The original Hotline Miami, released in 2012, was a fun, ultraviolent indie hit, but this sequel seems unlikely to mimic its success. It feels more like an expansion pack than a standalone title, and not a good one at that. The once tight and focused room-clearing action has become a dull slog through much larger open levels, with a cripplingly short field of vision. These levels can be approached tactically, but it reduces the pace of the game to a frustrating crawl rather than being the speed-boosted massacre the scoring system encourages. The game’s “bigger is better” approach means larger levels are more tedious to navigate, and while new character abilities do provide some variety, the narrative hampers replayability by restricting which characters can be played in certain levels. The pounding electronic soundtrack and druggy neon aesthetic remain the game’s biggest strengths; the earnest attempt to move its design on from the original is brought down by its larger scale.
