I played aoe2 on steam so I downloaded the patch and played a match but my hotkeys were all messed up.
I went to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Age2HD\age2_x1\age2_x1.exe intending to change all the hotkeys back, but the game was extremely buggy. Most/all of the text on the menus were gone, as shown here.
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I assume you have to go to that file path since the game didn't open through steam when I played the first match.

Hi there,

Apologies for the delayed response.

Seems like you did not install the compatibility patch correctly. Please follow the steps mentioned here to perform a clean installation of the game:
http://support.voobly.com/display/vkb/KB1054+Clean+installation+of+Aoe2HD+with+compatibility+patch

Follow the guide as is and you should be fine.

Side note: Please ensure you do not use any third party tools for game or patch installation other than what is listed in the URL above.

If and when the game works fine, you can start the game in single player mode from within Voobly and set your hotkeys to your desired preferences.

Feel free to reply to this thread or join the help room if you need additional assistance.

As Sunny said, you can start the game in singleplayer mode through Voobly (In a game room select Game -> "start in singleplayer menu" from the top menu bar, then launch the game.

Unfortunately the language files for offline use without voobly (i.e. starting the age2_x1.exe directicly) shipped with the compatibility patch aren't working, that's not an installation problem. However, if you start the game through Voobly this doesn't affect you.