This review contains spoilers
Another anthology, another set of games to play. Since I gave my introductions last time, I might as well jump in as simple as sound. I liked this one. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, but I liked it. Overall, the anthology here suffered from the lack of any truly outstanding games, games that could've had more to them, or games that were either abysmal or boring or unplayable. Yet for the good games here, it's still worth a try.
Puzzle House: This is the wrap around for the game and unlike the first Dread X, you have a story to tell here and a house to explore in order to solve puzzles and watch tapes on the TV which are the games themselves. Without a doubt, this game is a direct mirror to V/H/S and I wonder if that was intentional or not. It was a cool story to tell, but the way it ends is very underwhemling and I wish there was more to it than what was there.
Arcadletra: This is the one game of the anthology that freaked me out the most. It was a weird visual acid trip that never lets up until the credits roll. I say put on some headphones for this one and make sure you don't break your chair from jumping up and screaming. Good game.
Solipsis: Another cool short game that tells a nice story. I don't have much to say about this one other that it's a goodie. Not outstanding, but good.
Squirrel Stapler: This is easily the most boring game I've ever played. You play an intentionally bad hunting simulator for an hour all for a two minute jumpscare. It reminds me of The Empty Wake in V/H/S/94, but unlike 94 where you wait ten minutes, it's an hour of tedious boredom that would put you to sleep before it scares you. Sitting through an hour of yawning isn't worth that amount of time at all to get to the scare and I'm surprised that this is from the same guy who made The Pony Factory in the last game since they're both polar opposites from each other. If you want to play a slow burn thriller that isn't boring then play We Never Left in Dread X 5 instead.
Sucker for Love: The most hilarious game in the series so far. For an anthology centered around the theme of Lovecraft, this is the one to take the cake for that theme. Even if I don't like dating sims, this game was a funny way of doing it and you'll have a good time with this one. Fun for the whole family.
The Diving Bell: A great short game to showcase the horror of the Lovecraft theme. Only problem: The ending sucks. Good game, but an unsatisfying ending to cap off the story.
To The End of Days: For game made by the devs of Cathartic, this was a very fun game to play. The gore was great, the shotgun was great, the music is great, the filters are cool, the levels are fun, and you get to murder the Cathartic enemies as well. I do wish this game had a better ending to home things in, but for what it is, it's fun.
Touched by an Outer God: An interesting story that has a repetitive Doom clone strapped to its back. I love the story at play here, but it would've been better as a short film rather than a game for the Dread X Collection. However, blasting Doom Eternal music while playing this makes it 10 times more fun so at least you can do that before the end. Plus, the enemies are way too bullet-spongy for their own good.
Undiscovered: Another interesting game. I don't have much to say about it honestly. Jump in and take my word for it. Could've had more for it, but it's not bad.
The Toy Shop: The standout game of the anthology. Without question. You have a fantastic story and a fun game to play. Sure, there's bugs and animation glitches that Unreal has sometimes, but if you can get past that, you have something special on your hands.
Another Late Night: I honestly don't know what to say about this one. It was like Scream, but it was confusing and weird. I can't tell if I like this one or not so go into it as you want.
Charlotte's Exile: I didn't like this one very much and it's due to subjective taste. Puzzle games are not for me and this one didn't impress. I was confused most of the time even with a friend in a Discord call helping out. If you like puzzle games, this one is for you. If you don't then skip it.
The Thing in the Lake: This is my least favorite game of the entire series. Apparently I'm not alone in that either since a patch came out for the game that automatically gives you the achievement when you start it up. I don't blame Dread XP for doing that since this game is nearly impossible to finish unless if you're a player who 100%ed Crash 4. The visual style is ugly and the level design is confusing because of it, the audio design is terrible, and the controls are also terrible. Why make the Sprint function tied to the Shift key in a sidescroller with no keybinding menu? The game also has RNG encounters that would often get you killed right when you're about to leave an area. The game is so annoyingly difficult where even Story Mode is a laughing stock since it doesn't help. The fact that Dread XP had to patch this game so players can skip it due to how bad it is says everything you need to know about The Thing in the Lake.
So there you go, there's my thoughts on Dread X Collection 2. A good game, but keep in mind that some of the games in here may not be all up to snuff. And that is expected with anthologies so I guess it's a normal day in the office.
Puzzle House: This is the wrap around for the game and unlike the first Dread X, you have a story to tell here and a house to explore in order to solve puzzles and watch tapes on the TV which are the games themselves. Without a doubt, this game is a direct mirror to V/H/S and I wonder if that was intentional or not. It was a cool story to tell, but the way it ends is very underwhemling and I wish there was more to it than what was there.
Arcadletra: This is the one game of the anthology that freaked me out the most. It was a weird visual acid trip that never lets up until the credits roll. I say put on some headphones for this one and make sure you don't break your chair from jumping up and screaming. Good game.
Solipsis: Another cool short game that tells a nice story. I don't have much to say about this one other that it's a goodie. Not outstanding, but good.
Squirrel Stapler: This is easily the most boring game I've ever played. You play an intentionally bad hunting simulator for an hour all for a two minute jumpscare. It reminds me of The Empty Wake in V/H/S/94, but unlike 94 where you wait ten minutes, it's an hour of tedious boredom that would put you to sleep before it scares you. Sitting through an hour of yawning isn't worth that amount of time at all to get to the scare and I'm surprised that this is from the same guy who made The Pony Factory in the last game since they're both polar opposites from each other. If you want to play a slow burn thriller that isn't boring then play We Never Left in Dread X 5 instead.
Sucker for Love: The most hilarious game in the series so far. For an anthology centered around the theme of Lovecraft, this is the one to take the cake for that theme. Even if I don't like dating sims, this game was a funny way of doing it and you'll have a good time with this one. Fun for the whole family.
The Diving Bell: A great short game to showcase the horror of the Lovecraft theme. Only problem: The ending sucks. Good game, but an unsatisfying ending to cap off the story.
To The End of Days: For game made by the devs of Cathartic, this was a very fun game to play. The gore was great, the shotgun was great, the music is great, the filters are cool, the levels are fun, and you get to murder the Cathartic enemies as well. I do wish this game had a better ending to home things in, but for what it is, it's fun.
Touched by an Outer God: An interesting story that has a repetitive Doom clone strapped to its back. I love the story at play here, but it would've been better as a short film rather than a game for the Dread X Collection. However, blasting Doom Eternal music while playing this makes it 10 times more fun so at least you can do that before the end. Plus, the enemies are way too bullet-spongy for their own good.
Undiscovered: Another interesting game. I don't have much to say about it honestly. Jump in and take my word for it. Could've had more for it, but it's not bad.
The Toy Shop: The standout game of the anthology. Without question. You have a fantastic story and a fun game to play. Sure, there's bugs and animation glitches that Unreal has sometimes, but if you can get past that, you have something special on your hands.
Another Late Night: I honestly don't know what to say about this one. It was like Scream, but it was confusing and weird. I can't tell if I like this one or not so go into it as you want.
Charlotte's Exile: I didn't like this one very much and it's due to subjective taste. Puzzle games are not for me and this one didn't impress. I was confused most of the time even with a friend in a Discord call helping out. If you like puzzle games, this one is for you. If you don't then skip it.
The Thing in the Lake: This is my least favorite game of the entire series. Apparently I'm not alone in that either since a patch came out for the game that automatically gives you the achievement when you start it up. I don't blame Dread XP for doing that since this game is nearly impossible to finish unless if you're a player who 100%ed Crash 4. The visual style is ugly and the level design is confusing because of it, the audio design is terrible, and the controls are also terrible. Why make the Sprint function tied to the Shift key in a sidescroller with no keybinding menu? The game also has RNG encounters that would often get you killed right when you're about to leave an area. The game is so annoyingly difficult where even Story Mode is a laughing stock since it doesn't help. The fact that Dread XP had to patch this game so players can skip it due to how bad it is says everything you need to know about The Thing in the Lake.
So there you go, there's my thoughts on Dread X Collection 2. A good game, but keep in mind that some of the games in here may not be all up to snuff. And that is expected with anthologies so I guess it's a normal day in the office.