despite the obvious twin peaks and steven king influences i have to give this credit for the narrative. its nothing mindblowing yet its kind of lynchian antics kept me entirely invested throughout. at some points i feel this takes itself far too seriously for what often reads as goofy pastiche yet theres some very intriguing concepts at play here - the thomas zane/barbara jagger backstory especially along with the general "darkness" concept is interesting and genuinely eerie at times. wish the characters had a bit more to them, barry is great (and the game improves immensely when hes present) but the rest kind of the supporting cast generally lack interesting characterization. the eponymous hero himself is often pretty dull, to the point where i had trouble believing he was an acclaimed author with how dry the narration was, yet theres definitely potential to him that i hope the sequel will properly harness.

i'd say the major flaw here is the length and repetition. the combat is already clunky enough and after spending hours running through a forest shooting at the same types of enemies with the same weapons... it grows really boring. the movement mechanics are a pain to handle as well. i like the episodic format enough but i feel the tedious gameplay lets it down a bit. more variety couldve helped this game a lot, imo. you could probably lose the bulk of episodes 2-3 without missing much. things do pick up by the 4th, and it shines in the ocassional fun set piece (especially the "children of the elder god" scene, prob one of the most enjoyable i've played) yet the gameplay as a whole is pretty underwhelming.

above all i found this to be quite charming, if not very clunky throughout. wish it was shorter, yet i dont regret playing. solid 7/10.

would rank the episodes 4 > 5 > 6 > 1 > 2 > 3

A few levels are frustrating as shit, yet it's more than made up for by the narrative and themes, which are generally a huge step over the first. Wrong Number functions incredibly well as a sequel, both in its narrative work and general commentary. (e.g. how Jacket's murder spree is treated by the characters, from how his actions are sensationalized in Midnight Animal to those who are directly inspired by it.) As an examination of violence's portrayal in the media, this is oddly great, with much greater nuance and scope than the first. The plot is scattered and often absurd, yet I've had a lot of fun analyzing the crumbs the game provides you with. Also found each character to be compelling enough, in both metaphor and direct text, and quite like how the game attempts to humanize and rationalize with each one in its own way. And yeah, I can't see this franchise reasonably ending in any other manner than it does here. It's both hilarious and deeply uncomfortable, which I'd say summarizes the game well enough as well.

My largest issue comes from level structure. The difficulty doesn't bother me as much as how the conflicts themselves are staged - while I remember the first game allowing for a decent bit of experimentation in style and strategy, a good bit of Wrong Number feels like an elongated game of peek-a-boo, which grows pretty tedious when combined with the sheer number of enemies and variables. (though that should be taken with a grain, i'm kinda shit at these games)

Still a strong 4/5, could see myself upping the rating once I'm a bit further removed from the mildly infuriating gameplay

the combat mechanics are phenomenal. like... shooting bullets out of the air? mario jumping on enemies to kill them? fun as fuck.
but it all feels a tad underdeveloped, as does the often hamfisted narrative. it is executed very well at first, and the mind control concepts being tossed around initially terrified me. but it never really elaborates on those ideas as the game progresses, leaving you with nothing more than "video games control your brain!!" and some overly long cutscene-esque sequences about how video game addiction is bad or whatever. perhaps there's something interseting in how the levels imitate typical action movie scenes, but whatever that was is ultimately buried under the heavyhanded central message. idk, its ultimately an enjoyable experience but also a fundamentally unfulfilling one

posits that even if humanity is irrevocably fucked, even with an end of the world seemingly approaching, it is worth making the changes for our own betterment. it is worth trying to reconstruct from the embers, even in the shadow of an apocalypse, and it is worth forging connections with others. there is value even in the wreckage of humanity, and we will always have the capacity to rebuild from whatever we have left. our links to others are what define and strengthen us throughout our darkest hours. every bit of tedious gameplay is forgivable when confronted with what it serves; the idea that connection is necessary no matter the lengths one goes to.

optimism about the human condition asides, it is also shocking how empathetic this game is on a more minute scale. characters who are set up as villains are treated with such emotional fidelity and have complexity to their actions (there is one exception but i imagine his development is being saved for the second strand type game). the cast of characters are all so memorable and usually quite easy to connect with. malingen, die-hardman, fragile, heartman, etc. clifford unger would have to be my favourite though - mads mikkelsen knocks it out of the park, and his character arc is perhaps the most poignant out of everything here.

admittedly, this game is messy at points, yet that adds a certain endearing nature to it. the sincerity here is something you hardly ever come by. it's so wonderfully dedicated to itself and the story/themes it carries out that i can pardon a few irritating moments here and there. optimistic and earnest and unbelievably human through and through. i cannot thank kojima enough.