What’s changed most is the scale of the levels. Hotline Miami 2 carries on the same top-down twitch-shooter gameplay and ultra-violent retro art style of the original, shifted only slightly to make things feel fresh. Like the last game, the music is the fuel that drove me forward into each new challenge – and in Hotline Miami 2, there are plenty. The soundtrack, dripping with nervous synth and a pulsing bass, is even better than the last one a moodier and more expansive set of tracks merges appropriately with the symphony of door-busting, skull-crunching, and gun firing you’ll create yourself.
This is a deep dive into an engaging alternate history full of masked fanatics, mobsters, drugs, war, and a few haunting figures from the past. It moves the setting ahead into the grungy ‘90s, but also occasionally whips us back to the mid-’80s in a feverish rollercoaster ride that further unfolds the twisted story. Hotline Miami 2’s style is a smooth continuation of the first game.
