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Hotline Miami 2 is an ambitious and excellent sequel
- Thread starter ScOULaris
- Start date
The Xtortionist
Member
I enjoyed HM2 quite a bit. It's messier compared to the first, but some of the changes were nice. I was actually alright with increasing the number of gun enemies because they create more difficult situations. Melee enemies in HM have always been a non-issue, and while it's fun to tear through them, it isn't really that engaging imo. Also, extending combos by emptying weapons as the Writer is like the best shit ever. Soundtrack is also way better than the first's imo.
Were you always using the extended view? I don't recall enemies offscreening me from that range.
Were you always using the extended view? I don't recall enemies offscreening me from that range.
I thought it was, honest to god, one of the worst sequels I have ever played. It amplified everything that the Hotline Miami formula was NOT good at. Enemies far off screen, tons of windows, stealth sections, armored enemies. It had none of the frenetic, puzzle like nature of the first and more often than not was tedious, unfair, trial and error based bullshit.
Any worth that the admittedly cool narrative had was unfortunately lost on me because by the end I was so desperate to just be done wth the whole thing.
Any worth that the admittedly cool narrative had was unfortunately lost on me because by the end I was so desperate to just be done wth the whole thing.
blame space
Banned
i got stuck at one of the Vietnam commando hideouts, but i really loved it up until that point. great sequel, I'll get back to it sometime.
the windows are brutal, that's true.
the windows are brutal, that's true.
This was nearly impossible to ever use effectively.
The whole game was ambitious yes, but it didn't really work as much as the first. Too many ideas that kind of dead-ended, and the gameplay became more straight up unfair by the end due to the sightlines.
Rabbit Clock
Banned
Hotline Miami 2 is an amazing game. The problem is the difficulty starts where 1 left off. Which means people will cry about it being unfair and broken when they just need to play better.
blame space
Banned
the police station level is crazy
Who were you playing there? I think I recall it being early.
Haunted
Member
I didn't know how they could top the music selection from the first one, but they did it, the mad bastards.
From the pumping adrenaline in Roller Mobster
to the deepest base in Fahkeet
and psychedelic openings like Run
the OST is such a perfectly suited, eclectic mix that absolutely nails everything it sets out to do and then some.
From the pumping adrenaline in Roller Mobster
to the deepest base in Fahkeet
and psychedelic openings like Run
the OST is such a perfectly suited, eclectic mix that absolutely nails everything it sets out to do and then some.
What did he mean by this?
Member
Found it unplayable.
Nah. Skilled players use it here and there, and on Death Wish he had an entire floor structured specifically to highlight that special ability.
Too much emphasis on guns, too many off-screen deaths and too many heavies who now also have guns. HM1 is the better game.
I got up to this part and gave up on it but I may return to it one day.
I got up to this part and gave up on it but I may return to it one day.
Phoenixazure
Member
Still one of the best OSTs bar none. It introduced me and most likely many others to the synthwave genre. I'll always love this game for that reason.
I had almost the same experience OP. I bought this at launch because HLM1 is one of my favorite games, and was surprised to see just how much harder it was... I adapted tho and it was awesome.
Yes, offscreen kills suck and yes, windows fuck you up often, but the design in this game was an interesting change of pace. HLM1 gives you more freedom and the sequel feels more like a puzzle game, but once you truly master HLM2, breezing through levels with almost automated mastery is exhilarating. I went back to the first one after finishing it and it felt so basic that I pretty much platinumed it in a couple of hours... Then proceeded to do the same with the sequel!
Honestly these two games make for such an interesting duology. I could go on and on about it but I feel like OP said it better.
I greatly prefer the sequel in pretty much every way but I love both. Great, great games with genius design and narrative.
Yes, offscreen kills suck and yes, windows fuck you up often, but the design in this game was an interesting change of pace. HLM1 gives you more freedom and the sequel feels more like a puzzle game, but once you truly master HLM2, breezing through levels with almost automated mastery is exhilarating. I went back to the first one after finishing it and it felt so basic that I pretty much platinumed it in a couple of hours... Then proceeded to do the same with the sequel!
Honestly these two games make for such an interesting duology. I could go on and on about it but I feel like OP said it better.
I greatly prefer the sequel in pretty much every way but I love both. Great, great games with genius design and narrative.
TurboKiller
Neo Member
Whatever you say about the level design or gameplay, I think we can all agree the soundtrack was as good if not better than the first game.
Sword Of Doom
Member
I love the first game enough to try and platinum it and I did. I couldn't get into the second game and it just felt like such a forced sequel.
apieceofstrange
Member
Wow, never knew there was so much hate for the sequel. I enjoyed both games quite a bit, but I probably liked the sequel more. It might just have the greatest video game soundtrack of all time too.
rawrhanfoo
Member
game got ridiculously difficult in later levels. still listen to soundtrack on a regular basis. perfect
TheMissingLink
Member
Hated the sequel. Super open level design where you couldn't see enemies off-screen.
It was actually fun being frustrated in HM1, you would just zip back to where you were before...but in HM2, you would have to inch your way and then a person would just zip off-screen and kill you. There goes minutes of progress buhbye.
It was actually fun being frustrated in HM1, you would just zip back to where you were before...but in HM2, you would have to inch your way and then a person would just zip off-screen and kill you. There goes minutes of progress buhbye.
D
Deleted member 102362
Unconfirmed Member
The soundtrack is amazing. Waddup, Carpentur Brut?
IrishNinja
Member
i wouldn't go this far but it did feel like a typical sequel trying to outdo the first (bigger maps! more enemies! more level variants/gimmicks!) that lost much of what made 1 so great in the process
Brian_FETO
Banned
I prefer HM2 to 1, they're different games. I like that the two are meant to coexist. 1 is a lighter and more arcadey experience, 2 takes that and blows it up into a big huge cinematic equivalent
In my opinion, too many levels of 1 can be waltzed through with melee. I never even used guns for majority of the game just because they seemed pointless
2 makes you play differently and I think it's a more fun game for it. I've said it on here before and was told it's a bad excuse, but I like that the difficulty of the second game starts where the first ended and ramps up from there. It makes it feel like playing the first game for the first time.
As far as getting killed from off screen.....I really don't understand where this was such a horrible issue. There's areas that you can't see because they're open but then you use your environment to move up and search the area above. If you die then you restart exactly the same as the first game, it's just another thing the game is teaching you to deal with. It's not different than a stage hazard in any other game. Sure it sucks if you don't know something is there the first time but the game is built around you dying and learning. You aren't supposed to be able to just combo through the whole game the first try
Hard mode is total bullshit and I had to duck out from it around like chapter 15. Hard mode is what people seem to think regular mode is
What I appreciate most about the game is the feeling of confidence in the presentation and style. The intros to each level are so, so good.
Chapter 21 (nightclub) is god-tier Hotline Miami
Soundtrack stomps the first game to bits
In my opinion, too many levels of 1 can be waltzed through with melee. I never even used guns for majority of the game just because they seemed pointless
2 makes you play differently and I think it's a more fun game for it. I've said it on here before and was told it's a bad excuse, but I like that the difficulty of the second game starts where the first ended and ramps up from there. It makes it feel like playing the first game for the first time.
As far as getting killed from off screen.....I really don't understand where this was such a horrible issue. There's areas that you can't see because they're open but then you use your environment to move up and search the area above. If you die then you restart exactly the same as the first game, it's just another thing the game is teaching you to deal with. It's not different than a stage hazard in any other game. Sure it sucks if you don't know something is there the first time but the game is built around you dying and learning. You aren't supposed to be able to just combo through the whole game the first try
Hard mode is total bullshit and I had to duck out from it around like chapter 15. Hard mode is what people seem to think regular mode is
What I appreciate most about the game is the feeling of confidence in the presentation and style. The intros to each level are so, so good.
Chapter 21 (nightclub) is god-tier Hotline Miami
Soundtrack stomps the first game to bits
I played through it hoping I would see some better level design later on but that never ended up happening.
My core issue is that they made melee worthless with the open levels and the guys that are completely immune to it. There's zero flow to the maps unlike in HM1 where eventually you can just glide through the levels like butter, In this its just get gun -->take pot shots -->wait for guys to charge you --> slowly walk against cover ---> repeat. Wasnt fun at all
My core issue is that they made melee worthless with the open levels and the guys that are completely immune to it. There's zero flow to the maps unlike in HM1 where eventually you can just glide through the levels like butter, In this its just get gun -->take pot shots -->wait for guys to charge you --> slowly walk against cover ---> repeat. Wasnt fun at all
breadtruck
Member
This.
But I loved HM2. The first WAS better, Ill agree, but HM2 was great and one of the few games I bothered to play until I beat it.
I still fire it up on various occasions and pick a random level to play again. Many times, the level choice isnt so random, and I just want to jam out to a great song while killing dudes.
I will say the Vietnam levels were full of some serious BS death moments though. Very frustrating on a few occasions.
Piston Hyundai
Member
It's not that you can't flow through the levels without dying like in Hotline Miami 1.
It's just, you know, nowhere near as fun to do so.
It's just, you know, nowhere near as fun to do so.
BurritoBushido
Member
I enjoyed it but does not flow nearly as well as 1. It's super frustrating at times, and entirely too long. Also I think the story was probably more incomprehensible and less enjoyable. Ace soundtrack though
FrontalMonk
Banned
The actor from the movie.
Yeah, definitely. I didn't go back and play either extensively, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with each. If they ever did a HM3 I would be in day 1.
I like that as well; I think it's a pretty interesting choice. It's a hard limit on accessibility to provide an incentive for not only playing but practicing the first, which I think compliments what these games are instead built about and for: replayability. Press R to restart.
In Hotline Miami 1 you can use a few strategies to beat the game. Unless you have truly exceptional reflexes, you need to use every tool at your disposal to win in Hotline Miami 2; by the end you need to use all the strategies. If you want that S you gotta go balls out.
Yeah, I have pretty much the same feeling towards Hotline 2 as the OP and the others who liked it. At first I got really frustrated because I wasn't in the habit of using the far look, and some of the traps are legit bs, but the challenge and variety actually makes the game better.
In Hotline 1 you didn't truly become a matter at the game until you could flow smoothly through the levels racking up massive combos. 2 takes the people who got to that point in 1 and made getting to that point in 2 the real challenge.
There are some spots where being a split second too late or being slightly imprecise in your movement would ruin you, but as you adapt to the level design you start to be able to handle everything. The amount of Hotline players who actually play the game like that is pretty small, though.
In Hotline 1 you didn't truly become a matter at the game until you could flow smoothly through the levels racking up massive combos. 2 takes the people who got to that point in 1 and made getting to that point in 2 the real challenge.
There are some spots where being a split second too late or being slightly imprecise in your movement would ruin you, but as you adapt to the level design you start to be able to handle everything. The amount of Hotline players who actually play the game like that is pretty small, though.
visiblemode
Member
Love it. Loved 1, loved 2 nearly as much. Want 3.
Atraveller
Banned
Ah yes, Hotline Miami 2: Prefire Every Fucking Corner or Start the Whole Level Again, love that game.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Ah yes, "Getting shot from off screen by a shotgun through a window" the game.
I enjoyed it and the story/narrative (and amazing soundtrack) but the game is EXTREMELY frustrating. I platinumed both games but hard mode in HM2 just showed the developers knew about the shotguns and windows meme by amping it up. They actually just add more dudes with shotguns in front of windows in hallways. HM1 felt like you would come up with shit on the fly to live, while 2 feels like doing a perfect run because so many enemies have guns.
Don't even get me fucking started on that boat level on hard.
Awesome final level tho.
I enjoyed it and the story/narrative (and amazing soundtrack) but the game is EXTREMELY frustrating. I platinumed both games but hard mode in HM2 just showed the developers knew about the shotguns and windows meme by amping it up. They actually just add more dudes with shotguns in front of windows in hallways. HM1 felt like you would come up with shit on the fly to live, while 2 feels like doing a perfect run because so many enemies have guns.
Don't even get me fucking started on that boat level on hard.
Awesome final level tho.
Fantastic game. I love everything about it, even the insane difficulty. It's meant for people that destroyed HM1, got A+ in all levels and now want something harder. And damn, it is hard, but so satisfying at the same time, and the brutality of the combat just amplifies it. Dead Ahead on hard mode made me want to smash my monitor, but it was worth it.
Davey Cakes
Member
As one of the game's more prevalent aspects, on occasion there was satisfaction in shooting enemies off screen but it didn't offset the frustration of being killed by enemies of screen. Such a shame.
Oh man, that's great. Haha.
Bl@de
Member
Jawbreaker
Member
I really enjoyed it, OP. I like it just as much as the first.
An absolutely amazing game, the ending blew me away and I don't understand the hate. It clearly builds upon the difficulty of the first game, and if you play properly you won't get blind-sided by enemies or miss them off screen, you can move the camera independent of the character to an extent.