If you played Tails of Iron 1 and simply want more of that, well this game will probably satisfy you. It’s a safe sequel that feels so much like the first one it might as well have been an extended DLC for it. That’s not entirely a bad thing, but it also carries over a lot of the same flaws while introducing some new pain points. Overall, it’s still a fun time and enjoyable experience if you enjoy rodents and the 2D souls-like genre and worth picking up on sale for at least one playthrough.

At first I was very skeptical. It felt like a rehash of the first game but replace frogs with bats. It is still that. But it does expand on it more and actually has references and cameos to the first game. The ending was kind of weird and felt undeserving while laying some obvious sequel bait. Wasn’t entirely satisfying but the journey there was a good time at least.

Very aesthetically pleasing, definitely the best aspect of the game with the Redwall and Mouseguard vibes the game gives off. Geralt from Witcher 3 is still the narrator. While cool in the first game and that they are continuing this, I can’t help but think “that’s Geralt” every time he speaks. A bit distracting!
Maybe I’ve grown impatient but I actually found myself often just rushing ahead before the narration finished because it was getting too long winded. Then getting stopped by the animals speaking to each other in visual speech. That was actually kind of annoying and slowed the game down when I already knew what I needed to do but it kept me paused waiting for them to finish.

Mechanically, it’s a fine game that’s accessible through both difficulty options as well as a variety of tools at your disposal. Offensive combat consists of your normal attack, heavy attack, ranged attack, and spells. The melee can be swapped between one and two handed. Defensive options are guard/parry, dodge, jump, and good old fashioned simply moving out of the way.

Spells are on a cooldown and as pretty effective as long as using elemental advantage. For example, lightning may cause airborne enemies to crash down for free hits. Elements are a new thing added to Tails of Iron 2. While it works well for spells, I’m not fond of the implementation for weapons. There is actually too many weapons and too little reason to switch between them. Not really a huge impact between them other than elements which I’m too lazy to switch between mid combat. Breaks the flow of the game especially since every new screen may have an enemy with a different weakness. I ended up just playing with one handed weapon as one element and 2-handed as another and this worked well enough though sometimes I hit like a wet noodle and was too stubbornly lazy to switch out.

Ranged combat I honestly forget it exists. My favorite weapon was a two handed sword that didn’t bother with any elements just pure raw damage. Need more of that. Element handling just got tedious.

That’s my main complaint with the game – same as the previous. There is a lot of pointlessly tedious and annoying things that add up. It’s fine to tolerate for one playthrough but definitely makes me less inclined to replay it or even the sequel if this keeps up.

Some examples:
Unnecessary fall damage everywhere. Drop 2 feet to get to the next area and take chip damage. Slowly heal it backup.

Element resistances all over the place even in the same biome causing constant loadout switchup if you’re actually bothering to engage with the element system.

Backtracking galore, usually to kill the boss you just killed but this time as a side quest. Improved from the first game with fast travel being an option now. Still tedious.

Bosses will retreat after receiving damage thresholds to a new area on the map, forcing you to chase after them to another screen. While immersive (the dev’s justification for this), it makes for annoying gameplay.

So there you have it. More of the same. But is that a good thing? Yes and no. All of the faults are still there along with new ones. But still a fun time to play at least once if you like this sort of adventure. If you liked the first game and wanted more, may as well pick this up. If the small annoyances I mentioned sound off-putting? Maybe wait for a deep sale or just pass on it. Might not be worth the tedium.

SPOILER ALERT
I've been properly roadblocked by Hazam. I just can't get past him. Bosses in this game have a LOT of aoes, stun effects, gateway minions, minions that fight alongside bosses, double hitting throwing effects, oddly timed attack indicators. To the point where if I get hit early on into the boss fight I just stand there and let the boss wail on me till I stop breathing. But then I lock in and eventually learn the patterns, until Hazam. I don't know what it is about his fight but I just.. can't. Also for all of the bat fights I have to mute the music because it actually hinders my gameplay. All things said though I do enjoy the game! I loved the first one and truly loved the Crimson Keep area in this game

I am pretty sure I have written a review twice now. Not sure why you all are deleting it, but whatever.
Since the dev's and Steam seem to not like my opinions, lets be concise.
This is a fine sequel. The first game is a bit better, but only in small ways that really don't matter.
I want more of this world so if the only way I get to have it is to keep my mouth shut and beg for more then I guess this is my stop.

Good luck, Odd Bug Studio. If I am wrong about my reviews being deleted then let me know and i will delete this, but until then don't screw up what you have going by being a petty censor.