I was debating on if I would generally recommend hotline miami 2 for quite a long time, but at the end of the day I think the game is just too amazing in its own way for me not to recommend it.
As a big fan of the first game, I had very high expectations for the 2nd game. I had only seen and heard praise by that point, but after watching an interview with the developers to my surprise, I found out that it was considered pretty bad and people didn't enjoy it very much, especially when the game first launched. I thought there's no way it's that bad, considering how absolutely OBSESSED I had gotten with the first game, and well... it kind of was. KIND OF. Almost every single gameplay aspect in HM2 is very flawed. The hitboxes, hit reg, enemy placement, enemy AI, visibility, map design, doors, oh god the doors... It has its moments, but when it gets bad, it's really damn bad.
I even gave up on playing it the first time, unknowingly very close to finishing it. I only recently actually sat down and just pushed my way though, and I am truly glad I did. The gameplay is very annoying and incredibly unfun at times, and while there's definitely some skill and memorization at play, it's still pretty rng and kind of unfair.
HOWEVER. Everything that isn't gameplay makes this game a masterpiece, and I genuinely cannot stress this enough. I don't know what's better to be honest, the characters, the story, the music, the visuals, it's all absolutely mindblowing. There isn't a single one of those categories that's better than the others, and especially as a sequel (as I said, in terms of everything except for gameplay) the game is literally perfect. It expands on the first game, explaining things that weren't very explored previously and continuing the story. The soundtrack has even more bigger and better bangers than the first one.The ending is incredibly powerful, that's all I've got to say about that without spoiling anything.
Does this game live up to the hype? - Yes, I would say so. Is it a bit overrated when it comes to gameplay? - Yes, absolutely. Is it overrated when it comes to music, story, etc - no, absolutely not.
I guess I should also add that I revisited the first game after beating the 2nd one and honestly, it suffers from a lot of problems as well, more than i remember. So HM2 gets a pass. Play it if you love the 1st one.
