Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a 2015 top-down shooter video game co-developed by Dennaton Games and Abstraction Games, and published by Devolver Digital. It takes place before, during, and after the events of Hotline Miami focusing on the backstory and aftermath of Jacket's massacres against the Russian mafia in Miami. The events are told from the perspective of several different characters in numerous locations.
The game was originally conceived as downloadable content for the original game following its commercial success, though planning was turned into a standalone sequel within ten days. It was formally announced at E3 2013 and released worldwide for Linux, OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Windows on 10 March 2015. A localized version released in Japan on June 25, as part of Hotline Miami: Collected Edition. An Android port was released on August 4 of the same year.
The game received a generally positive response from critics, though various aspects were divisive. The soundtrack received critical acclaim, while the narrative and changes to gameplay and level design received a mixed response. A scene depicting sexual assault triggered largely negative feedback from critics, as well as causing the game to be refused classification in Australia. The game was ported onto Nintendo Switch alongside the first game in the Hotline Miami Collection in 2019, which was later ported onto the Xbox One and Stadia in 2020 and the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.
Gameplay
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number plays similarly to its predecessor, Hotline Miami, and is divided into several chapters, each of which is further broken down into several stages. Each chapter is played from a top-down perspective and the objective in most chapters is to defeat every enemy. Each stage has a varied design, typically having large open rooms with many different ways for enemies to approach the player. Most chapters have the player take control of a different character, with the game having thirteen playable characters in total. New mechanics such as dodging and dual wielding are available to certain characters, and the masks mechanic returns for certain characters as well. Some characters have the ability to choose weapons at the start instead of masks, may function as a group of characters for the player to choose from, or will defeat opponents non-lethally.
Both the player and enemies are not resilient, and it may take only one attack from a weapon to kill either immediately. To make up for this, the player is able to quickly restart the current stage after death, allowing the player to rethink and fine-tune their strategy until success. The enemy AI, similarly to the previous game, is unpredictable and will respond arbitrarily. Different enemy types appear as the game progress, such as guard dogs immune to melee attacks, thugs that are immune to everything except bullets, and samurai capable of dodging bullets. The enemy variety in use and the differences in level design can different combat scenarios for the player to overcome. At the end of each stage, the player is given a final score and a letter grade based on their performance, with higher scores allowing the player to unlock more playable characters and weapons. Upon completion of the game, "Hard Mode" is unlocked for levels the player achieved a rank of C+ or higher in. In Hard Mode, enemies are more difficult to take down, weapons have reduced ammo, and abilities such as locking on enemies are restricted.
Exclusively for the versions released on Steam (service), a level editor is included within the game, allowing players to create their own stages. Additional tools are provided such as cutscene and dialog editing, which furthermore can allow players to create their own campaigns. Players can then choose to share their creations onto the Steam Workshop service, where players are able to download and play creations from others.
Synopsis
Characters and setting
The plot of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is told in an anachronistic order during, before, and after the events of the original, focusing on events in 1985, 1989, and 1991. Following the events of Hotline Miami, the player character, "Jacket", has been arrested after being manipulated into killing off the leadership of the Russian Mafia by 50 Blessings, a neo-nationalist terror cell that masquerades as a peaceful activist group, gaining nationwide infamy.