Manhunt is a game that felt like it was made with a vision and passion. It had a very consistent aesthetic and oppressive atmosphere. The stealth gameplay was really fun. They had an idea and ran with it. Manhunt 2 feels like a product made because they were told to. It feels like they saw the media response to 1 and decided to push it as far as they could go, without much of an idea where to go. The stealth gameplay is a massive step down. The AI is so inconsistent, ping-ponging between being too smart and too dumb. The level design also feels less inspired and less consistent. I was going to complain about the radar being gone but apparently playing on the second difficulty removes it. I wish I had known that. The guns didn't feel great in 1, but somehow they made them considerably worse. They just don't feel good at all. They feel weak and are far too inaccurate. The story is the only part of the game that felt like they had an idea, but didn't know how to build up a mystery. The twist is incredibly obvious from the first cutscene which led to there being no tension or intrigue throughout the entire thing. At least this one has some alright characters unlike 1 which just had The Director. I played the uncut PC version expecting it to be full of insane gore and violence, but no. It isn't much worse than the first and just like last time, it isn't any worse than any other horror media at the time. Actually while I'm on the subject, this game doesn't feel like a horror game anymore. Manhunt had a great horror atmosphere that 2 just doesn't have. I still think it is an alright game and probably worth a playthrough, but Manhunt is a game I could easily see myself revisiting, I don't think I'll be playing 2 again anytime soon.

Reviewed on Oct 20, 2023


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