, he just pleases himself with violating russians.

this ignorance and cowardice is also represented in other characters like biker, fans, son and evan. like i have said before, it mocks those who are capable of dealing with the issues at hand but choose to satisfy their base desires instead, and so the generals deranged speech is the clearest statement of what is going on in the minds of those characters. the meta comes into play here. just like how the characters dont give a shit and refuse to reason, to think, to understand, the players themselves also do not care for hotlines story, and the devs criticize them for that, as they think the story and what its saying is important. most hotline fans couldnt give a fuck about anything other than the ultra violence you can perform in the games, and so they complain about all these nitpicky issues about games length, level designs and gameplay issues, which are valid, but neglect the heart of hotlines story and do not want to bother with what the devs are trying to say. so to them what happened is just delirious meme-y bullshit that they couldnt take seriously. and the devs clearly give a huge fuck about the story because look at how intricately woven it is inside the various events of the chapters and how it stretches and interconnects between the perspectives of the various characters between the games. and so richard berates jacket and the others for their inability and cowardice. not because he thought they truly had any power to stop any of what happened, but because they chose to remain lowly while neglecting everything. this is what richard is. an omen that tells people about their impending doom and criticizes them in a completely humane manner, like any other sane person looking at what the people of hotline were doing.

jake was so loyal to the cause and just showed genuine support for the faction and was ready to go berserk but they killed him canonically actually, executed by 50 blessings, it builds generals jadedness and how he doesnt give a fuck about nationalism or patriotism actually

general being coerced to force his soldiers to perform suicide ops because of goverment pressure and patriotic rhetoric being flipped in current hotline era by how he tricks losers by nationalist rhetoric and sends them on suicide missions themselves to unravel russian political dominance

pardo is a mentally stunted attention whore. his personality can be regarded as an aspect of masculinity(though its not exclusive to masculinity). the desire to be on top and be recognized by all. having all the lights shine on his ass and get all the fame. jacket is publicized and his murders are all over everywhere. everyone talks about it and discusses why this mf did what he did. he also has anger issues. we see him suicidally charging into drug dens and cartel bases killing everyone. thats his way of cooling off. and he also has done some pretty fucked up stuff that would cost his job and evan knows this, hence why evan forces him to give info, saying that pardo owes him big time. being pissed about jackets rise, pardo then starts his own murder spree. at first he doesnt know or understand what would get hot on the press, as he didnt murder people meticulously but just gunned down criminals. so he just slits someones throat and thinks its all good. then the cops arrive at the scene and he keeps telling both them and evan that this miami mutilator case is much more sophisticated, subconsciously trying to exert his presence and overtake that of jackets. there is an instance where lightning flashes and we see camera crew filming pardo and the scene. both are more hints to figure out his craving for attention. later, the fans become famous and that makes the jacket case and the situation with the masked murderers across miami even more hot. this pisses off pardo so he tries to get more violent with his methods. disembowels his second victim. then goes berserk and charges into colombuian ship. in his latest murder he slips and leaves evidence for police to find him. the scene is also much more gruesome as this time he flayed the skin of the victim when he was alive, then ripped open his chest. both him slipping and being more grotesque can be interpreted as his subconscious giving way for his apprehension, as that is the quickest way to fame, to stand on trial

like jacket is on trial right now. afterwards he realizes he left his gun at the crime scene and encounters his other criminally insane self, which is a very basic bitch scene. he then dreams of how his apprehension would play out. him being all regretful and telling he had no choice but to do it, killing all the officers trying to take him out, etc. which is even more emphasis on his attention craving fantasy as that is even more newsline worthy material. just like what jacket did to confront richter in the police precinct, gunning down all the cops there. then he wakes up and gets a call thinking his fellow lawmen are gonna bust his ass. he gets paranoid and barricades himself and drinks. but in reality it was them calling him because the russians were gonna nuke the place and his help was needed. and then he dies in his manic state, getting nuked into oblivion like evan, jacket and richter. pardo is the sideman who got delusional into thinking that he needs to be at the center of everything and destroys his life to do so. but in the end it doesnt even matter. no one had the opportunity to figure him out and he died like all the rest.

beards relationship with jacket is also kind of fascinating in regards to how jacket percieves it. he wanted revenge for Beard but probably also thought he was as cool as Beard

Him seeing beard dead next to Richter was already a hint to him slowly ‘remembering’ and blaming it all to Richter, but there is more to it

beard missions portray jacket and beard as comrades but they arent shown as close friends, beard is just a good guy that did what he thought best, the photo scene can be just jacket doing at least some sort of action to establish human contact, but his perception of beard in his dreams and how little interaction there is between the two in reality gives way to jacket being delusional cunt exacerbating his relationship and finding reason to commit mass slaughter without a good excuse

beard and jacket relationship is open to two interpretations. jacket being emotional because of beard death simply because they were friends. You could also say that the other aspect fits more in character with jacket is jacket deluding himself with beards perception and reception of him and then exacerbating it

the idea that someone could do all that shit to Russians was probably plausible since The Beard was just that good so nonchalantly, unlike literally anyone else who holds malice in heart, and all of it got catalyzed by something that was not done in malice at all, hence the cover of the game where Beard is looking into atomic explosion that came out of nowhere to him, he was just doing army gigs after all but somehow it kickstarted environmental destruction on which he had zero awareness and control over. Sort of like ‘death of the author’

i doubt Jacket genuinely cares about beard in a way that would be considered genuine or emotionally healthy and he is using beard as an excuse for his own bullshit desire to go berserk and massacre russians, but he still has gripes as the only time he didnt kill russians and others that werent adverseries made him puke his guts out, like he doesnt question what he is doing with shaking the russian mafia even once during the events of the game, he just goes along with everything 50B is telling him to do, he is senseless and doesnt care, he just likes hurting other people

and thats why richard reprimands and scolds him. because its too late and he never even tried to understand what was happening around him. did you notice what he was saying in his testimony in trial chapter - he was saying how rival russian factions manipulated him to take each other out - fucking dumbfuck.

he would not care about Beard, he was just nervously smoking shit in army and was not talking to anyone

in stories like Apocalypse Now and stuff influenced by it, we always only get stuff about army and how it turns people psychotic and full of PTSD but they always leave the rest up to interpretation. in HM, Apocalypse Now shit is moreso an army backstory, while consequences of such an experience are shown and taken to the extreme

Richter man just lives in shit and has to take care of a mother thats pretty much dying with natural causes instead of violence or anything and he can't really fight it in any shape or form. It's a conflict that can even be associated with Superman

richter in actually is a normal dude who cares about his loved ones and is forced into take action by others threatening to take that away from him, but jacket just sees him as basic villain and richter is also apologetic and sympathetic towards him when he gets confronted in prison, he also makes richter responsible for all the stuff happened so that builds into him deluding himself into thinking russians were just doing their own shit and take each other out, he also makes richter evil by him saying diabolical shit and shooting his woman

i dont even know if richter was the one who shot jackets woman

Its also cool how HM2 menu is nuclear blast and they basically bomb the idea that HM3 could ever exist, pretty much a final nail to the so-called ‘sequel’ coffinn

Don’t remember if I mentioned it above but theres also a cool detail in the game that you can’t actually hurt women in the game and you get punished for even attempting it.

Oh yeah music and level design also fucks in this game idc