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Few titles can touch Hotline Miami when it comes to uber-violent, visceral thrills. With its lightning quick encounters, fuzzy '80s charm and buckets upon buckets of 16-bit blood, Devolver Digital's gory story received a suitably warm reception from fans and critics alike.

Now, 18 months on from that initial success, the team at Dennaton Games is regrouping for a sequel. First announced back in June of last year (word of the followup first appeared in November, 2012) Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number exchanges former protagonists Jacket and Biker for a slew of new and unfriendly faces.

Today's all-new Hotline Miami 2 trailer offers a glimpse at this diverse and deadly cast in action, as well as some of their brand-new implements of destruction. Highlights include the new chainsaw tool (let's hope it can be thrown across the stage), as well as a screen-clearing dual-wield attack and a room-spanning quick roll maneuver.

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Most interesting of all however, are the trailer's numerous allusions to co-operative play. While the 80-second video never explicitly confirms the feature, many sections do display a second character watching the player's back. Whether this is simply an NPC ally — a kind of perk for donning a certain mask — or an actual live human partner remains to be seen, though the possibility of 2-player Hotline Miami 2 remains a mouth-watering prospect.

While the addition of another trigger-happy finger might help players escape a few unwanted spots, it's also difficult to tell just how Dennaton will go about integrating the feature. If players were able to revive one another at will, then the title might become a little too easy. Likewise, a single-death ending play for both shooters would quickly become tiresome. In either case, the addition of a co-operative mode would certainly help to differentiate the game from its much-loved predecessor.

Check out the trailer up top, or scroll down for the game's official press release.

A brutal conclusion to the gruesome saga, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number follows the escalating level of violence through multiple factions born from the events of the original game and driven by uncertain motivations. Step into the murderous mind of several distinct characters - each with their own motivations and methods of execution — as storylines intersect and reality slips away into a haze of neon and carnage. Blistering combat, an unmistakable visual style, and a powerfully intense soundtrack will once again push you to the limit and questioning your own thirst for blood.

FEATURES

  • Twenty brutal chapters twisting through interconnected storylines of many different playable characters, each set against a variety of new locations and time periods.
  • Delve into a world of violence with unique gameplay styles and savage new weapons through different playable characters throughout the game.
  • Hundreds of new sprites and animations in the distinct visual style create lush new areas to clear floor-by-floor and a driving new soundtrack keeps your heart racing and begging for more.

Are you looking forward to Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number? Can the title's straightforward premise support major tweaks and improvements? Where next for Dennaton Games and the Devolver Digital studio? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to keep up with all of the latest Hotline Miami news, right here on Game Rant.

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Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number will appear on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4 and PS Vita systems sometime in 2014.

Follow Sam on Twitter @GamingGoo.

Source: Dennaton Games