Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Prime Day Deals
  • Superman
  • Donkey Kong Bananza
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Phantom Squad featuring in FGS Live from LA
Third Person Shooters Hotline Miami meets Payday in tactical top-down shooter Phantom Squad
Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot
Action Games Death Stranding 2 may have "a man's hands and legs sliced off by a robotic samurai" but its ESRB rating just revealed the most shocking detail of all: "The word 'f**k' is heard in the game"
Phantom Squad
Third Person Shooters The chaos of Hotline Miami meets the intricate planning of Payday in this hostage-saving Steam Next Fest demo that's absolutely riffing on Die Hard
Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot
Action Games Death Stranding 2 will "allow players that want to fight to do so more freely," Hideo Kojima says, like how Metal Gear Solid 2 "made it a little easier to use weapons"
Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot
Action Games Death Stranding 2 has a "completely hidden mechanic" that lets you fire lethal rounds, meaning voidouts are now inevitable
A living puppet sits on Fragile's shoulder in a Death Stranding 2 PS5 screenshot
Action Games Hideo Kojima wanted Death Stranding 2 to have "a clearer focus on combat," giving players a "range of approaches" including Metal Gear Solid-style stealth
Borderlands 4 screenshot showing a character in a shootout with a big boss
Borderlands Borderlands 4 gets an M rating from the ESRB as it warns of "enemies bursting into chunks" and dialogue such as "I'm gonna go home and have sex with my wife"
  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

Violence may be the only sure thing in Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

Features
By Lucas Sullivan published 19 June 2013

Expect the unexpected

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Don't answer that

Don't answer that

"Do you like hurting other people?" That introspective line of dialogue was but one of many remarkable moments from the original Hotline Miami, last year's ultraviolent indie hit from Dennaton Games. Its neon, acid-soaked visuals and pixelated gore are the first thing that hit you--but there's more going on than meets the eye, as protagonist Jacket drags himself through hazy, half-imagined realities covered in blood, drugs, and animal masks. Expectations for the sequel are high. But the Dennaton duo has more in store than merely meeting the more-but-better quota of your typical follow-up.

"The main word we're working with is 'expectations,'" says Dennis Wedin, who does much of the art for the two-man team behind Hotline. "There's a lot of expectations from the players--what they want the game to be, or not to be." If you think you know what to expect from a Hotline Miami sequel--besides kick-ass music, of course--you might want to think again. Dennaton is ending the Hotline saga with a bang, and we're here to tell you all about it.

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
Expect a larger cast

Expect a larger cast

It's not all about Jacket this time around (bonus Biker levels from the original notwithstanding). "We tried to include [the idea of expectations] within the game," says Wedin. "There's going to be a lot of playable characters, and they all have their own expectations and motivations and agenda for what their part of the game should be." You'll step into the murderous shoes of all new characters this time around, each with their own plot and perception of 1989 Miami.

Some of the new storylines are sequels to the events of the first game's rampage; others are prequels in the mystifying timeline. One thing's for sure, though: Players will ultimately have to decide what's real and what's imagined in the blood-soaked worlds these killers live in. "We're keeping the [same open-ended] approach to the story--you have to fill in the blanks yourself," says Wedin.

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Expect the same skin-crawling brutality

Expect the same skin-crawling brutality

Yes, the iconic animal masks are back--but they've evolved into characters all their own, rather than the multiple personas of the same deranged man. "Instead of just adding volume [for the animal masks], we tried to make them characters, and make each ability more diverse," says Wedin. That individuality starts right from the get-go with the Pig Butcher, a swine-skin wearing psychopath who acts as the killer in a campy slasher flick. The filming of his unnerving teenage slaughter scenes doubles as the game's tutorial.

"The [tutorial] in the first game was pretty shitty," laughs Wedin. "We pretty much added it because we had to. So we tried to do something more interesting with [Hotline Miami 2] by incorporating it into the story." Hotline Miami superfans might recognize the Pig Butcher--he first appeared in the earliest trailer for the original game, but was never playable until now.

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
Expect a new breed of animals

Expect a new breed of animals

Then there are the Fans. This faction of masked vigilantes idolizes Jacket's rampage through the Russian mafia; their leader claims to wear the very same Tiger mask our nameless hero wore in the first game. But with no Russian mobsters left to exterminate, the Fans have resorted to living out their fandom by brutally beating low-life thugs, in the hopes of one day receiving a phone call from the mysterious Janitors. "They kinda symbolize the people that want the sequel to be exactly as the first game," says Wedin.

"You unlock masks, you get phone calls, you walk all the way back to your car after you've killed everyone." The Fans fill that niche nicely for those who just want more of the same. "That [kind of progression] is still gonna be in there," says Wedin, "but we also want to try to do something different. We don't want to make the same game again." In that regard, the Fans take distinct approaches to each massacre. For instance, Tiger still retains his fatal punching power, but can no longer pick up and wield weapons. Zebra can duck out of windows, completely changing the way you move through a level.

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
Expect to feel more

Expect to feel more

Hotline Miami's music is one of its defining traits: driving beats and trippy '80s synth that could elevate any gamer into a nirvana of violent bliss. Hotline Miami 2's soundtrack is as forceful and hypnotic as the first--but this time, there's more of it. Dennaton invited back many of the music artists from the first game, then added in a slew of artists that Dennaton discovered or vice versa.

You'll also get a broader range of reactions to the plot. "We tried to work with other emotions for the player, not just feeling disturbed or awesome, like the first one," says Wedin. "That's still in there, but we also tried to add a bit of sadness to the game. This is the final game; this is the end of Hotline Miami. We're trying to do a comment on [the concept] that 'All things end, eventually.' The characters in the game will all meet their end, in a way--the end of their lives, the end of their mission or agenda. [What matters is] how you cope with meeting the end of the road."

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
Expect more gloriously difficult gameplay

Expect more gloriously difficult gameplay

Part of what made Hotline Miami's exhilaratingly violent gameplay such a white-knuckle, kill-'em-all thrill was the ease with which you could die: one hit, and it's time to restart. HM2 doesn't alter the feverishly challenging formula. "We don't want to meddle too much with the core of the game, because people really love it and we really love it," says Wedin. That said, there will be a Hard Mode this time around, similar to Super Meat Boy's Dark World. Score a high enough grade in a stage, and you'll unlock a brutally tough version of it that strips away your lookout and lock-on abilities from you.

It all harkens back to the old-school games that shaped Wedin's gaming sensibilities--classics like Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, and Contra. "They punish you, and you feel like youre the worst gamer in the world," laughs Wedin. "But as you keep playing, you learn and you get betteryou get into a certain vibe with the game. Dying in a video game is part of the whole experienceyou don't feel angry because you died, you just feel like 'Let's do it again, and this time I might get a little further.'"

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
Killing time

Killing time

So, are you as stoked as we are to don your animal mask once again when HM2 drops later this year? If you've yet to experience the intensity of the original Hotline Miami, we highly recommend you check it out.

If you need a light-hearted break from all that pixelated head trauma, check out 10 signs you're playing too much Animal Crossing: New Leaf and E3 2013 if it had happened in 1983 instead.

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PlayStation Platforms
Lucas Sullivan
Lucas Sullivan
Social Links Navigation

Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them. 

See more PC Gaming Features
Latest in Action
Hollow Knight: Silksong
"SILKSONG IS IMMORTAL AND SO ARE WE": Desperate for answers, Hollow Knight Silksong fans are ritualistically banning mods in savage sacrifice to their fickle god Team Cherry
Death Stranding 2 Sam running through the desert near a derelict city
Death Stranding 2 porter commits to an "agonizing" journey, slowly shuffling over a snowy mountain and ignoring all helpful tools on offer, purely for the love of the game: "I prefer this vibe"
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay running with the Switch 2 upgrade
I wanted to make a beeline for Tears of the Kingdom's ending, but Zelda's Switch 2 upgrade has forced me to slow down
Bayonetta
Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya says if Dragon's Dogma's director didn't take over his hack-and-slash series, "there would have been no Bayonetta"
The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us Part 2 is fast becoming Sony's Skyrim: Naughty Dog has come up with yet another excuse to revisit it – a "chronological experience" update that rearranges the story
Death Stranding 2Sam running to the C1 Distribution Center
Death Stranding 2 players could use monorails to bypass cargo limits on big deliveries, but that's way less cool than this two-truck solution devised by an expert porter: "This is genius"
Latest in Features
Superman kisses Lois Lane in James Gunn's Superman
After years of loveless Marvel and DC movies, I hope Superman and Fantastic Four prove romantic relationships are just as important as world-saving spectacle when it comes to superhero flicks
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay running with the Switch 2 upgrade
I wanted to make a beeline for Tears of the Kingdom's ending, but Zelda's Switch 2 upgrade has forced me to slow down
Heroes 3 screenshot
The greatest strategy RPG ever is making a comeback with the publisher behind Manor Lords, and I'm ready to relive my Behemoth-collecting 2000s
Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2017) screenshot showing Darth Vader walking through a hangar flanked by two stormtroopers
I've spent 11 hours fighting AI in EA's Star Wars Battlefront 2, and it's taking me back to the glory days of PS2 skirmish modes
Dollman is lost in thought in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
This is now a Dollman fan account: Death Stranding 2's puppet pal makes for my favorite PlayStation duo since Ratchet & Clank
Agent 47 on a mission in Hitman: World of Assassination
I'm loving Hitman: World of Assassination on Switch 2, but the game's always-online requirement is worse than ever
  1. A Gundam style mech in Mecha Break
    1
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  2. 2
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  3. 3
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  4. 4
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  5. 5
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  1. David Corenswet as Superman inside the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's Superman.
    1
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  2. 2
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  3. 3
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  4. 4
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  5. 5
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...