Hylics 2

This is what every single sequel should strive to be, this is just the first game but just kicked into high gear in terms of quality and content.
First game is like, 2-3 hours, this is easily 8-12, sometimes more so if you are getting all the secrets.

The soundtrack baby, ho mama the soundtrack. This time it is made mainly made by a man by the name of "Chuck Salamone" rather than fully being done by "Mason Lindtroth". Chucks musical direction with this game in top notch, making absolute jamming tracks, chill tracks, and even some groovy yet anxiety inducing tracks taking liberty from the previous games OST, namely the track "BistechA"

The game is now made in Unity, which makes the game now look a lot more clean, while still taking some of the compressed grunge from the previous game. It is honestly eye candy to me personally. The style is still very much abstract and unique to any other game, something that still screams Hylics.

The combat system is largely improved, with a lot more you can do, and also more that the enemy can do. The game is more flashy, in your face, and wild in its combat, keeping you on your toes and making you choose your decisions carefully. I am not much of an RPG person, but hot damn does this game take the cake for fun JRPG combat!

The game also takes random detours from the usual JRPG affair. From platforming in the 3D realm to getting into a Mega Man style arcade game, to even a first person section if you look hard enough (which has one of the best soundtracks of the game might I add). It always keeps you guessing.

The story is decent, it doesn't need to be a complex story, the last game sure wasn't.
The story is about the previous antagonist, Gibby, being resurrected by some cult that has completely overthrown the government. You have to go stop them before Gibby can be resurrected and throw the world into his clay tyrant hands.

There is one thing I have a critique with in this game though, a somewhat loss of charm. You see, the first game was crispy, grungy, dirty, scrappy, organic. The OST practically screamed at you with Mason's guitar playing while you combated foes which were real-life photos of clay figures and abominations. It was more whimsy, more abstract with story-telling and music, and felt somewhat homey.
The second is a much more premium feeling experience, something that feels more full and more fleshed out, but due to this it loses some of the charm of the original.
That doesn't mean though that they didn't try to still retain the charm of this original in this game, as they do! Sure it is less pronounced, but it is still very much there.

Overall, I'd say this is an amazing game, which I absolutely recommend to anyone who has 20 bucks to spare!

The world of Hylics 2 is bold, surreal, and above all else captivating. The characters and soundtrack reveal hours of artistic dedication packaged into a short, but memorable playthrough. At first glance, the story may seem incomprehensible, but Hylics 2 utilizes the RPG genre's well-known mechanics and tropes to guide the player through its surreal narrative, revealing a surprisingly elaborate and engaging universe in the process. Each battle felt like a fresh experience, as the game's attack animations and enemy designs add so much charm. I was always happy to fight an easily avoidable enemy, so long as I could see the burrito or juice animation one more time.

Hylics 2's party members are delightfully nonsensical, yet still, manage to have distinct identities and uniquely add to the game's plot. As a result, I continuously felt compelled to finish the game's story and speculate about the lore. I do believe the platforming segments hurt the game's pacing and can seem like a slough. But ultimately, Hylics 2 remains one of the most creative and awe-inspiring entries in the RPG genre I have seen to date.

This game misses a lot of what I liked about Hylics 1, still love it, but the area design is incredibly homogenous, the humor lacking, and the soundtrack less atmospheric. I'd hate to say I dislike the soundtrack, I don't, it's a 9/10 on it's own, but the music is too coherent for the Hylics aesthetic. This game at least improves upon the JRPG combat, making status effect stacking and buffing important factors, which added strategical depth. The absolute biggest flaw with this game is it's movement. Even after several patches, the platforming is clunky unlike anything else, and makes the game much less enjoyable than it could have been. This could've been a small problem, but considering you're involved with the platforming at any time you find yourself outside of a battle it starts to get to you. Hylics 2 was a really ambitious game, and I love the Hylics art style, but this game frustrated me more than I would have hoped.