To be clear: I enjoyed this game. My money was well spent, and I played it all the way to the end with enthusiasm. I understand what it's trying to achieve and how the anti-climactic ending was the whole point. The meta-narrative regarding violence and futility of it comes back in full force from the first Hotline Miami. I get that, and I enjoy it.
That doesn't mean I can look over some of the glaring flaws at work here.
I appreciate developing a bit from the small rooms and tight layout of the first game, but opening the world up widely makes explicit how much of that breakneck, keyboard-smashing, absolutely thrilling action depended on corridors. These wider, more expansive levels do separate the product from the original, but the separation has made the product worse.
Far too often, due to the huge levels, you'll end up shot by some mook from halfway across the map, or enemies you didnt even know existed will spot you through one of the many windows and come rushing at you while you're busy fending off a new enemy type that's immune to a particular sort of weapon. Speaking of weapons, you'll often find yourself using guns over melee solely because the distance gives you such an edge. Guns are your only option to deal with a certain goon, but the smarter AI reacts more to your bullets, leading to entire floors being cleared in a single frenzy where you rarely felt like you survived thanks to anything other than luck.
While it holds true that it was easiest to just hide behind doors in Hotline Miami, baiting enemies to come out and whack them to death in a sickeningly glorious flood of gore, it never felt necessary. In fact, that sort of cowardice was boring. It's just as boring here, but frequently feels like the only way to perform the basic act of advancing through the game. When a game punishes you for trying to have fun, you know there's something wonky with the design.
The enforced lack of weapon variety and strategy are a direct product of the larger level design, which the developers considered essential to the sequel. There's a way to grow on the framework of your original design, to do more than simply retread established concepts. This doesn't feel like a successful effort, which is the biggest shame.
The soundtrack is made of nothing but bangers, as to be expected. The soundtrack for Hotline Miami was incredible and deserving of awards, and Wrong Number's is no different--in some ways, it's better. There's a more eclectic mix of tracks, with the most soothing ones often used on the most frustrating levels. The music selection is one instance where Wrong Number grew in the right direction.
Overall, Wrong Number is kind of a perfect sequel that knows perfectly well how unnecessary it is, and takes advantage of that. It's a screwdriver for the convoluted story of Hotline Miami, making clear what's at work behind the scenes. It's just such a shame, then, that actively playing it feels like a chore.