I absolutely loved Hotline Miami 1. Had a somewhat decent story, but the gameplay was incredible. A really satisfying gameplay loop that allowed you to experiment how you wanted to complete levels, you have a ton of masks which really switch up the gameplay, everything felt good. Each time you died it felt like you learned from your mistakes and you got better each time. This game however, isn't the same.
For one, the story feels all over the place compared to the first game. You play as, the main guy? Then you play as a detective I think? Then it switches you to some guy in Vietnam for some reason, and you constantly shift from character to character, rather than the first game where you are just one person (IIRC). This game focuses on "main" characters I guess so I suppose it makes sense to let you play as everyone, but at times you don't have a choice on who to play, which is the bad thing. Some of the main characters, the ones with masks, have a unique playstyle that can either make or break the level you are playing, and it just doesn't feel smooth when it forces you to swap characters from level to level.
The other bad thing is enemy placements. In the first game, every death felt fair to an extent. Once again, you learned from mistakes. This game however, its more of "oh you died by that enemy off screen you didn't see. Oh, you died again from the same enemy off screen because he moved. Oh, you died yet again by a different enemy off screen." This destroys a smooth gameplay loop and just leads to constant frustration and hatred towards the enemy placement. What's also annoying is that you will walk into a room with a couple enemies with melee weapons, maybe a dog or two no big deal. But then there's that one guy, the last guy you may have not seen, in the very back corner that shoots you with a gun. He was off screen and you saw him just milliseconds before he kills you.
The last thing I had an issue with is how it seems you are supposed to beat each level. You are expected to bait enemies into a room you are in and ambush them. This is not an engaging way to play and starts to get boring the more you do it. The first game allowed you to get creative with beating levels. This game is all about baiting enemies into a room, which feels like a cheap way to play.
I think I got to the part of the game where [spoiler] you and the gang go to this hotel I think, and you each clear out a floor one at a time and it allows you to play as everyone. Once again though, you are limited to what you can do with a few of the characters. One character for example has deadly fists and can kill enemies in 1-2 hits depending on if its a normal enemy or the big guys. Downside, you can't pick up weapons, so you are really limited in dealing with enemies that use guns against you. There's another character where you play as two people at once, one has a chainsaw and the other has a gun. Sounds great on paper but execution is horrible and buggy. You mainly play as the chainsaw guy but your right click allows the second guy to shoot. The downside, they both aim in the same spot, but the gun guy might not be right behind you, maybe he is lagging behind a couple feet and now you are stuck without your ranged person. If the second guy is not lined up with you in the same spot, his aim will be way off and it screws up your run if you miss. [/spoiler] I quit my game and uninstalled after that part. I had enough with the weird feeling mechanics.
Honestly, if you liked the first game you might like this one. It's not a horrible game, but its definitely inferior to the first.
