The original intent for this month was to do a ranking of all the Zelda games. That was the case a few months ago, but I got a little distracted. I got a Microsoft Game Pass, and it sort of took over my life. It's kind of appropriate that my ranking of the Zelda games would be delayed considering the whole point was in anticipation for Tears of the Kingdom, but I digress.
I played a lot of games in the few months I had Game Pass, so I figure I would instead review all of them. And yes, we have a lot to cover. Like I said, this thing took over my life gaming wise. If you want a kid in a candy store type sensation with video games, it would be hard to find one better than the Game Pass. So in short, the Game Pass is one of the best things Microsoft has done since that 3D Pinball game.
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
I'll start with how I ended up with Game Pass, because it all started with this game fucking up spectacularly. My friends and I intended to play this using the cross play feature since I used Steam and my other friend uses XBOX. Turns out, either that was a lie or the process is so inane that no reasonable human brain can set it up. In the end, I got the Game Pass so I could play a game I already owned with my friends.
It was worth it I guess cause' TMNT is definitely a definitive multiplayer experience.
I had the pleasure in being able to play cooperatively which I seldom do for these types of games. And often when I play by myself, it leads to pretty underwhelming gaming experiences. The Scott Pilgrim game and Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure come to mind.
For the sake of fairness, I decided to play the game by myself as well, but I will get to that later.
Now cross platform frustrations aside, I was ungodly excited for this TMNT game. A proper sequel to TMNT IV: Turtles in Time is one of those dreams so outside the realm of possibility that I didn't even bother wishing for it, so to see this game exist the way it does is insane to me.
It's also insane to me that despite being one of the shorter games on this list, I spent the most time on in terms of writing this review. I was thorough man. Of course, I played this game twice (three and a half if you count the replaying certain levels and the arcade mode), but I also did a quick run through of TMNT IV and Hyperstone Heist for comparison's sakes.
I say this mainly as an indication that this game is pretty good. I mean, it's gotta be if I played it twice and bothered to play old school TMNT games again. It's reinforces how impressive this game is when it inspires this much meticulousness in me.
It's inspires a lot because the game is clearly made with all the more meticulousness. You can see it in the animation, rich with detail and personality. At first, I thought it played basically the same as TMNT IV only with a more modern sheen. It wasn't until I replayed TMNT IV that I realized just how much has evolved. Controls have gotten much better. There is a dodge button which gives a much needed defensive option to the TMNT games. Even little things like the improved game feel which made TMNT IV feel a little worse on my replay.
In addition, you got AOE special moves, team throw attacks for multiplayer, and combo tools which fit so naturally that I'm shocked they weren't introduced earlier.
Frankly, this game rocks as a single player or multiplayer experience. If you are playing by yourself, you get a meaty challenge of conserving health and learning enemy move sets. And if you are playing multiplayer, you get a nice power trip as you and a few buddies throw each other and gang bang a bunch of iconic TMNT villains.
There are problems but only a few. Firstly, there is a meditation ability which is too broken. Since you can use it when no enemies are around. You can essentially stack your special meter. Most encounters became pointless since you obliterates most of the mobs by spamming your AOE moves. Secondly, the challenges leave a lot to be desired, having some variation of "don't get hit" or "use/don't use ____ move on ____enemy." And since you only get EXP for completing the extra challenges, there is little incentive to complete them. This game is certainly replayable, but I wish it still had a bit of meat in terms of extra content. Maybe levels could remix enemy layouts as an example.
But overall, my first experience with Game Pass was a great albeit a rocky start. Of course, now that I finished a game I already own. Let's actually make the most of this service. Let's legally play games I'm too cheap to buy.
Death's Door
Death's Door is a indie game released last year. And like a lot of indie games, The first thing I like to do is to count how many older games it tries to rip off. In Death's Door case, we got quite the handful. It's a Zelda clone with lite Dark Souls elements. The premise feels like a cross between Grim Fandango and Spiritfarer if both games resolved their problems by stabbing everything that moves. And finally, the humor has a quirky silly vibe you might see in Rayman and Psychonauts.
It's certainly a game that feels more uncreative the more you think about it. But to its credit, when you are in the space playing it, it feels like a fresh experience.
It helps the game is pretty fun. Combat is fluid and has a nice weight to it. I always preferred action games where you are swarmed with mobs forcing you to learn how to crowd control, and Death's Door is pretty great at doing that. And unlike most games that try to evoke Soulsborne, it doesn't overly punish you with boss fights with ridiculous move sets and small dodge windows. This means Death's Door is among the easier games of this genre, but I rather have an easy game made well than a hard game that's not fine tuned fairly. The humor, while not brilliantly executed, isn't the most offensive thing in the world either. And story wise, it is paced fairly well.
If I had to say one positive takeaway that I had after finish the game, it would be the game never overstayed its welcome. At first, I was a little disappointed by how quickly the game went by. But in fairness, I can't see how else Death's Door could escalate its mechanics or story. Death's Door knows its place in what it can provide and delivers it competently.
If I had to say one negative that I had after finishing the game, it would be the ending blows. Yeah, this is one of those games where its true ending is locked away by a series of puzzles alla Environmental Space Station Alpha. And while a few of them are fun (including one really incredible boss fight), one in particular is a tedious collectathon that requires a lot of backtracking and intense combing of the game's map. And all of that is for an ending that is worse than the base ending.
Spoilers for Death's Door
To give you an idea of how bad Death's Door ending is, imagine the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender. And after Aang beats the Fire Lord, he finds a random door. And in that door, he meets God telling him "ah yeah, it was my plan the whole time," AND IT JUST CUTS TO CREDITS!
So Death's Door didn't end with the best impressions, but it was still a solid game. If you are starving for a Zelda clone to burn through over the weekend, then give a try.
Tunic
Mild Spoilers of Game Mechanics and Levels
Tunic is another Zelda clone with lite Dark Souls elements. And having finished Death's Door moments before starting this game, I was expecting the same level of quality. Turns out, I was not ready for how absorbing this game can be.
I had a blast with this one. In Tunic, the main gimmick is that in-game you can find pages of the actual Tunic instruction manual which homages the retro style instruction manuals from the NES era. And in the manual, you will find all the necessary clues and instructions to complete the game.
This mechanic is designed beautifully. Every moment I had to interact with the instruction manual felt like I was taking a masterclass in game design. The game has such a way to easing you into relying on the instruction manual. Controls and additional mechanics are just oblique enough that they can't be figured out on their own in a blind playthrough forcing you to seek the manual for assistance. It's great. And from a game feel perspective, reading the instruction manual creates a unique nostalgia I thought I would never feel again. The fact most of the writing is written in a foreign language making you use pictures for context clues recreates the time where you are a young kid barely able to read trying to make sense of the game you're playing. It adds to this true sense of adventure especially as the game throws a major aesthetic curve ball halfway into the game. Tunic perfectly channels that disarming feeling of being in a place you have no business being in.
For the most part, Tunic is a great balance of being reasonably obtuse. Anytime I got stuck it took a handful of minutes to get my bearings and find the next part of the game.
At one point, this game was in the running of being one of my all time favorite games. But like Death's Door, the ending caused Tunic to trip at the finish line.
The final stretch really amps up the bullshit in the puzzle design. For as intuitive and varied the puzzles are in Tunic, it was disappointing for the last section boils down to putting down a string of button inputs ranging from tedious to cardinal sin level irritating. At least the actual story ending wasn't as awful as Death's Door.
Conversely, Tunic doesn't quite match the combat polish as Death's Door. The game is a massive spike in difficulty, and it is unfortunately not because of good combat design. The game's lock on and camera are finicky. There is a lack of depth of field between you and the enemies leading to a lot of miss swings. And worst of all, switching items is extremely cumbersome making it nigh impossible to switch items while in combat which I feel doesn't match the spirit of the game.
That said, Tunic is the best game I played while on Game Pass. For a game similar to Death's Door in trying to mimic a lot of older titles, it stands out on its own far brighter.
Mighty Goose
While we are talking about really great games, let's talk about Mighty Goose.
I love it when a game homages a dormant game series I adore. The way Bug Fables homages Paper Mario or Hat in Time does for classic Mario 3D platformers.
Mighty Goose, in this case, takes its cues from the Metal Slug series, and it does it perfectly. The sounds of the explosions, the sprite work, the sheer chaos are all there. And as you can probably guess, you can do this while playing as a goose which weirdly matches the comedic tone of the Metal Slug games. I say weird, but I feel that would be underselling Metal Slug since that game had bloody zombie mummies and ridable camels with turrets at one point.
That's basically it. The draw of the game is pretty self-explanatory. If you like Metal Slug and by extension 2D shoot'em ups, you will love Mighty Goose. I suppose for the sake of thoroughness I can delve more into the bits and pieces.
Mighty Goose reflects the best practices you see from modern arcade style games. Where old arcade games task players to master the mechanics in what is essentially a single segment run; Mighty Goose encourages the player to master the mechanics on a per level basis. This synergizes with the armory system where you can equip your goose with special abilities, weapons, and animal companions. I like them since each ability don't outright undermine the difficulty of the game, but they do work wonders on individual levels. So in a sense, while the game can be beaten fairly quickly, the true meat of the game is repeating levels to get as high of a rank as possible. It's mastering levels, having the right load out, knowing when to switch weapons, and learning enemy placements where I feel the game truly begins.
Problems arise, however, in the little things that make retrying levels annoying. Firstly, it would be nice if the game had a dedicated retry level button as the fastest way to retry a level is to quit out and retry from the world map. I hate that you can't switch to the pistol to conserve ammo forcing you to use ammo from stronger weapons to do menial things like break boxes or activate switches. And finally, there is a shop system that feels clunky for the fast paced nature of the game since it requires going into the menu. This technically can be ignored since the game's item drops are consistent throughout the level. But then, it feels like the shop is a wasted opportunity to add some extra depth to the combat. Money also doesn't have any outside use other than unlocking a special ability.
This is one of the few games where I am considering buying a copy of once my Game Pass membership expires. Despite already getting a lot out of this game, I feel I could get so much more. I finely replayable and fun game. I highly recommend Mighty Goose.
Her Story
Part of what I love about Game Pass is that it allowed me to knock out a few games I would be too cheap to spend money on otherwise. I typically don't like to spend money on say an art game I can finish in a few hours. Case in point, Her Story.
I doubt Her Story has stayed noteworthy in the memories of audiences since it came out, but I was still mildly curious about it. At least curious enough where it has stayed in my Steam wish list for the past seven years. I just wasn't curious enough to pay one to ten dollars for the entry fee.
In Her Story, you play as someone sifting through police footage in order to piece together the mystery behind a murder. The police footage in question contains interviews of a young woman (the her in the story), and it is immediately clear she is not who she seems to be.
Now, games of this nature usually treats gameplay as a formality. Either it's of the walking simulator variety, or it is so barebones it might as well not be there at all.
Her Story strikes a nicer balance. The gameplay doesn't intrude and lets the story be the center focus. However, it's mechanically driven just enough to where it doesn't feel like it's insulting the player. The game asks for you to use specific search terms in order to pull clips needed to complete the story, and it is really satisfying figuring out how to pull a new set of clips. It's simple, but it recreates that underrated sensation of nailing that right Google search or tracking down that one old friend on Facebook. Plus, it gives the story much more of a payoff that if the game were just a movie or another medium.
Her Story also strikes a nice balance in story as well. Unlike some art games I've played, it feels content complete with fleshed out characters, a finely tuned plot, and thoughtful themes. It's not just a simple exploration of mental illness or whatever dark thing high schoolers are into. It feels like you can rip out the gameplay and still have a satisfying experience. Although having said that, the gameplay and story are married in a way that feel lesser without them. In other words, the story doesn't disrupt the gameplay. And in turn, the gameplay enhances the story.
Unfortunately, a few problems slipped through the cracks. I feel the gameplay could have woven in a puzzle or two as getting the complete story is almost an inevitability. One of my favorite moments involved deciphering a code. It turned out to only be an Easter egg, but I would have loved if more stuff like that was required to get the full story. I was expecting a Zero Escape style puzzle to get the true ending.
And speaking of the true ending, I wish the game had a more straightforward ending. The ending itself is fine, but it lacks that kind of punch. This is due to the open-endedness of the gameplay, but I would like to see the mechanics shifted in a way to allow the ending reveals to happen right before the credits. The way it is now, you can find the biggest gut punch twist long before you get the option to end the game. And frankly, it leaves for an underwhelming conclusion. For a game like this, if there is any point where the game should seize control of the story, it should be in the ending.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
In continuing with the art game, we'll do a more mechanically combat centered art game with Hellblade.
This game is a semi-short exploration of psychosis and also how long it takes before a repetitive combat system starts to grate a player. This is another game where I was mildly curious about but was too cheap to buy into. Although in fairness, thirty dollars is much more steep for a game like this.
The sticking point for me once I finished this game is that as much as I admire its themes, there wasn't much to the game even for its short length. My playthrough was about seven hours. And unfortunately, you get the gist of what the game is after the first two. It doesn't evolve or elevate beyond the opening hours. And by that point, you are just slogging through to the see the ending. And in order to do that, you have to find secret symbols and fight Vikings in a basic combat system. And all of that, again, I was over after the first two hours.
A lot of the best ideas and executions are closer to cool novelties than poignant takeaways.
The death mechanic, for example, is solid. Threatening the player with permadeath is an interesting idea as it reinforces the irrational distress of the main character. You know the game is kind of bullshitting you since the device to establish the mechanic is never used again after that one time. However, early on, I recall playing with more anxiety whenever I was partially convinced about the possibility of starting over.
The game also makes solid use the binaural audio. It lends itself to the combat as well as driving the psychosis element. As a portrayal of this particular mental disorder, I would consider it a success. As a game, however, not so much.
The combat and the puzzle solving are what do it for me. There is a dominant strategy for every encounter as you light attack combo followed by a kick making the only challenge for all of these fights quick instances of crowd control as you try to make sure every enemy is on sight. For a game that matches the camera style of Resident Evil 4, it doesn't match the combat variety of that game. Where in Resident Evil 4 you have enemies up close, throw projectiles, rush you, insta-kill you, turn more powerful, move sporadically, have a specific weak point. In Hellblade, you have an enemies you hit while either occasionally dodging or kicking and a few where you need to use a special move to make them vulnerable.
It's harsh to say that I went into this game with low expectations and still felt disappointed, but that's how I feel. There is no denying that I left this game worse than when I went into it. I appreciate it for experimenting and trying something new. But sometimes, experiments fail, and your fifth grade teacher Mrs. Henley is furious as to why green paint is all over her walls.
Full Throttle
But enough about the strain of mental health disorders, let's talk about cartoon bikers.
Full Throttle is one of the few major Tim Schafer projects I haven't played, and another game I wasn't going to shelve fifteen bucks for to play. The reasons stem from the fact that this game has a pretty mixed reputation. That despite its good writing and voice acting, its gameplay and short length leaves a sour taste in peoples' mouths.
Now, the short length wasn't a big issue. Maybe it could've had an additional chapter to explore the other gangs and other aspects of the worldbuilding. This story is just begging for a TV adaptation. But, I can live with that since the story at play is rather solid. However, I contend that the gameplay is quite the sour patch.
This is the first time where the point and click frustration of having to click on a precise place is at its absolute worst. Almost every single time I got stuck, it was from a room obscured by the environment or clicking a precise action. At its worst, it is clicking a precise part of the room timed with a random action in the environment. This on top of the expected point & click problems of unreasonable trial and error puzzles and oblique solutions make for an unsavory broth of bad adventure game puzzles.
Gameplay also includes a sequence where going through a string of biker combat sections. It's bad enough that the combat is completely depthless where the player mainly just taps A until the enemy dies. It's worse when at a certain point you have to beat the enemy bikers in a particular sequence, and said enemies will only present themselves in a random cyclical order. So, you have wait until you can make any progress in the game. For how short the game is, a single bad sequence could potentially be detrimental.
That said, it says a lot that I had an extremely enjoyable time despite the admittedly critical problems. The characters are what saved it. Maureen specifically is such a good character. I adore everything about her. You got Kath Soucie of Danny Phantom and Tiny Toons fame, and she gives a relatively straightforward character so much emotional depth. The same praise can be given to Mark Hamill and Hamilton Camp in their respective roles. Although, Hamilton Camp isn't from any I would denote as famous. Unless you consider Scooby Doo: The Reluctant Werewolf as famed work.
And naturally, you have some genuinely funny Tim Schafer branded bits that are too good to miss. How else are you going to beat up bikers by throwing fertilizer in their eyes?
For me, Full Throttle demonstrates the best and worst qualities of the Tim Schafer adventure games. The writing is top notch. The characters are some of the finest in anything really. The caveat is that unless you're Psychonauts, you are going to be playing a tedious game with the GameFAQs walkthrough nestled on your lap.
Road 96
We talked about artsy games that I was too cheap to buy, but what about games with an intriguing premise that I was too cheap to buy. Road 96 is a game that had a lot going for it in terms of a gameplay concept. However, I was never compelled enough to buy into it.
In Road 96, you play as a handful of teenagers escaping a fascist government by crossing a heavily guarded border. You do this by hitchhiking or other means necessary to survive the journey. In between sequences of using transportation to travel, you will come across story bits involving reoccurring people that will help or complicate your situation, and your choices will affect their arc in the story. Unlike other choices matter games, like Walking Dead, you do have a health bar, so there is an established gameplay tension as choices could potentially net you a death.
That being said, the health bar didn't end up actually mattering. After my first run, my health bar never felt like a thing to worry about. You have plenty of opportunities to make money which can be used to buy enough water and gummy bears to last you the entire run.
To be clear, I ain't asking for an Oregon Trail style game. That would be overkill. Lord knows no one wants to play a game where you can die because you didn't buy the mathematically perfect amount of food and blankets. However, a little tension wouldn't be remiss. For example, the ending section where you actually attempt to cross the border is the highlight of every run. Every time you revisit the border, the circumstances on how to cross will change. And overtime, you will have to play in preparation for this section, stocking up on health and money to make an increasingly difficult leap over the wall. It's great stuff.
But then, there is the dialogue.
Now, I am not a big stickler for dialogue. I can forgive mediocre dialogue if the story is good. However, where that leniency ends when something like Road 96 pulls the ole Juno dialogue style of conversation. I hate Juno dialogue. Why is it with writers that try to imitate dialogue from one highly specific film that had a specific purpose; that no one even talks about anymore? Juno dialogue has worked once and will never work again! Stop trying to do the Juno dialogue! That awful blend of Disney Channel sarcasm mixed with an out-of-touch John Hughes.
The worse thing about this dialogue is that it completely disrupts the story bits that work really well. I love the subtle world building you experience from just walking around in the environment. The posters plastered on the store walls that give an indication on the political affiliation of the store owner. The
world and how it changes as you get closer to the game's pivotal election day. Yet, all of that doesn't matter because you have to spend ten minutes listening to a cop talk about her problems.
So short, gameplay is an B+. Story is a B-. The dialogue is a D.
Quick Review Lightning Round
I figured I would use this to talk about games that I have played but don't have much to say. So here we go:
Overcooked 2
I've played this game before when it came out a few years ago but played it again to do the four player coop. In short, I loved back then and love it now. It's one of the best coop games to come out recently.
Gang Beasts
An amusing party fighter. I wasn't quite right for our friends and I, but it was able to successfully kill an evening get together.
What Remains of Edith Finch
You know, talking about this one would do a disservice to the game. This is a game that you should go in as blind as possible. All I will say that this game is phenomenal.
Doom & Doom II
To quote Ben Yahtzee Croshaw, reviewing Doom would be like reviewing gravity; I concur.
Powerwash Simulator
The part of my ape brain that likes Color By Number books and scratching every gray off a lotto ticket really likes this game. If I was more neurotic, I could easily spend $25 on this.
Bugsnax
A game that's a mix of Fraggle Rock and Shutter Island with the gameplay of Ape Escape should sound like something up my alley. However, the repetitive fetch quest gameplay loop failed to grab me. It's a shame. The story seemed to be going somewhere, but I just didn't have the patience for a book where turning the page requires boorishly kidnapping innocent animals and watching them get slaughtered by Muppets.
Disneyland Adventures
If I played this when I was Disney park obsessed seven year old, this would have been my Citizen Kane. However, as of now, it's whatever.
Trek to Yomi
This is a fine example of a game that makes for a great trailer. It's such a good looking game that aesthetically homages Kurosawa. However, the Kurosawa influence is only skin deep. The action doesn't have the emotional weight or fun of Kurosawa. The story doesn't have the complex depth of Kurosawa. And of course, cinematography lacks the deliberate and grace of Kurosawa.
Outer Wilds
This game reminds me a lot of Riven. And like Riven, this game is way too smart for me despite how much I like the story and atmosphere. I couldn't beat it. I'm always really bad at time loop games especially when they have heavy use of physics based space flight, a lack of direction, and a really crappy map.
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
An amusing Zelda clone. It's hard to find anything to complain about. Yet, it's hard to find anything to actively praise either. It's about a middle of the road as you may expect.
The Artful Escape
Imagine Gitaroo Man without any of the gameplay. And for those who haven't played or heard of Gitaroo Man, imagine taking a buttload of psychedelics but aren't expected to participate in a life or death DDR competition.
My Friend Pedro
The game plays fine. If I was starving for something like Hotline Miami, I would like it even more. However truthfully, if I was starving for something like Hotline Miami, I would just play Hotline Miami.
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth
Christ, the title could be as long as my review. The game is solid. If you are a pixel art junkie, this is a must play. Otherwise, it is a competent Metroidvania with some annoying sections that you might expect from the genre.
The Forgotten City
Another really well written must play game to try. Tacked on combat aside, this was a rich game. It is also the most accessible time loop game I've played. At least, it was the one of the few time loop games that I finished without a walkthrough.
Skul: The Hero Slayer
This was one of the last games I played on Game Pass before the subscription expired, so I wasn't able to complete a full run. Otherwise, I might have given this game a dedicated section. As it stands, my impressions are middling. The game feels slightly imbalance. Combat is a bit of a mess as mobs are excessive and blend together hiding attack telegraphs. Like there a boss fight that rips off the Mantis Lord fight from Hollow Knight, and it does not do the game any favors-ah shit, ok, I am going to need the dedicated section aren't I?
Skul: The Hero Slayer
I never get the sense that I was getting better at the game. No matter how much I tried to understand the unique stats or what abilities synergizes with your build, it still feels like I was unoptimized. I never had that "click" moment like I had with other roguelikes. I think of moments like when I got a grasp of devil deals in Isaac or the relics in Slay the Spire. And while I didn't immediately start winning runs, I felt I got the rhythm in this roguelike dance. In Skul, the only time I felt I made progression was when I slowly permanently upgraded my character after every run. It took the wind out of me knowing that winning runs wasn't going to be about skill or strategy but patiently waiting for my character to get competent stats.
But going back to the combat, the telegraphs aren't the most visually clear, and it becomes worse when the game throws dozens of enemies at you which it does often. As much as I like mobs that force you to crowd control, it's less fun to do that when you can barely tell who is going to attack you next.
I feel like a misplaced character when I play this game. I have very few defensive options for the mobs and aggressive enemies that are thrown at me, so I feel the game is relegating me to either a degenerate projectile class or a glass cannon, and the structure of the rogue like doesn't guarantee I will get that build.
Hell going back to Hollow Knight, there are some misplaced bosses. That aforementioned Mantis Boss fight is designed very similar to the iconic Hollow Knight fight. Except in Hollow Knight, where that was a meditative encounter where the challenge is learning the enemy move set. In Skul, that same boss becomes a nightmare in a roguelike. I love the Mantis Lords, but I wouldn't fight that boss over and over again in order retry a late game section of a run.
It goes to show how a few unbalanced parts can mar an otherwise fun roguelike. The progression system is really fun as you build your skeleton warrior with powerups. Said power ups can sometimes fulfill category checklists which can give additional buffs. And with the limited inventory, you are encourage to make clever use of what you pick up and not just randomly pick up random power ups.
Story sports a surprising amount of sentimentality. It isn't deep, but it does enough to make you feel for the characters and see how the story ends.
Maybe this is more a game that didn't click rather than a game that's flawed. That or I need to spend more time with the game to better understand it. But in the end, I was frustrated by my time with Skul. But hey, I played it for free, and now I don't have to leave on my wish list pondering on whether it is worth buying.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (DR2)
Let's end this ramble with a doozy.
Technically, I didn't play this on Game Pass. I had issues that made it impossible to play on a controller. I had to use an emulator. That said, I would have played it on Game Pass, and it's Danganronpa after all, so I am talking about it anyway.
Last time I wrote about Danganronpa, I was blindsided by the crazed roller coaster ride causing me to write one of my longest reviews for a single thing on this blog. Well this time, I ain't going to be so caught off guard. I know what I am getting myself into.
For that reason, my experience with DR2 wasn't as emotionally intense as the first game, so I don't have much to say. It still had plenty of its wtf moments, but I didn't lose much sleep over it like last time. Overall, DR2 is one of those same but different type of sequels.
I appreciate the attempted changes to the gameplay, both the good and bad. Hangman's Gambit has more going one making it less of a formality compared to the first game. The final rhythm section includes a timed fill in the blank which adds a layer of personal annoyance especially when certain words given could theoretically be filled in any order. The closing argument takes one step forward by giving you a select amount of choices at a time, but it takes one step back by the visuals still not giving the best conveyance on where to put the pieces. There are drawn out mind palace sections vaguely similar to a concept in Ace Attorney 5 but with the gameplay of some shit you would see in Sonic the Hedgehog. There is still the classic trial game problem where your interpretation of the evidence may not match with the game's, leading to moments where you're stuck until you figure out the game's very specific train of logic. With the new positives and negatives, the gameplay ends up evening out with the original mechanics.
While we are here, I suppose I should mention one thing I neglected from the initial Danganronpa review which segways into DR2. It seems I mainly focused on the overarching mysteries of the first game when I forgot to mention how the mysteries hold up from a chapter by chapter standpoint. I believe I didn't mention it because I think the chapters are overall pretty straightforward. But upon a reexamine, I failed to mention one underlying problem I noticed in a handful of these cases.
If I have to signal the biggest problem with this series is that character motivations and actions are written with the sole purpose of moving the plot along. It seems every time a moment in a chapter makes me eye roll or pull my hair out, it is almost always because the game puts the payoff of the plot over the drama of the character. To give a vague example, cause' I really don't want to go into spoilers, you will have characters go insane not because it is appropriate for the character but because the situation needs to skew and going insane is just a contrived way to achieve it.
What's frustrating is that often some simple changes will alleviate this issues. More so than the first game, I noticed times where I felt there were missed opportunities. Every chapter feels like it is one rewrite away from being fairly solid.
Did I enjoy this game? Of course. It's Danganronpa. Even if the writing of this game is the absolute worst and the gameplay sucked, I would still say I enjoyed it because this game is so overwhelmingly unique. I always appreciate my times with these games. There is a magic that's not dissimilar as watching unstable weird kid in middle school wig out in gym class.
