I really wanted to give this one a fair shot, especially after how the first one made me feel (both positively and negatively) but unfortunately this one was only more of a let down with less about it to make up for what it lacks.

I first wanna talk about the things I think this game did better than the first one. First, the art definitely feels more evolved here than it was in the first game. To be perfectly honest, I think it's a bit of a downgrade, because the rough visuals in the first one helped build character and made everything feel a bit scarier. But the art here is definitely an objective improvement on the first game's art. Secondly, the UI got a huge overhaul and now items get their own screen that they share with the stats system. You actually have limited space for items, and it's one of those puzzle-esque systems where items have to be fit perfectly next to each other for maximum room. It's not a grid system though, it's more based on the actual shape of the item, if that makes sense. The game also still does a good job at presenting ambience with its music and art, at least for the areas I saw.

Moving around the different locations is also made easier with the addition of a little mini-map in the corner with squares you click on to move in different directions. However, these squares don't have direction arrows on them, nor does the mini-map have any pictures, so you kind of just have to assume you're going where you think you're going when you click. And for some odd reason, not all locations are denoted by a square on the mini-map. Some locations (like your car, doors on/in buildings, and things like dumpsters) have to be accessed by clicking on them on screen. However, when certain things on screen are clicked on, they bring up a text box instead. And other certain things do nothing when clicked on. There's no indication as to what clicking on something will do until you click on it. There were certain things I missed the first few times around because I clicked on it in the wrong spot and got a text description instead of being brought into it (the dumpster, for example).

This sequel takes place across the entire town, instead of just in the dungeon. And the one thing I like about this is that your truck acts as a natural safety hub that follows you wherever you go. However, this comes with the addition of an honestly boring and pointless driving mechanic. See, in the first location in the game, the gas station, you get a map of the town. And I feel like in any other game, this map would be your fast travel tool (once you get your car fixed, of course). However, instead it's an actual map that you have to use as if it were a real map because you have to drive between locations and there's nothing on screen while you're driving (no ui, markers, or in-universe road signs) to denote what direction you're facing or how close/far you are from certain locations. It's not like you're actually driving in 3D space, either. It's all simulated in 2D. And in order to look at the map, you have to have it equipped, hold space to 'have it ready', and then click and hold the screen to bring it up from your lap so you can actually look at it. If you let go of space or unclick at any time, it disappears. Now granted, it's not like the driving itself is hard. The truck moves on its own (at a set speed as well) and you only have to make an input at intersections. But because there's zero landmarks of any kind and all the roads look exactly the same, (not to mention the map itself doesn't have any 'you are here' type symbols) it's very easy to get lost and waste time driving around aimlessly. When you reach a location, one of the intersection-input arrows becomes an 'exit' sign, but even then, you don't know what location you're at until you get out. I read ahead and it does seem like there are certain events that can happen while you're driving, but only events that force you to stop and attend to them, nothing story related. So I'm not exactly sure why this mechanic was a better option than just fast travel. Especially when the individual locations are very fleshed out on their own, so its not like this was needed to make the game feel more full.

And now for what I could glean as one of the most controversial aspects of the game (based on Steam reviews): The Combat. If you read my review for the first game, you'll know that I did not enjoy nor understand the inclusion of combat. The combat of the first game felt clunky and rough around the edges, and the flee button seemed to never work, and because there were no item drops or EXP, battles didn't really have a purpose. This game changes the combat by giving the player a separate screen to battle in and the ability to dodge attacks during combat. There's also different weapons that allow for different types of attacks and a stats menu where you can make yourself stronger. However, the game does a very poor job at teaching you how this combat works, which is where it all falls apart for me. The only explanation of controls in this game is a single screen that appears at the very start and that screen is never explained or shown again. If a game is simple, and has simple controls, then this is fine. And granted, in your first battle, there is a pop-up that appears telling you what keys to press to dodge. But I don't think that's enough here. I feel like this game would've benefited greatly from a full tutorial battle that goes slow and shows you what to do in a way that's more forgiving. In fact, the first location in the game has no(?) random battles, only a single one-time encounter enemy that you can skip completely if you don't disturb it. This would've been perfect for a tutorial, but instead, it's actually one of the harder enemies in the game because of how fast it moves. Now, to attack, you have to first have a weapon equipped. Then, you have to hold space to raise it, and then click to swing/fire. If you release the space bar though, your weapon goes down, and your clicks do nothing. You dodge left/right with A or D, but holding A/D does nothing. You move to the left or right as soon as you press it, and then swing back to the center in one swift motion, so you have to time it absolutely perfectly, or you will take damage. It's an incredibly frustrating combat system that, on top of being annoying to learn, doesn't feel satisfying or fun. And like with the first game, enemies seem to be able to spawn in any area in the game at any time. During one encounter, I had a run button appear in the middle of my screen. Not sure what was different about that encounter that caused it to appear, since I had battled that type of enemy before and it didn't show, but it doesn't really matter, because it didn't work. Clicking it did nothing, spam clicking did nothing, click-and-hold did nothing. The first game's combat, although annoying, was at least simple enough that learning how it worked wasn't hard. However, this game made it more complex and also more vague, to the point where every encounter I had was a game over, because even after 7 or 8 attempts with different enemies (that also all attack differently and do different damage), I couldn't once figure out what I was doing in time to survive. I also had an encounter with a special(?) enemy where he appeared on my screen and I was locked into place for a few seconds, and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to do something to escape or just wait because there was nothing on the screen telling me what I was supposed to do. And then I died. And of course, because you can only save in your truck, getting a game over can set you back very far. I get how a game being punishing can be fun to some, but when a game throws you into a system like this with no training and no explanation, I feel instead like I'm being punished for even trying in the first place.

Not having a proper tutorial/explanation for controls or mechanics is the downfall of a lot of indie games, and I can look this game (especially compared to the first) and see that the developers have a lot of passion and desire to make their games good. And I can tell that the faults here are the result of oversight and not laziness. If I had to guess, there probably weren't enough blind playtests from people who weren't involved in the project. And again, based on Steam reviews, there's obviously a lot to like and enjoy here. It's still very scary. But I just can't bring myself to sit through the combat (and driving) mechanics. If you can, give it a shot. If not, just watch a playthrough on YouTube.

EDIT:
I ended up watching a playthrough and it was made a lot more clear to me that this game (and this series as a whole) is one of those uber-brutal and punishing games. I think the primary reason as to why that wasn't something I initially realized was because, to be frank, the game being visually ugly/substandard gave me the subconscious feeling that the developers were just underskilled. I'm definitely a lot more understanding of it now, but between that and the fact that I've already seen the whole story, I'm still not planning on going back to it.