a work of art.

everything good i could say about the first Hylics can be applied to Hylics 2 and then some. The gameplay is more streamlined and comfortable. The visuals are crisper and cleaner. The music is flawless.

This is one of my favorite games to play, because it's a chance to look at it and listen to it. it's truly an experience, and i'm looking forward to a third playthrough some time in the future.

The first-person maze sequence is pretty rough though, sorry.

play this game.

feels a bit more inconsistent than the first game and doesn't hit quite as hard, but that's the risk of expanding on something that was both great and pretty simple.

the writing is much better and the commitment to more coherent worldbuilding is good for a sequel and a much longer game.

the 3d environments look a bit worse and are sometimes very hard to navigate.

both minigames (sidescroller and dungeon crawler) are just a pain. I typically really like when games do stuff like that, but the levels just feel like they needed another draft.

as much as this game adds in expanded scope, there is nothing quite like playing with your band in the first game

the vibes are maybe a teensy bit better in the original but aside from the controls being weird (not a big problem since they can be remapped) and the depth perception sometimes feeling off, this game is so peak it's crazy - maybe it's just the autism speaking but playing the game at all just made me feel so happy in a way that's so hard to describe. everything about this bleeds insane amounts of charm, from the ways enemies dance around in battle to the random 2d platformer sections to whatever the fuck happened in the ending and it all just culminates to an experience that means so much to me in spite how little meaning anything in it actually has. play hylics 2!

(one personal little knock; the music has gone from directionless neo-psychedelic post-rock strumming in the first game to direction-ful neo-psychedelic psych rock strumming in this, which although this soundtrack 100% has some great stuff to offer i do prefer what the first was doing. i especially miss how noise rock-y the first game's ost got on tracks like Messy Song - hearing that song for the first time in-game changed me as a human being - but oh well i can live with what this game does)

Apesar de eu gostar muito do Manson Lindoroth buscar formas diferentes de expandir o Hylics original e acrescentar novos elementos ao gameplay, as sessões de plataforma apenas prejudicaram o jogo. Os controles dos personagens são estranhos e o movimento deles não obedece muito bem aos inputs do usuário, o que para essas partes é realmente um problema, pois as torna frustrantes e repetitivas. Felizmente são sessões bem curtas que não causam um impacto negativo muito grande a experiência do jogo.

Eu senti que a curva de dificuldade aqui foi muito mais contida que no Hylics original, o que é bom já que torna possível vencer o jogo sem necessitar de um grinding demasiado. No que tange o combate, os personagens e os visuais, tudo o que já existia em Hylics 1 foi muito expandindo, polido, e feito com bastante calma e dedicação. O estilo surrealista se mantém, mais vivo do que nunca, junto da trilha sonora de rock progressivo, fazendo esse jogo ser um deleite a todos os sentidos.

Recomendo a duologia Hylics para qualquer pessoas que goste de RPGs e queira uma experiência única e diferente no gênero, que ele não irá encontrar em nenhum outro local.

Despite the advencement in technology and the fact that the videoludic industry is bigger than ever, some people still find difficult to consider videogames as "proper pieces of art".

But there are some titles that alone will be able to put to rest these frequents comments. Hylics 2 is one of these titles.

A gem created by Mason Lindroth and Chuck Salamone: two people with a vision, a PC, a bunch of clay and a guitar, that were able to create one of the most bizzarre worlds I have ever seen in a videogame, with an aesthetic and music that allows to express so many different emotions at once, some of the most unique gameplay mechanics in the genre, and an atmosphere that makes you literally live a dream.

Hylics 2 is more than a game..... it's an experience. One of the most overlooked indie RPGs of recent years.

I have a huge, huge admiration for Mason Lindroth and his art. His surrealistic style through various mediums continues to inspire me as an artist to experiment and get weird, something Hylics 2 understands perfectly. After a year-long gap between sessions, I ultimately moved on to other things at the time, however, yesterday something drove me back into this world. It was late, I was tired, burnt out and needed something to haze up my mind. This is where I landed. For me, this game exudes vibes, unlike any other game I've played. Whether it be the unique and mind-bending visual style mixing gorgeous claymation with 3d animated worlds, or the music(fucking amazing OST btw), occupying the same hazy and warm sentiments. The dialogue with each NPC is intertwined perfectly throughout their unique design, making the "story" make sense in the most nonsensical ways. Not to mention the bosses are some of the coolest designed enemies I've ever faced, I couldn't take the smile off my face for each one. All of these aspects come together to form a game that acts as a weird safe space for me, a world where I can wander and absorb all the uniqueness to be found. I'm really grateful for that.

However, I don't know if I'd call it perfect. Aside from the amazing boss/enemy designs, I think the combat is a bit too weighty. Towards the final third, I was outright avoiding it due to the intensity and difficulty of each encounter, it's a bit much tbh. It's also relatively easy to get lost and stumped on what to do next, leading to a good amount of backtracking. The movement is also a bit janky and tested my patience at times, especially with some of the precise jumps. Either way, this game is exactly my shit. From the moment I saw it on Steam I knew it would reflect my love for games as a mode for creativity, and of course, it succeeded.

Hylics 2 is the best game - the best game that I've still been somewhat disappointed by.

To start with the positives, the visuals and the music are both as great as any game I've ever played. The surf rock that drones while you explore this 3d clay world creates an experience that's impossible to not get lost in. Every screenshots a painting, and every song is a banger.

The gameplay too, while not revolutionary, is still above-average for a turn based RPG. Nothing crazy here, but still enough strategy to keep the game constantly evolving.

So if the music is 10/10, the visuals are a 10/10, and the gameplay is probably a solid 8/10 - then why was I still disappointed? Well, more so than every other indie I've ever loved this much, this game just didn't make me think. There's just not a moment here that made me really think anything other than 'oh, cool.' It's just something that I kept waiting for, and it''s something that never came.

It's still a top-notch visual and auditory experience though, just accompanied by a standard story, with some funny, but nothing more writing.

9/10
Game #10 of 2024, February 6th