“Do you like hurting other people?” was asked to the protagonist of Hotline Miami, and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number’s answer is undoubtedly “Yes.” This sequel to the indie, retro-style, top-down shooter puts the strengths of the previous game into a boombox and cranks them up to 11. There’s no better time to hop back in your car and cruise through Miami once again.
Where Hotline Miami wasn’t completely honest with its plot before the climax, Hotline Miami 2 has several plots that aren’t all during the ‘80s. Hotline Miami 2 circles around the first game’s massacre of the Russian mafia by putting the gears in forward, reverse, and also putting on the brake to explore other perspectives around that time.
There are multiple protagonists in different yet interesting settings that are dealing with specific problems in their own ways. Like its predecessor, everyone communicates through text-based cutscenes and talking heads.
For past events, you can play as someone like Beard, Jacket’s best friend from the original game, and learn that he and Jacket were enlisted during the Russo-American war. His chapter explains why the patriotic organization 50 Blessings wanted the Russian mafia dead, the origins of Beard’s catchphrase, “It’s on the house,” and the Polaroid photo Jacket discarded at the end of Hotline Miami.
During the massacre, players can play as Jake, someone Jacket found as a corpse and took the mask of. Playing as this hard-headed Confederate shows how he ended up where he did, but playing carefully opens up more about 50 Blessings.
Moving into the ‘90s, The Fans’ chapters are standouts. It follows five veterans who embark on a Russian killing spree after being inspired by Jacket’s actions without understanding what really occurred. They weren’t contacted by 50 Blessings but were more focused on having five minutes of fame. Their chapters will please fans because of how close of an experience they are to the original game.
Some tales intertwine, explaining events of others. For example, when someone investigates a crime scene, they find a tarp covering a body outside the building with a huge blood spatter underneath. In another chapter, a character ends up crossing a rainbow bridge on the rim of the building while high, when in reality, he walked off the roof.
Not everything in Hotline Miami 2 is grounded in reality. The psychedelic nature of the game is enhanced with surreal, nightmarish situations, making everyone question their morality. They mostly come in the form of characters putting on a rooster mask that Jacket became notorious for and discussing pending consequences.
Unlike the first Hotline Miami, Wrong Number doesn’t always allow wiggle-room in terms of playstyle. How you’ll tackle situations is based on your character.
Playing as Evan, a writer, his playstyle is innocent-ish. He only knocks people out, won’t use blades, and unloads guns that he grabs. Although, if he draws blood too many times while beating someone unconscious, he’ll remove his shirt, reveal his muscles, and will have no problem killing anyone.
His motivations for killing don’t compare to someone like Son, the son of the mafia’s previous leader, killing for territorial gain. Unlike Evan, you choose whether Son can perform a dodge-roll, initially dual-wield two submachine guns, or restrictedly wear brass knuckles for killing punches.
This reveals one big drawback: For what few options you’re infrequently given with different characters offering them, some feel too similar. This goes for Son’s abilities especially, because Corey, Mark, and Tony from The Fans have the exact same ones.
Hotline Miami 2 is more difficult than the last game, despite having similar gameplay. It keeps the one-hit-kill system but throws you into bigger areas. An off-screen bullet is all it takes to restart. Luckily, restarting only takes a second, and to balance the difficulty, the lock-on system targets the person closest to your crosshair, even off-screen.
Your score is still based on your performance, time, and flexibility. This opens replay value to get a higher score. Be on the move, be varied, and stay frosty.
Music has also stepped up. Since the ‘90s was when music became hardcore, sound is booming and shaking the ground. That’s fitting when tracks like “Roller Mobster,” “Run,” and “Fahkeet” remind you this game is about characters killing for what they believe is the greater good. It is perhaps one of the best modern video game soundtracks to date.
Hotline Miami 2 stands tall as a sequel. While brightening its greatest strengths of gruesome violence over synthwave tracks and neon lights, its greatest improvement is its narrative. All of it comes together to say that you can’t outrun the past, but it’s so hard to resist playing anyway when the ‘80s is calling in such a demanding tone.
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