The Hotline Miami series is something I wasn’t ready for more of. The first game was almost a chore to play through at times. I don’t mean a chore like something as mundane as doing the dishes, but a chore where you are forcing yourself to do things in a game that you’re not sure you want to do. You do them over and over again, and yes, you’re having fun doing it, but you know you shouldn’t be.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is an absolute blood bath like its predecessor. The levels are brutally hard and punish you for any lapse in reaction time. Missing a shotgun blast as you plow through a door will result in your body smearing across the floor instead of your enemy’s, forcing you to start the level over.
All the while, the 2D top down game’s bright neon color palate and thumping electronic music assault your other senses. Playing Hotline Miami 2 is exhausting, and I can’t see myself lasting for more than an hour of play in one sitting. Luckily the lines at PAX were long enough that guilt crept in and kept me from hogging the game for too long.
New to Hotline are the character choices in the form of animal masks. These not only change the way your avatar looks, but gives you different weapons to employ in your dirty deeds. You’ll need to try each out to find which works best for you.
Be prepared to try each one a few times. Then try them a few times more. If you’re like me you’re going to die a lot, so repetition will become a familiar friend.
Watching other people play the game is strangely close to being as emotional as playing yourself. Even though you’re brutally murdering bad guys, the challenge completely takes over.
I was routing for whoever was at the controls, and was sickly satisfied whenever they cleared a level. I only felt the full gravity of what we’d accomplished as the player ran out of the building to the getaway van and passes the remains of the nameless thugs.
Hotline Miami 2 is unlike any other game I’ve played and I’m thankful for that. It stands in a class of its own, because I don’t think anyone else has the stamina to keep up with it. I sure don’t, but I’d love to try.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number comes out on PC, Playstation Vita and Playstation consoles in quarter 3 of 2014.
Check Out the Best Cosplay From PAX East 2014!
PAX East 2014 Cosplay
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