Hotline Miami 2 is a game I have a weird relationship with. I didn't even realize there was a second game in the series until mid 2023 as during a media class I had for school we were studying it as a game that was refused classification (aka banned) in Australia (my country). I beat the first hotline miami a few days ago and while I did enjoy it and was looking forward to playing the second game through some legally grey methods, I was a bit skeptical and worried that the specific scene that was one of the main reasons this game got banned in Australia in the first place was quite bad.

As far as that scene goes, it was quite graphic and definitely one of the most violent scenes in the series, I felt it probably wasn't worth the game's complete ban in the country, as the pixilated graphics and the fact it lasted about 3 seconds (and that it was taking place in a fictional movie in the game with the director saying cut just as it was about to get worse) led me to feel that the decision to ban this game was weak and definitely needs to be reappealed so people can actually legally experience this game in my country.

Despite this scene however, after getting past it, I was greeted with some of the most fun gameplay I've had in a game for a loooooooong while. The gunplay is just insane in this game and the fact I played HM1 beforehand led me to playing this game wayyy more aggresively and getting really high combo scores along with multiple A+'s only within my first hour of gameplay.

The levels, like HM1, can be a bit hit and miss, but overall the good definitely outweighs the bad, as there aren't any atrociously designed levels like the hospital one in the first game.

The story (and the nature of how it is told) is probably the part that holds this game back for me the most however. It is a game which I have to probably watch multiple youtube videos to understand exactly whats going on, as the flashbacks and flash forwards definitely make the game seem very jarring and sparatic (which I think is what they wanted to make it to be but still hurts my brain as some of the characters I still don't know where they ended up or who they are in the present time of the game)

However, I think by far this game's best aspect, along with it's gameplay, is its strong atmosphere. The 80's and 90's style was definitely a focal point in the first game, but this game just takes it up a notch. The soundtrack is iconic and hearing each track accompanied by the visuals was just a phenomenal experience. The length of this game also is just perfect as the first game definitely left a lot to be desired.

I think overall this game is better than the og. It was really fun to play and while there were definitely times I felt the game being a little bit unfair with some of the level designs, I definitely think that this is one of the best indie games out there, and a must play if you enjoyed the original.

Too bad people in my country don't have any easy way to play this game :(

Fez tudo que o primeiro fez só que melhor.
Mais dificil, mais filho da puta e com level design mais desafiador e divertido. Fora a trama que puta merda é muito boa.
A estética e a trilha sonora casam muito com a trama, e o jeito de contar a historia através de vários personagens e alucinações por mais que demore pra embalar quando embala NOSSA.
O fato de serem vários personagens e alguns não terem as mascaras da uma mudada sim, e consigo ver como isso afeta a jogabilidade de quem veio do primeiro de maneira negativa. Eu enxergo isso como uma troca pela narrativa envolvente e que respeita o intelecto do player.
Muito divertido, estiloso, desafiador e feito com carinho. Bão.

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a step up in most ways from the first Hotline Miami.

The gameplay in Hotline Miami 2 is overwhelmingly improved from Hotline Miami 1's, and Hotline Miami 1 already had amazing gameplay. The new weapons introduced are all great, and all the new levels are the best in the series.

You get to play as way more characters, opposed to just Jacket and Biker in the first game, you probably play around 7-8 different characters, within the span of this entire game, and most of these characters are unique in how they play, that it really makes their own designated sections extremely fun.

The one issue I do have is the story, the story becomes extremely confusing and convoluted, and the first game already had a decently confusing story, this one amplifies the confusion to a new level. While I think I got what the story was, it really didn't need to be as complicated as it was.

This is an amazing game, and is an actually good sequel, that is better than the original game, which is quite rare nowadays.

Overall: 9/10

Level design is quite a bit different compared to the original same can be said for how the story and characters are handled, the duology definitely feels like a combined saga imo, sorta like a part 1 and a part 2 of the same film if you get what I mean.
The gameplay definitely requires a different sort of approach and some more patience planning with slower gameplay than hm1 but imo its a nice difference between, sometimes the level design is genuinely bad tho(the nightclub level in particular) but other than that, the gameplay is pretty good in general, depending on how much tolerance for this stuff, and the game is worth playing for the story too.
A interesting follow-up to the original, but its not just a sequel, but a prequel and a requel? as well. The ending twist was definitely a surprise haha. The game also has surprisingly a lot to say, and expresses its themes and messages better than the first imo, although there's a certain charm to how hm1 handles it as well.