MediEvil 2

While I had my issues with the first medieval game, they were overcome by how creative the game was as well as how fun the gameplay is. This game has that same description but with the positives not being as strong this time around due to its insistence of varying its game style.

My main issue is that it tries to incorporate elements from different genres similar to what Spyro and banjo Kazooie did around this time, this includes a boxing match, stealth which sees Dan putting his head on a severed hand to sneak around and even several carnival mechanics due to one of the levels taking place in a carnival. For a game called medieval, its setting is a bit off as it instead takes place in the 1800s meaning we have a more industrial look to the game which moves its setting from the countryside of England to London. As such several key locations in London serve as levels for the game which has a much more linear progression than its predecessor, this wouldn’t be so bad except your health once again is carried over from stage to stage with the health fountains not replenishing should you return to a previous level. It's rather pointless getting all of the chalices in this game given how it assumes the neutral ending of the previous game as cannon, also the "bad" ending is more satisfying than the "good" ending which really makes you wonder what the developers were thinking this time around. Dan now has a love interest in the form of Kiya who’s an Egyptian mummy who was sleeping in the same museum he was residing in (again so much for the good ending of the last game) that predictably leads to them falling in love with each other. We also have a sidekick in the form of Winston who offers our hero useful hints as well as the ability to save midway through a level rather than waiting to do so upon its completion. This is a useful mechanic as the levels are much longer this time around due to the different mechanics each of them uses. I will say that the game does have several good ideas on display, many of these made their way into medieval resurrection such as the carnival level, Dan needing to disguise himself in order to gain access to an area and even him having a sidekick. It’s far from creatively bankrupt even if the resulting game is rather underwhelming due to these pieces not fitting well with each other and being strung along in a rather basic story that disregards large chunks of the previous game.

If you're a diehard fan of the first game, you'll like this one fine. It has a ton to offer from its new enemies to gameplay, however the flaws are noticeable which is why I can't say it’s an amazing game.