Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

 PC
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 67 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 67
  3. Negative: 4 out of 67
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Apr 13, 2015
    74
    On its own, HM2 could be classified as an ‘indie hit’: it has challenging gameplay, great soundtrack and even a nuclear blast, – but it cannot hold its ground when compared to the first Hotline Miami. [May 2015, p.70]
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  2. CD-Action
    Apr 30, 2015
    70
    It’s not that I regret those couple of hours I spent with Wrong Number, but for every advantage there’s a drawback, for every ‘I had fun’ there’s a ‘but’ and for every ‘wow!’ there’s a ‘meh’. [05/2015, p.50]
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  3. Games.cz
    Apr 7, 2015
    70
    New ideas are part good and part bad for the wildest action game you can get these days. When Wrong Number relies on its strengths, it overcomes the original. Unfortunately, the game does not do it nearly as often as it could.
  5. Gameplanet
    Mar 23, 2015
    70
    Hotline Miami 2 boasts a much larger scope than its predecessor but to its detriment the game insists on channelling players through an optimal path. A competent follow-up.
  6. ZTGD
    Mar 19, 2015
    70
    For fans of the series, there’s a lot more Hotline Miami to play here and it still has its moments. For newcomers or people that didn’t get into the first game, it may be a difficult one to get on board with. Review copy of game provided by publisher.
  7. GameTrailers
    Mar 17, 2015
    70
    It’s an audacious game that takes risks and embraces experimentation. When so many franchises seem content on retreading the same ground, Hotline Miami 2 feels like an important, if often frustrating asset.
  8. Gamer.nl
    Mar 16, 2015
    70
    Hotline Miami 2 offers the same bloody action puzzles as the original and is a thrill to play. Everything that is different from its predecessor is quite the opposite, they just don't work.
  9. Eurogamer Poland
    Mar 15, 2015
    70
    Wrong Number fulfills its purpose and offers a good, brutal and challenging game, but nothing more.
  10. Attack of the Fanboy
    Mar 12, 2015
    70
    Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number lives up to original in a number of ways, even outpacing it in terms of stylistic violence. With a story that's all over the map, and constraints often placed on the player, Hotline Miami 2 takes away some of the fun from the original game -- just not all of it.
  11. The Escapist
    Mar 11, 2015
    70
    Not as good as the original, Hotline Miami 2 delivers a flawed dose of the high speed ultra violence that's fun but not essential.
  12. GamesRadar+
    Mar 10, 2015
    70
    Adding good new ideas to the formula, but unable to implement them without diluting the overall experience, Hotline Miami 2 isn’t a disaster, but certainly lacks the original’s fiery vitality.
  13. TheSixthAxis
    Mar 10, 2015
    70
    Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is an entertaining game, at least for the majority of its play time.
  14. VideoGamer
    Mar 10, 2015
    70
    Ultimately, Hotline Miami 2 improves upon its predecessor in a way that is pleasing, but non-essential. And to get there, it undercut the one thing that made the original great. Hotline Miami was nasty, brutish, and short. Hotline Miami 2, sadly, is not.
  15. DarkStation
    Mar 25, 2015
    60
    Hotline Miami’s difficulty already kind of bordered into unfair territory, so it’s likely that fans of the original will be able to forgive this sequel’s faults. It does absolutely nothing to attract new fans, but then, no one was asking it to.
  16. CGMagazine
    Mar 23, 2015
    60
    Wrong Number, more than a direct continuation, is an expansion and affirmation of Hotline Miami’s themes.
  17. Dealspwn
    Mar 23, 2015
    60
    In an effort to be bigger than the original, Hotline Miami 2 bloats the arcade gameplay of the original into an grinder that punishes risk-taking and frequently feels irritating or unfair, not satisfyingly tough.
  18. Giant Bomb
    Mar 20, 2015
    60
    Where Hotline Miami felt lithe and creative, Hotline Miami 2 often feels sluggish and inflexible. There's fun to be had with this sequel, but it's the kind that only the original game's most ardent and obsessive fans will find in great supply.
  19. Gamer.no
    Mar 16, 2015
    60
    Hotline Miami 2 is a crazy, blood pounding, neon infused experience that tries to both celebrate and condemn the ultraviolence on screen. It's a high that leaves you both euphoric and nauseous at the same time, as you struggle against the unbalanced design and frustrating difficulty.
  20. IncGamers
    Mar 11, 2015
    60
    Hotline Miami 2 is certainly worth a purchase from anybody who played the original over and over, but don't expect it to hit the same heights.
  21. PCGamesN
    Mar 10, 2015
    60
    It’s just not as enjoyable. The first game felt like a focused blast of adrenaline. Hotline Miami 2’s always stopping and starting, its new characters feel rough and buggy, and the new reliance on guns restricts how you can approach combat.
  22. PC Gamer
    Mar 10, 2015
    57
    Restrictive design decisions sap the energy from a series that revels in it, and technical issues deal the killing blow.
  23. Edge Magazine
    Apr 24, 2015
    50
    Many of the new additions do not work. [May 2015, p.116]
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  24. Game Revolution
    Mar 12, 2015
    50
    However, these added touches and wonderful, momentary glimpses of what Hotline Miami 2 could have been only stand to make the game more disappointing.

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 808 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 551 out of 808
  2. Mixed: 168 out of 808
  3. Negative: 89 out of 808
  1. Riskyreview
    Mar 10, 2015
    10
    Even better then the first is the only way to describe this game!
    The gameplay is better the story is much more engaging then the first and    Even better then the first is the only way to describe this game!
    The gameplay is better the story is much more engaging then the first and the music is absolutely astonishing!
    Buy it and buy it now you even get a mask for Payday 2 if you're into that!    … Full Review »
  2. Cattington
    Mar 10, 2015
    3
    The level design of this game is so bad, it makes the deserved success of the first game seem like an accident. Instead of having a franticThe level design of this game is so bad, it makes the deserved success of the first game seem like an accident. Instead of having a frantic fast paced feel, where you improvise your way through levels, you get a sluggish game where you find yourself constantly expecting yourself to get shot by someone off screen. The camera is tight and narrow, and even using the awkward hold-shift-to-look function, enemies will still shoot you from off screen. It takes agonizing memorization of randomized enemies to make progress through some levels. Utterly disappointing.… Full Review »
  3. Hardycore
    Mar 10, 2015
    5
    I'm not all that impressed. The game doesn't feel like a part 2. It feels as if you're still playing the original game. Things look the same,I'm not all that impressed. The game doesn't feel like a part 2. It feels as if you're still playing the original game. Things look the same, feel the same, work the same and in general, most things are the same. The few changes the game has, aren't for the better. It seems as if the AI is even worse this game and, to be honest: It already was the worst thing of the game in the original.

    Sometimes you can sneak up on opponents, without them even having the slightest possiblity of knowing; yet, they turn around and shoot you before you can even blink. On the other hand, it can also happen you shoot at them with a shotgun. Pieces of glass are flying through the air and yet they have no clue there is someone there. It was already much like this in the original but it feels as if this game does even worse.

    The soundtrack didn't get me pumped like the original did. Now, this is of course different for everyone but in my opinion, it isn't as good as the original was.

    The storyline... is... not that interesting either. Of course, the previous game had no real storyline. The whole idea was to show people games can be great without a good storyline. Yet, I was intrigued. The dark atmosphere; the feeling of someone losing their mind; it worked. Even though it didn't really make sense... it felt as if it did.

    This game, everything constantly changed. Then you were this guy, then you were this guy. The story is original, but... It just wasn't interesting to me,

    The only thing I really like about this game is it's difficulty. The first few levels are already harder than most of the levels in the original game. This definitely is nice, although it also has a lot to do with the terrible AI.

    I can't help but feel disappointed. A little scammed, even, because I think the original is actually better and that one was for free. Of course the game is still fun. The original was great, so it's not all that bad it's more of the same, but with a previous game like that, I expected more of this.    … Full Review »
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