History YMMV / HotlineMiami2WrongNumber

** In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan can't directly fight Thugs with melee attacks, and has to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against them, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies unarmed and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, fans disliked that he had a level where the player is forced to kill with him. This also resulted in a GuideDangIt moment for many, as you could get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan can't directly fight Thugs with melee attacks, and has to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against them, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies unarmed and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, fans disliked that he had a level where the player is forced to kill with him. This also resulted in a GuideDangIt moment for many, as you could get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan can't directly fight Thugs with melee attacks, and has to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against them, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies unarmed and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, fans disliked that he had a level where the player is forced to kill with him. This also resulted in a GuideDangIt moment, as you could easily get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

* [[AwesomeBosses/VideoGames Awesome Bosses]]: The InterfaceScrew sequence from "Apocalypse". [[spoiler:Playing the Son in the throes of an overdose, you wake up during the rampage of The Fans played earlier in "Death Wish", and have to kill them in accordance with the story canon. Problem is, the four characters appear as trippy, monstrous forms of their animal masks, and everything has a habit of exploding in technicolor ways when defeated.]]

* [[AwesomeBosses/VideoGames Awesome Bosses]]: The InterfaceScrew sequence from "Apocalypse". [[spoiler:Playing the Son in the throes of an overdose, you wake up during the rampage of The Fans played earlier, and have to murder them in accordance with the story canon. Problem is, the four characters appear as trippy, monstrous forms of their animal masks, and everything has a habit of exploding in technicolor ways when defeated.]]

** "Isn't it lunch time?" [[labelnote:Spoilers/Explanation]]Comes from an easily missed dialogue in the Release where [[spoiler:Richter asks the prison guards if it's lunch time.]] It blew up on Reddit after it was discovered.[[/labelnote]]

** The entirety of [[MarathonLevel Death]] [[BestLevelEver Wish]].

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan can't directly fight Thugs with melee attacks, and has to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against them, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies by bare hands and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, fans disliked that he had a level where the player is forced to kill with him. This also resulted in a GuideDangIt moment, as you could easily get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

* BestLevelEver: "Death Wish", the The Fans' last level. You get to play as each fan in sections tailor-made for each of them, while "Roller Mobster", one of the most intense songs on the soundtrack, blares in the background.

* [[AwesomeBosses/VideoGames Awesome Bosses]]: The InterfaceScrew sequence from ''Apocalypse''. [[spoiler:Playing the Son in the throes of an overdose, you wake up during the rampage of The Fans played earlier, and have to murder them in accordance with the story canon. Problem is, the four characters appear as trippy, monstrous forms of their animal masks, and everything has a habit of exploding in technicolor ways when defeated.]]
* BestLevelEver: ''Death Wish'', the The Fans' last level. You get to play as each fan in sections tailor-made for each of them, while "Roller Mobster", the most intense song on the soundtrack, blares in the background.

** This game was hit hard with this trope after Creator/AlecBaldwin's accident while filming his upcoming movie ''Rust'' in 2021. To summarize, Baldwin had a defective prop gun that was fired and killed the cinematographer and critically injured the director. This was the way Martin Brown died in the mission "Final Cut" after he was shot multiple times with a defective gun by Rachael Ward during the recording.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan can't directly attack Thugs with melee attacks, and has to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against them, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies by bare hands and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, fans disliked that he had a level where the player is forced to kill with him. This also resulted in a GuideDangIt moment, as you could easily get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan isn't able to directly attack Thugs with melee attacks, and has to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against them, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies by bare hands and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, fans disliked that he had a level where the player is forced to kill with him. This also resulted in a GuideDangIt moment, as you could easily get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

** Dallas, one of the unlockable masks for Jake's levels, gives you a generous opportunity to play as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85vm5OYV6ME fat nunchuck-waving Confederate martial artist]]. Trying to take the plot seriously after that can be quite challenging, to say the least.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan isn't able to directly attack Thugs with melee attacks, and has to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against them, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies by bare hands and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, fans disliked that he had a level where the player is forced to kill with him; this resulted in a GuideDangIt moment, as you could easily get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan isn't able to directly attack Thugs with melee attacks, and has to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against them, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies by bare hands and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, there was a dislike from fans for him having a level where the player is forced to kill with him; this resulted in a GuideDangIt moment, as you could easily get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan isn't able to directly attack Thugs with melee attacks, and has to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against the Thugs, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies by bare hands and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, there was a dislike from fans for him having a level where the player is forced to kill with him; this resulted in a GuideDangIt moment, as you could easily get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In the original release, the Hard Mode version of Evan's "Subway" level featured Thugs. Evan isn't able to directly attack Thugs with melee attacks, and had to enter his rage mode in order to be able to use the usual firearms against the Thugs, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies by bare hands and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stood out as a TechnicalPacifist among the playable characters, there was a dislike from fans for him having a level where the player is forced to kill with him; this resulted in a GuideDangIt moment, as you could easily get this far in the game without knowing that Evan's rage mode exists. The level was eventually changed in a patch that removed the Thugs, making it possible to complete the level without killing.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Hard mode originally added to Evan's Subway level enemies which could be only killed by shooting. Being able to use firearms in the first place requires entering Evan's berserker mode, which is achieved by knocking down two enemies by bare hands and then beating them to death while on the ground. Since Evan stands out as a TechnicalPacifist, there was dislike for forcing the player to kill with him. Plus, this resulted in a GuideDangIt moment as you can easily get this far in the game without even knowing the berserker mode exists. The level was eventually changed in the patch which removed the enemies and made it possible to complete the level without killing.

** '''I WAS BORN WITH THICK SKIN.''' [[labelnote:Explanation]]An attempt at a BadassBoast by Pardo that comes off as somewhat weak due to his insincere and shallow behavior.

** '''I WAS BORN WITH THICK SKIN.''' [[labelnote:Explanation]]An attempt at a BadassBoast by Pardo that comes off as somewhat weak due to [[TheScrappy the fandom's opinion of him]]. Also, tropers, an advice word, DON'T look for the quote in Google Images, the first few results are okay, just fan art of Pardo, but there a couple of [[BodyHorror harlequin ichthyosis]], and... [[NightmareFuel dear lord]], [[BrainBleach no]].[[/labelnote]]

* TheScrappy: Pardo, for [[spoiler:murdering Tony while he was surrendering and eventually being revealed to be an AttentionWhore SerialKiller]]. Despite having some cool levels, after everything he does, much of the fandom considers him an irredeemable sociopath. It doesn't help that the game released just before a wave of highly-publicized police brutality cases.

* ThatOneLevel: A load of them; after a certain point, pretty much any level can be one. Some notable ones include:
** "Death Wish", an absolutely brutal 4-floor marathon of death involving all 5 of the Fans.
*** Surprisingly, Corey's segment in this level, despite normally being fairly easy, turns incredibly difficult in Hard Mode, since most rooms now get a lot of windows.
** Pretty much all of Beard's levels, due to the fact that you can't pick other weapons once your starting ones run out of ammo, but the standout is "Casualties", with absolutely huge areas full of places to be shot from.
** "[[MarathonLevel Dead Ahead]]" is the longest level in the game, spanning a total of five floors, brutal and filled to the ''fucking brim'' with gunmen and later on, Thugs.
** "Demolition"'s very first room is an open area with a gunman, a Thug and no cover whatsoever. You have to quickly kill the melee mooks, take down the gunman, and then rush to get his gun to use on the Thug; in Hard Mode, you also have to deal with two Dodgers who appear in the same place as the Thug. There's very little room for error. It can be a major pain in the arse for anyone used to playing more sedately and cautiously.
** "Release" is one of the longest levels in the game, beginning with a boss that's followed with four areas full of enemies. Each area is huge and full of windows where enemies with guns can shoot you miles away. This is also the first level on normal difficulty that introduces the Dodgers, who are immune to gunfire. Not only can they only be killed by melee weapons, but the variants that appear here (cannibalistic prisoners known as "Psychos") run as fast as Dogs, and can [[JumpScare pop out of nowhere]].
** "Seizure" is full of InterfaceScrew, and with several enemies that are hidden by the objects in the environment. It deserves special mention for you having to fight black mobsters in black clothes with black Dogs patrolling on a black background while the screen flashes red, green and blue. To say it's unpleasant on the eyes would be a massive {{Understatement}}.
** "Take Over" has gigantic rooms with very little cover, filled with enemies armed to the teeth, Dogs, Thugs and worst of all, the aforementioned Dodgers, who get worse here because there are very few melee weapons. And let's not forget that this level is filled with windows, which will get you killed by offscreen enemies '''a lot'''. Hope you're not going for S or A+ Rank, because you will smash the shit out of your keyboard/controller after many deaths.
** Most of Evan's levels can be this, because given [[{{Pacifist}} his character]], [[DoesntLikeGuns he'll instantly unload any gun he picks up]], and he won't pick up any sharp weapons like knives; he'll only grab [[TechnicalPacifist blunt weapons]]. Because of this, Evan is practically [[NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight useless at long ranges]], making any open-ended level with Evan a '''nightmare'''. Although he can use any weapon upon activating his rage mode, getting the best score possible is only feasible if you stick with his normal mode.
** Hard Mode, obviously, turns a lot of levels into this - and makes all of the aforementioned levels ''worse''.

** The Fans also cross this when they brutally beat [[spoiler:The Henchman]] to his death, even as he's overdosed and ''desperately'' imploring them to let him call [[spoiler:his girlfriend Mary]] and go home. [[spoiler:Granted, Mary had proven disloyal to the Henchman by taking his money and driving off in his car, but he was likely too high to remember.]]

** Seriously, Pardo? [[spoiler:Shooting Tony dead when he was surrendering, and then tell a nearby SWAT officier that he was jumping at you even though he was standing still, hands in the air]]? Given the reveal that Pardo [[spoiler:is the Miami Mutilator and that he only became a police officer to kill anyone who followed in Jacket's footsteps so that his murders would get more attention]], it makes some sense.

** "Demolition"'s very first room is an open area with a gunman, a Thug and no cover whatsoever. You have to quickly kill the melee mooks, take down the gunman, and then rush to get his gun to use on the Thug. There's very little room for error. It can be a major pain in the arse for anyone used to playing more sedately and cautiously.

** "Release" is one of the longest levels in the game, beginning with a boss that's followed with four areas full of enemies. Each area is huge and full of windows where enemies with guns can shoot you miles away. This is also the first level on normal difficulty that introduces the Dodgers, who are immune to gunfire. Not only can they only be killed by melee weapons, but the variants that appear here (cannibalistic prisoners) run as fast as the dogs, and can [[JumpScare pop out of nowhere]].

** "Release" is one of the longest levels in the game, beginning with a boss that's followed with four areas full of enemies. Each area is huge and full of windows where enemies with guns can shoot you miles away. This is also the first level on normal difficulty that introduces the Dodgers, who are immune to gunfire. Not only can they only be killed by melee weapons, but they're as fast as the dogs, and can [[JumpScare pop out of nowhere]].

** Runners and Dogs, because they love to run to the player from offscreen, and seem to be the most glitchy ones. Both can occasionally kill you from just outside your melee range (apparently they can short-range teleport), dogs occasionally suffer from HitBoxDissonance, and the faster reaction times can result in a [[PerfectPlayAI runner killing you the instant you walk past a corner they wait behind]] (notably in ''Release'').

** Any of the Thugs. Although they haven't changed significantly since the first game, the way the levels are designed here makes them much harder to deal with this time around, especially the variants with guns who appear in Beard's levels.