Dennaton Games goes against that mantra and does its best to create an ‘Empire Strikes Back’-esque sequel with Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Does it work? Does it fall on its face? Does it bring about the same feeling that the George Lucas led prequels brought about? Let’s dig into it.
The core gameplay of Hotline Miami 2 is essentially the same as the first. You acquire a gun, you strategize how you’re going to enter a room to take out bad guys and you keep dying until you get it right. That same sadistic jewel of enjoyment is intact and Dennaton Games has wisely chosen not to touch it, which is fabulous. As the old saying goes, you don’t mess with a good thing. So, if you’re wanting the same type of core gameplay in Wrong Number that you found in the original game, then you won’t be disappointed.
On the story side of the equation, there are multiple storylines going on. From a psyched out movie director trying to make a film about a serial killer, to a cop trying to do the right thing, to a drug dealer just wanting out of his life as a thug; there’s plenty going on here and not all of it is connected. The overall narrative is a bit messy and disjointed, but the crazy talking masks are the one constant throughout each small tale. Honestly speaking, I wasn’t shooting for an incredible Academy Award winning script for Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. Rather, I just wanted more of the same gameplay with some challenges thrown in to mix things up. In that department I wasn’t disappointed one bit, well at least on the attempts. If story had to be judged, though, I would say everything wasn’t completely thought through and connected. I’m not entirely sure that was intentional or not, but it is what it is.
So what has changed? Well, Dennaton threw a few gameplay changes into the mix that don’t necessarily hurt the core gameplay, but offer up new challenges. Some of them work extremely well, while others are so-so at best. One of the more interesting changes is offering up multiple storylines that have our lead characters going into unique and different scenarios with certain sets of rules on how the scenarios can be handled. For example, there is a jungle scenario where your character is armed with a knife and a gun. The gun can’t be switched out once it’s out of ammo, rather you have to find ammo to reload the gun. If you can’t find the ammo, then you’re stuck with a knife. That works fine, except when you run into a character that can’t be knifed — then you’re shit out of luck. It’s an interesting mix from the formula that made this game great, and it works to an extent. At the very least it offers up quite the challenge. You will have to decide who deserves a bullet and who deserves a knife, which is not an easy choice in a game like this.
What about the other side of the equation, you ask? Well, there is a particular stage early on where you are forced to control two people at once. Let me repeat that for you, YOU control TWO people at once, which, much like communism, doesn’t sound too bad on paper until you realize you can’t play the piano, and thus can’t orchestrate both your hands to do separate movements at once. It’s insanely difficult, especially when one your guys has a chainsaw, while the other totes a gun. Difficult? Incredibly. Doable? Yes, but clunky. Essentially, your left hand controls the chainsaw guy with the left thumbstick, while the left bumper button (yep, I use a 360 controller) controls the firing of the gun from the other person, who thankfully aims on his own. The problem here lies within controlling the gun guy, who is a follower in this situation. Sometimes you have to run in with the chainsaw guy to stir things up, while the gun toting criminal fires from behind. It doesn’t work so well most of the time and you have to be careful about your environment.
So, where does the problem with this lie? When your gun guy gets stuck behind objects and can’t work his way out — even if you go back and try to help him out. It’s clunky at best and adds unnecessary frustration to the level, which you’ll just want to run through quickly to get out of. Is it bold of Dennaton Games to try something like this? Yes, but it simply creates a situation where you’re playing a stage just to get through it and not for ‘fun’ reasons, which is never a good feeling. Frustrating your gamers to change their strategy is one thing, and something that is thick within the Hotline Miami series, but frustrating your gamers because something is clunky won’t get the job done. There are a couple more examples of this, but I think this is the worst of the bunch. It doesn’t happen too often, though, which is a great thing, but it does happen.
Now, having said that, a positive addition, and one that was quite fun, was the inclusion of a police detective, who has the choice of simply knocking people out, and avoiding a massacre, or going nuts. This is an early stage in the game and one that changed the feel of the game a bit. When you play this stage the detective is raiding a place trying to disarm everyone, which is essentially just knocking people out. This means you don’t pick up weapons, rather you throw out ammo from guns and move on. That is tough to handle for an entire stage, but a fun challenge nonetheless. Should you just want to go in and go haywire on everyone, you have the opportunity to do so. Once you pin someone down and beat them into submission, if you go overboard and beat them literally into a pulp, then your guy will throw off his shirt and you’ll be able to do anything you want. The choice is up to you during this stage and it offers up a new type of challenge, which is great. It’s a positive addition to the series.
Overall, the gameplay is still fun with the least amount of hiccups along the way. It offers up some new things that help to up the ante, but not too much. You certainly win more in the gameplay department then you lose.
On the presentation side of the game, it still maintains that raw, 1986 NES look to it. The level design is still restrictive to the eyes, which helps to keep the original gameplay formula intact. Dennaton threw in a few new things into the mix to help improve the levels a little. One big thing, though it’s more eye candy than anything else, is interactive pieces in the environment. For example, you can bust a television set, move clothes racks and other various little things that might not matter when playing, but still is fresh to the level design. Much like everything else in the sequel, some improvements are unnecessary, but ultimately the new improvements don’t hurt the core gameplay that people love about Hotline Miami.
Something that did not improve, mainly because you can’t go beyond perfection, is the music. The music is one of the best parts of the game. The variety of techno and harsh, badass rhythm helps to lead and propel the game into musical greatness. If they sold the soundtrack to this game separately, I would be all over it like gamers to Fallout 4. Yes, dear readers, the music is just that good. In the span of 10-minutes after launching this, I had two separate people walk into my office and ask me what music I was playing because they really liked it. That is always a good sign for a game soundtrack.
In terms of fun, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is another sadistic adventure in a bloodbath led world of frustration and the need to maintain patience. Not everything works in the sequel, but having another go at the same type of core gameplay makes this $14.99 price tag worth it.