Hotline Miami 2 is not as good as its predecessor. The level design is noticeably worse than the first Hotline Miami; levels are far less readable and much larger, containing far too many points in which enemies can kill you from off-screen - the cardinal sin of action game design. The end result is that the player is conditioned to approach levels at a slower, far more methodical pace, using doorways as choke points to clear out a room before moving on, rinse, repeat until the chapter is cleared. In HM1, where levels are tighter, more constrained, and dense with enemies, I was powering through like a tornado of violence, clearing rooms in seconds and maintaining massive combos while using a variety of melee and ranged weapons. HM1 feels like driving a sports car at the absolute limit, as you're constantly toeing the line of failure in the pursuit of even more performance. In comparison, HM2 feels like driving an old car on its last legs, strategically managing every turn and intersection to avoid breaking down before you reach your destination.

So yeah, HM2 isn't as Capital G Good as the first game. It is, however, a far more interesting work.

This is an ambitious, sprawling double album versus the the tight, razor-sharp debut that is HM1. HM2's narrative is far more reflexive - on its predecessor, on it's own status as a sequel, on the success of it's creators and the struggles of game development, on violence, the media, sensationalism, the military industrial complex, mental health, and love. It is a frequently confusing, often bloated work that is reaching out to express everything that is on its mind, cohesion and coherency be damned. It doesn't quite know what it wants to say, but it can't hold it in any longer. It is a clear labour of love, a deeply nihilistic passion project, a misunderstood masterpiece that would only ever work as a video game but is unfortunately kind of a bummer to play. It's like a cross between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Pathologic.

It's like The Last of Us 2 if it weren't written by Zionists.