A slow burn Spiral into Madness
If Hotline Miami was the time everyone had simple fun, without much care in the world. Hotline Miami 2 is the horrible hangover and the direct response at what happened after and before the first game.
You take the role of multiple protagonist, way more than in the first game. Each with little gameplay quirks while not being totally different from one another. Each one having to deal with their very own problems throughout the game, all tied with the events of the first game.
The story is fractured in little fragments so you'll have to piece together those events if you really want to experience something that makes more or less sense. The gameplay is exactly the same as the first, take down every enemy on the floor and keep moving until everyone is dead. It really isn't that complicated for a game loop. It can be enjoyed while being a bit hard at times if you are not patient enough and just threat it like the first game. Be careful approaching this game.
If you want my quick opinion of it I think it's a great sequel to an already great game, everything is aplified, expanded and enhanced on some of the areas the original that lacked polish. Though, it won't be as simple as the first as I said before and this game wants you to get invested in what it offers.
So far what I said it's the general description of the game. What people could expect jumping from the first or game or like me and started with this one in particular. But it goes a lot, more deeper than that. I took notes with what this game tried to do, so if you want to keep reading it's going to get a lot dense from here on out.
Hotline Miami 2 are the rammifications of the first game, in general. Critics, fans, new players, and even the reception of people not affilated with games at all. Hotline Miami was both acclaimed critically and by fans, or those who eventually turned into one with this game. But Hotline Miami 2 changed some of the fundamentals or the core pillars of why people liked the first game, a big tone shift. You know, the neon lights replaced with a somewhat less picturesque color palette. The fun psychedelic party-like songs replaced with melancholic or overly agressive tunes and so on.
The characters went into a big shift as well. Instead of 2, we get a total of 12. Some get more screentime than others and affect the story in a greater or lessen extent than others but everyone all contribute to the story, the symbolisms and the general message this game tries to convey by the end.
Every character for better or for worse replicates what Jacket and Biker, the protagonist of the first game did back in 1989. Take for example Martin Brown, the Pig. He's star actor of a slasher movie. The events that inspired the movie are loosely based on the story of Jacket and the Russian Mafia. As the movie goes on, his reality starts to break and take the role more seriously than needed perphaps, he starts acting like The Pig outside of the movie studio. What is real and what is not starts to be a challenge for him, this is a constant for some Hollywood actors already and their personality changes overtime because of it. What was supossed a movie to make a quick buck on the events of Jacket, turned his main actor into a maniac. That very same movie wasn't even the correct interpretation of Jacket's story, instead they portray him as a lunatic murder with an animal mask that kidnapped girls because he wanted to. This perspective can be shared for the people that saw the original Hotline Miami and didn't really understood the action of Jacket and decided to spread only superficial information and didn't want to go deeper than it, what can be visually shocking. I can personally attribute this either bad journalism, or even the press those who didn't got the message and still decided to speak their mind about it. What I just explained is presented in a matter of two levels.
On the other hand we have Evan Wright, the Writter. He's in charge of investigating the events of the first game. As he goes along his journey he will try to interview people that may or have not been involved with the Russian Mafia incident back in 1989. His main gameplay gimmick is that he doesn't "hurt" people in the way we really know. Yeah, he doesn't kill at first glance he just knocks them off and leaves them unconscious. A man who go obsessed with the case, so much so he was consantly risking his life for so little information the goons and the mafia were able to provide to him. He never had to be involved, unlike Biker but he wanted to. This character mirrors the people that wanted to really make sense of the events of Hotline Miami, the first one. The friendly and non violent actions of Evan can be reflected through the people that made theories about the first game and got obsessed by it. Both of them turn crazy at the end of their story arcs. Evan with his book that never got finished and Martin when his reality shifted at the "Final Cut" of the movie. And this are just 2 of 12 examples, 2 that I thought were the most important and that can easily relect what I meant.
There are countless examples out of the 12 characters, reflecting the reception of the first game, and Dennaton just made a story out of it. The story is full of symbolisms and hidden meanings that can't be noticed in the first playthough. If it never made sense to you, try to interpret what this characters meant. Even while playing you'd feel the characters personality while killing their enemies, though it may comes just as incosistency in design at first glance.
Let's moves to something more easy to digest. The levels themselves, aren't they any good? Yes, and no. The levels are bigger than the first game and are more spacious as well. My personal advice is to threat this game with patience, even I after 500 hours can't complete some levels without dying on Hard Difficulty. There aren't many scripted sections in this game outside of gameplay, is all mostly straightforward to the end and if possible a cutscenes that puts the level you played in context. This is the reason I lowered half a star, people can get to annoyed the first time around and feel it isn't their fault and I think they are right, it can get very overwhealming to some.
Believe or not the technical state of Hotline Miami 2 is miles ahead Hotline Miami. When it comes to enemy hit detection is much more accurate, and the AI while not perfect it's in a much better state and prepared for combat, makes so much sense after you get use to it. I won't even talk about the music, you know it's good.
Those were the main factors that made fall in love with this game. It's subersive while at the same time being more Hotline Miami with a twist so it isn't what you expect but at the same time you are familiar with it. Everything a sequel should strive for.
If Hotline Miami was the time everyone had simple fun, without much care in the world. Hotline Miami 2 is the horrible hangover and the direct response at what happened after and before the first game.
You take the role of multiple protagonist, way more than in the first game. Each with little gameplay quirks while not being totally different from one another. Each one having to deal with their very own problems throughout the game, all tied with the events of the first game.
The story is fractured in little fragments so you'll have to piece together those events if you really want to experience something that makes more or less sense. The gameplay is exactly the same as the first, take down every enemy on the floor and keep moving until everyone is dead. It really isn't that complicated for a game loop. It can be enjoyed while being a bit hard at times if you are not patient enough and just threat it like the first game. Be careful approaching this game.
If you want my quick opinion of it I think it's a great sequel to an already great game, everything is aplified, expanded and enhanced on some of the areas the original that lacked polish. Though, it won't be as simple as the first as I said before and this game wants you to get invested in what it offers.
So far what I said it's the general description of the game. What people could expect jumping from the first or game or like me and started with this one in particular. But it goes a lot, more deeper than that. I took notes with what this game tried to do, so if you want to keep reading it's going to get a lot dense from here on out.
Hotline Miami 2 are the rammifications of the first game, in general. Critics, fans, new players, and even the reception of people not affilated with games at all. Hotline Miami was both acclaimed critically and by fans, or those who eventually turned into one with this game. But Hotline Miami 2 changed some of the fundamentals or the core pillars of why people liked the first game, a big tone shift. You know, the neon lights replaced with a somewhat less picturesque color palette. The fun psychedelic party-like songs replaced with melancholic or overly agressive tunes and so on.
The characters went into a big shift as well. Instead of 2, we get a total of 12. Some get more screentime than others and affect the story in a greater or lessen extent than others but everyone all contribute to the story, the symbolisms and the general message this game tries to convey by the end.
Every character for better or for worse replicates what Jacket and Biker, the protagonist of the first game did back in 1989. Take for example Martin Brown, the Pig. He's star actor of a slasher movie. The events that inspired the movie are loosely based on the story of Jacket and the Russian Mafia. As the movie goes on, his reality starts to break and take the role more seriously than needed perphaps, he starts acting like The Pig outside of the movie studio. What is real and what is not starts to be a challenge for him, this is a constant for some Hollywood actors already and their personality changes overtime because of it. What was supossed a movie to make a quick buck on the events of Jacket, turned his main actor into a maniac. That very same movie wasn't even the correct interpretation of Jacket's story, instead they portray him as a lunatic murder with an animal mask that kidnapped girls because he wanted to. This perspective can be shared for the people that saw the original Hotline Miami and didn't really understood the action of Jacket and decided to spread only superficial information and didn't want to go deeper than it, what can be visually shocking. I can personally attribute this either bad journalism, or even the press those who didn't got the message and still decided to speak their mind about it. What I just explained is presented in a matter of two levels.
On the other hand we have Evan Wright, the Writter. He's in charge of investigating the events of the first game. As he goes along his journey he will try to interview people that may or have not been involved with the Russian Mafia incident back in 1989. His main gameplay gimmick is that he doesn't "hurt" people in the way we really know. Yeah, he doesn't kill at first glance he just knocks them off and leaves them unconscious. A man who go obsessed with the case, so much so he was consantly risking his life for so little information the goons and the mafia were able to provide to him. He never had to be involved, unlike Biker but he wanted to. This character mirrors the people that wanted to really make sense of the events of Hotline Miami, the first one. The friendly and non violent actions of Evan can be reflected through the people that made theories about the first game and got obsessed by it. Both of them turn crazy at the end of their story arcs. Evan with his book that never got finished and Martin when his reality shifted at the "Final Cut" of the movie. And this are just 2 of 12 examples, 2 that I thought were the most important and that can easily relect what I meant.
There are countless examples out of the 12 characters, reflecting the reception of the first game, and Dennaton just made a story out of it. The story is full of symbolisms and hidden meanings that can't be noticed in the first playthough. If it never made sense to you, try to interpret what this characters meant. Even while playing you'd feel the characters personality while killing their enemies, though it may comes just as incosistency in design at first glance.
Let's moves to something more easy to digest. The levels themselves, aren't they any good? Yes, and no. The levels are bigger than the first game and are more spacious as well. My personal advice is to threat this game with patience, even I after 500 hours can't complete some levels without dying on Hard Difficulty. There aren't many scripted sections in this game outside of gameplay, is all mostly straightforward to the end and if possible a cutscenes that puts the level you played in context. This is the reason I lowered half a star, people can get to annoyed the first time around and feel it isn't their fault and I think they are right, it can get very overwhealming to some.
Believe or not the technical state of Hotline Miami 2 is miles ahead Hotline Miami. When it comes to enemy hit detection is much more accurate, and the AI while not perfect it's in a much better state and prepared for combat, makes so much sense after you get use to it. I won't even talk about the music, you know it's good.
Those were the main factors that made fall in love with this game. It's subersive while at the same time being more Hotline Miami with a twist so it isn't what you expect but at the same time you are familiar with it. Everything a sequel should strive for.