I really wanted to like this game more than I did, but I don't know. I think the big thing that really sets it back is how much of its identity it owes to Undertale and its very clear inspiration from that game, but never really gets close to achieving what that game did. I really enjoyed the battle system in the second half of the game and the characters are all fun, but it always comes back to "damn, Undertale really did this much better huh" anytime this game tries to do something special, especially in how the main ending (I'll still be playing to uncover secrets and such) didn't have the same level of poignancy that Undertale's does. I know it sucks to compare games like that, but this game really presents itself in a way that it makes it really hard not to constantly compare it. I might like it more after playing through the extra content so if my score changes that's why. Overall, still a cool game I'd recommend to people, just I'd also recommend Undertale louder to them.

Yea i don't know, it's just really fucking good. I think my only real issues is that the bossfights are a massive difficulty spike compared to everything else but that's also very a much a skill issue on my end as I'm not an action game player very often. Raccoon City PD is such a good main setting for the game, and the stress of paying attention to where Mr. X could be at any point while trying to get where you need to be just works so well to emphasize the stressful atmosphere the game is trying to develop. Every area felt like its own little Zelda dungeon and as a huge Zelda fan, I absolutely loved it.

If you've seen my backloggd profile or know me any amount, you would know that The Talos Principle is my favorite game of all time. A game that's fundamentally changed the way I interact with this medium and also just, changed my life in general honestly, so to say I was excited at the prospect of a sequel is an understatement.

The common throughline for me is that most of the game just feels underbaked. Doesn't feel like enough is given the time of day to shine, and just when it starts to get nearly close to as good as the first game, it's basically over. The gold door puzzles are without a doubt the best 12 levels in the game, which sucks because the final level is just as underdeveloped as the rest of the game is. Having one gimmick per area doesn't really allow for any of them to develop nearly as much as the 5 gimmicks of the main game, leading to worlds that all feel like tutorials for the new gimmick and nothing more.

The stars are almost completely neutered, with maybe 2 of them capturing the same feeling as the original stars in interacting with the world as much as I can in order to solve a macro scaled puzzle that leads me to the star. The prometheus and sphinx stars are especially weak, considering the former are all chase sequences and the latter being extremely bare bones find and interact a little thingy to get the star.

The story, while still good in its own right, doesn't come nearly as close to as good as the first game. Where the original had its told almost entirely through subtext, with the more juicy and frankly important elements all being essentially optional, this game does the opposite and pushes it as much as possible, to where it's the central focus of the game, which doesn't work nearly as well. The overwhelming mass of characters feels painfully unnecessary, especially when only like 2 of them actually matter in the end, with the rest only existing to exist and throw occasional quips at you (although I do like how each character does have their own political viewpoints and that its cool to see how each character interprets the current situation and what they think makes sense as a next move).

Overall, I really expected more than what was received, which in all fairness is partly my fault. Going in with the expectation of a game being the sequel to my literal favorite game is too high, but too much here feels like they're desperately trying to fix something that wasn't ever broken.

I kind of wanted this to be the last game I beat for the year so that I could start and end the year with Ninja Gaiden/Ninja Gaiden-likes but I have other games I plan on beating soon so lol. I do think I would have liked this more if I had played it before trying out The Messenger, because that game does so much to subvert its genre that it makes a game like this (just the platforming and action elements fine tuned as much as possible) seem worse than it actually is. Overall I think the game is just, really good, with my only real issue being that it starts a bit slow and sandbags, showing off its most fun and interesting ideas in the second half of the game. Also the movement until you start unlocking more and more stuff like sprinting can feel a bit slow but once you unlock your full moveset, the game feels incredible to play. Definitely worth your time if you are a fan of the genre.