I mean, it's almost as if they traveled forwards in time, read my review of the first game, saw the things I wished were improved, saw the things I didn't like, and just improved all of them.

The gameplay feels so much tighter than the first one, the graphics are frankly beautiful, the voice acting is better, even the story is better. My biggest issue with the first game's story was how generic it was due to it being so influential to future games. This game, while it still has some classic beats of detective thrillers and crime dramas, had a much more compelling and unique story. I was engaged the entire time.

This is also where you can start to really see the Remedy branding come in to play. The first game had a lot of features that are absolutely reminiscent of modern Remedy, but this is where you really see that flower blooming. Specifically, the various TV spots like Lords and Ladies and Address Unknown really add so much character, there are so many fun dream sequences/set pieces, and without spoiling anything, the Vincent Gognitti part screamed Remedy.

I described the first game as having a lot of potential to be one of my favorite games of all time if the remake irons out my issues with it. I dare say that Max Payne 2 COULD be on that favorites list, and I will say with certainty that it's going on my Honorable Mentions list as soon as I post this review.