As an XCOM fanboy since UFO Defense I came in here with super high expectations. I know it was gonna be limited characters and nowhere near as long as the other titles but I was okay with that given the price. I just wanted my XCOM fix. Sadly in my opinion they butchered the narrative by making the team sound like a bunch of highschoolers about to go to college. The banter falls so flat you could compare it to my first girlfriend's chest. It completely breaks immersion when you are doing elite tactical maneuvers only for them to say something idiotic in an attempt to be "hip, cool, relatable, and funny". You have your chick who is all broody and edgy, your hyperactive chick, your nerdy guy, your average Joe guy, and so forth. Just a bunch of basic templates that can be used in a nickelodeon show. The breaching mechanics were very cool and well done in my opinion and the combat was classic XCOM but with a but if clunkiness (also a twist with the initiative style of gameplay which I thought was an interesting idea but not well executed). Honestly, if it wasn't for the style of the cutscenes and the dialogue I would have dumped so many more hours into this. Alas, I will be refunding this and just waiting for 3 to come. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

I would highly recommend this game. I will do an actual worthwhile review of the ups and downs in this game and hope that you guys find it a worthwhile review. You may notice that some things are in both Pros and Cons, these are aspects that I would suspect different people to find good or bad.

CONS:
1. If you are using a gamepad then you are very crippled because of the layout and controlling via gamepad.
2. Seizure warning out the wazoo, not even kidding here. The game has flashing rainbow colors everywhere. It is like skittles the game. Taste the seizures!
3. Very, very, very, VERY extremely brutal. I ain't overstating this at all, you can gauge a guys eyes out, stomp on people's heads until it turns to pulp, smash people's heads with everything under the sun until their head turns into pudding, slice people's stomaches and see their guts pour out, stab people's eyes over and over with darts/scissors, drill into people's ears, and this is just scratching the surface of the brutality.
4. Confusing story. Some people do not like a game that they have to think about the story and what is going on.
5. "I die in one hit and keep dying!" Some people cannot handle dying 30+ times every ten or so minutes when you are new to the game.
6. Buggy. Now I am skeptical on this one, I have never seen a single bug and I have been playing since shortly after it came out.
7. "Graphics suck, wow they didn't even try." This is another one I hate hearing but I must put it in here for completion's sake. Some people do not like a retro pixelated game.
8. "Unoriginal!" I disagree with this one but once again for completion's sake. Some people think this is a waste of time and it is just "Trying to be another 'Retro' game by making it a top down pixelated game."
9. "Too fast paced!" Some people don't have a super fast reaction time that you need for this game or the on the fly thinking capability, I would recommend these people stick with slower (but equally fun) games.
PROS:
1. Brutal! Woo! The rush of bashing a man's head in with a brick or slamming a door into a guy and then smashing his head into the wall with your foot!
2. Gory! One cannot disembowel somebody without some nice blood action now can you Dexter?
3. Fast paced! Sure I love some slow pace, turn based games but I absolutely love the split second decisions made in this. Do you pick up the gun and run into the room openfiring then hide behind the door to whack the investigators with a baseball bat or do you pick up the knife and try to go stealthily without alerting anybody to where you are, either one will work but you better decide fast, patrol will see you in a few seconds!
4. Soundtrack. I very much liked the soundtrack on this game. The pumping club music is a perfect fit for the feel of running into an apartment and pouring boiling water on people's faces!
5. The story! Very well written (confusing at some points) story that you have to think about.
6. Graphics. Now how exactly do you pull off a game like this without it being sprites? It would be a major flaw if it was first person or if it was 3d. I don't want 3d crappy made models that bug out with some animations, you don't have that problem with highly detailed sprites.
7. OoO Shiny! The trippy feel of the screen moving around and changing colors with a ton of flashes everywhere is another completing factor of this satisfying masterpiece of a game.
8. Variety. There is no "I win" weapon, every weapon is just as good as the last, they are purely for playstyle. Want to rush them and get in close then pick the knife (very short range but swings like a lawnmower), want to rush in but not get too close in pick the katana (medium range for a melee weapon but slow swings), want to shoot 'em up then use the rifle, want to shoot 'em up silently then use the silenced pistol.
9. Mask system. If you don't like the silenced pistol but want to use guns silently, theres a mask for that. They are like the apps of Hotline Miami, one for everthing! So many ways to augment your style even I haven't tried out all the combinations!

That concludes my Hotline Miami review, I hope it is useful and not to bias.