Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 300 sampled Steam reviews (266 positive / 34 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing18% mention it
- Music & audio10% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing35% mention it
- Bugs & crashes15% mention it
- Controls & UI15% mention it
- World & exploration12% mention it
- Combat12% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
83%
58 reviews
5-15h
88%
110 reviews
15-40h
92%
85 reviews
40-100h
94%
36 reviews
100h+
82%
11 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 74 | 21 |
| Creator reviews (2 tracked) | – | 75 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 94% | 89 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 83 | 53 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 94% | 88 | 237 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 676 total reviews in window · weighted 222 up / 14.9 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (100)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“It's a great game. One I almost hate. One I find spiteful and cruel and perhaps even somewhat abhorrent. A game that's beautiful as well as hideous, that makes me feel queasy while keeping me thoroughly fascinated. Like a bizarre medical experiment, or a mime silently eating its own hands.”
read full review ↗ - 20
“The subtitle of Hotline Miami 2 should read "Wrong Decade."”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number relies heavily on the story, which doesn’t really suit me. I’m bothered by how the significance of the masks has been pushed to the background and by the style of the missions, which are designed to tell a story. The long dialogues ruin the dynamic, and the new gameplay features don’t help much. On the contrary, some things, like the enemies’ stupid AI, haven’t been improved at all. On the other hand, if you get into the game and develop a taste for it, get ready for some hardcore carnage that won’t give you anything for free and will keep you hooked for a long time. The core gameplay remains the same. But if I had to choose, I’d rather play the first game.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“It's essentially a glorified DLC pack of new levels, plus a level editor for folks who want to make their own murder rooms. The exact people who Dennaton Games were supposedly condemning in their first title are, apparently, the exact audience of people whose money they would like to take, again and again. I guess they figure those people like rape and torture, too, plus more methodical killing. Maybe they're right, but it's too bad, since it comes at the expense of making a game that has anything whatsoever to offer beyond phoned-in grindhouse schlock.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“The first game, like a precocious child, asked a simple question: "Why do we like killing?" Wrong Number, like a disillusioned teen reading Vonnegut and lighting up a spliff, asks back: "Why do we, like, kill?"”
read full review ↗ - 65
“A convoluted storyline designed to pad out the game's length and some questionable level design which departs from the series' 'tough but fair' appeal makes this title weaker than its predecessor, but yet another sublime soundtrack, larger, even more brutally difficult stages, and a finely tuned gameplay experience helps to somewhat salvage things.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“In trying to go bigger and better with Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, the majority of what made the original so good has been lost. Levels are far too large, many enemies cannot be seen, and the mask system is effectively done away with for a poor substitute. This is still Hotline Miami; it's just not as exhilarating. Ironically, the planned level editor may be what saves it, where fans can potentially create surpassing stages akin to those found in the first game. For now, though, if yet to taste either title in the series, definitely make sure to buy the prequel over this for the ultimate and most thrilling experience.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Hotline Miami 2 is certainly worth a purchase from anybody who played the original over and over, but don't expect it to hit the same heights. Wrong Number? If only.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is certainly worth giving a go if you revel in action and the thrill of risk/reward situations. While newcomers may be left in the dark, fans of the first game will most likely complete it feeling pleased and satisfied. All things considered, Dennaton Games' second Hotline outing isn't quite as spectacular as it could have been, thanks to some flaws in its level design, but that isn't enough to make it anything less than great.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“For fans of the series, there's a lot more Hotline Miami to play here and it still has its moments. For newcomers or people that didn't get into the first game, it may be a difficult one to get on board with.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“While not as groundbreaking as the original, Wrong Number brings more of what made Hotline Miami so great: puzzles, fast-paced action and a soundtrack that can't be contained.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Not as good as the original, Hotline Miami 2 delivers a flawed dose of the high speed ultra violence that's fun but not essential.”
read full review ↗
The Jimquisition
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
Paste Magazine
The A.V. Club
VGChartz
Cubed3
PC Invasion
Push Square
ZTGD
Tom's Guide
The Escapist…and 88 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Hotline Miami 2 Level Editor Leaves Beta, Now LiveJun 22, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- Hotline Miami 2 Level Editor UpdateJul 2, 2015
- Hotline Miami 2 Level Editor UpdateJul 2, 2015