I wish they made this game with the intention of "more Hotline Miami" instead of trying to revolutionize the formula. This game shares the core gameplay of the first game, but the design choices that have been made in this game awfully hindered the enjoyment I had from this game.
What I liked about the original was that there were a lot of ways to play and the game never forced you to play in one way. Hotline Miami 2 demolished this principle of the first game and instead added a lot of gameplay sequences that force you to play as a specific character in a specific style. There were sequences that were just like the first game and those sequences were absolutely amazing, but because of the “forced” sequences my enjoyment never reached the levels I had in the first game. Also, I think difficulty balancing is generally bad. There are sequences that I completed in 4-5 minutes, but sometimes there are sequences that took me 30-45 minutes to complete. This became a major annoyance for me after a while and it made me want to stop playing altogether. Other than that, some new abilities are added but they are not polished and usually junky. Some enemy types here and there but I do not think they are creative or add anything to the gameplay.
Hotline Miami 2 is a generally disappointing sequel to me, the first game was already short and if they just did “more Hotline Miami” it would have been enough on its own. I’m giving it a 6.5/10, in terms of experience this game was one of the most frustrating ones in recent memory.
What I liked about the original was that there were a lot of ways to play and the game never forced you to play in one way. Hotline Miami 2 demolished this principle of the first game and instead added a lot of gameplay sequences that force you to play as a specific character in a specific style. There were sequences that were just like the first game and those sequences were absolutely amazing, but because of the “forced” sequences my enjoyment never reached the levels I had in the first game. Also, I think difficulty balancing is generally bad. There are sequences that I completed in 4-5 minutes, but sometimes there are sequences that took me 30-45 minutes to complete. This became a major annoyance for me after a while and it made me want to stop playing altogether. Other than that, some new abilities are added but they are not polished and usually junky. Some enemy types here and there but I do not think they are creative or add anything to the gameplay.
Hotline Miami 2 is a generally disappointing sequel to me, the first game was already short and if they just did “more Hotline Miami” it would have been enough on its own. I’m giving it a 6.5/10, in terms of experience this game was one of the most frustrating ones in recent memory.