Hotline Miami 2 Level Editor Beta Is Live On Windows
Not on Mac and Linux yet
Way back in May, we were told the Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number [official site] Level Editor was "pretty close to completion" by developers Dennaton Games. It's taken its sweet time, but the subversive, hyper-violent top-down shooter's level editor has now entered its public beta phase, meaning it's now time for you to get your trigger-happy hands round blueprints of your own. So long as you're playing on Windows. For the rest, the wait continues.
Yes, sadly if you've enjoyed Hotline Miami 2 courtesy of either Mac or Linux platforms, "TBA" is the best the Dennaton website can offer. For Windows users, the long-awaited editor is available now in beta form and can be installed immediately by restarting Steam, accessing the game's properties, and selecting 'editor_beta' from the drop-down beta menu accordingly. Your game should now update to the beta version with the editor in tow. If you should at any point wish to opt out of the beta, simply repeat this process in reverse.
The editor brings a new character too, The Hammer, a pal of Dennaton's who's in the game as a blank slate for community creators. "Why is he in Miami?" they say. "Has he anything to do with 50 Blessings? Is he in it for the money or for love? Well, that is up to you to decide!"
Even for Windowsians, Steam Workshop support isn't ready at this stage, so Dennaton suggest you share your levels through an "online file storage provider, e-mail, or other any other way you can think of." Reddit, as always, isn't short of suggestions on this front.
So as not to overwhelm, Dennaton has also put together a handy step-by-step guide for assembling levels and a short one for cutscenes. I'm looking forward to seeing what the community puts together. In many ways, the ostentatious Hotline Miami 2 was a flawed gem for me - it was good but ultimately failed to reach the high standards set by its forerunner - therefore I'm hoping some of the wrongs are righted (deaths from enemies off-screen, anyone?) and the rights made rightier.