If you thought the first game was hard, buckle up. This game takes everything difficult with the first game and makes it even more ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, which I didn't even know was possible. The level layouts are much more open, requiring you to understand enemy placements far better than HM1. Lots of fun once you get the hang of it, but it definitely feels weird to play after 100% completing the first game. Speaking of, going for 100% completion on this game is leaps and bounds harder than HM1. I fully completed the first game relatively quickly, using minimal guides. For this game, I had to use multiple guides, including a full S Rank playthrough of the game. You also need to perform a glitch to complete the achievement "Genocide" as after completing all other achievements, you are still left with roughly 20k kills required. As a side note, the Hard Mode of the game is far more interesting than most other games. The hard mode flips the maps upside down, as well as altering certain aspects of each map. It also adds and changes enemies, so each level feels almost completely new. On the one hand this is really cool, but on the other it is incredibly frustrating to try and speedrun through a map you thought you knew, only for there to be a more challenging enemy where you didn't expect one to be, or a new window that allows an enemy to snipe you from a location that wasn't previously available. Either way, phenomenal game that really ties together the story of the first game and ends with a bang! Although first, I'd recommend playing through the first game to get a feel for the gameplay and story.