A hugely vast improvement over the first game. Like wow. From the title menu it's impressive to look at, all those different typefaces designed for different menu buttons? Beautiful. And the menu design itself is clean and filled with what the first game was lacking. All around improved visuals from the previous game. It does have somewhat of an optimization problem, mostly if you use VSync, it runs very reasonably once you realize that and do without it, and maybe try some other tweaks. Only technical complaint I have is that the game does some bad flickering when alt tabbed while streaming it.

The story is perfect, it didn't feel anything was missing from it like it did with the first game. The tutorial was immersive, and the intro buildup into the character selection was great. Pulling the classic gaming trope of "second game means adding a second character". The way they tailored the narrative based on which character you choose to play as feels very well done. It was so good that I actually looked forward to playing the game four times to experience the story as good/evil path of both characters. That's pretty rare as I'd typically just like to get as few runs in as possible to get all achievements done. The different outcomes and choices you can make to change the story are staggering. The voice actors do amazing jobs of making their characters feel alive. And the return and surprise of a few characters were pleasantly shocking.

The new powers system is so awesome and the new ones added are not only cool as ♥♥♥♥ but also fun as hell to use. I kind of love Far Reach more than Blink lol Shadow Walk is dope, Mesmerize makes for a cool stealth option for magical play, and Domino just adds on top of that. The new charm crafting is awesome too, allowing one to make stronger versions of found charms which adds for even more depth to your playstyle choice. The fact that you can enjoy all this with NG+ now makes for a perfect replayable experience.

It has to be mentioned somewhere but the music is phenomenal. Especially the custom vocals (and wonderful strings) heard on the streets and the credits, "The Coup" and "On The Sands Of Serkonos" are amazing.

Lastly the level design has to be mentioned because by god they did a fantastic job. I love the modular home of Jindosh, it reminded me of H.H.Holmes murder castle. That was my favorite level to play through. I thought there was no way to peak that and then the next level has you use a device to travel through two points in time to find out what happened there three years ago and a means to navigate the area in ways not possible in the present. It, everything, was so well done, I was captivated.

A hugely vast improvement over the first game. Like wow. From the title menu it's impressive to look at, all those different typefaces designed for different menu buttons? Beautiful. And the menu design itself is clean and filled with what the first game was lacking. All around improved visuals from the previous game. It does have somewhat of an optimization problem, mostly if you use VSync, it runs very reasonably once you realize that and do without it, and maybe try some other tweaks. Only technical complaint I have is that the game does some bad flickering when alt tabbed while streaming it. The story is perfect, it didn't feel anything was missing from it like it did with the first game. The tutorial was immersive, and the intro buildup into the character selection was great. Pulling the classic gaming trope of "second game means adding a second character". The way they tailored the narrative based on which character you choose to play as feels very well done. It was so good that I actually looked forward to playing the game four times to experience the story as good/evil path of both characters. That's pretty rare as I'd typically just like to get as few runs in as possible to get all achievements done. The different outcomes and choices you can make to change the story are staggering. The voice actors do amazing jobs of making their characters feel alive. And the return and surprise of a few characters were pleasantly shocking. The new powers system is so awesome and the new ones added are not only cool as fuck but also fun as hell to use. I kind of love Far Reach more than Blink lol Shadow Walk is dope, Mesmerize makes for a cool stealth option for magical play, and Domino just adds on top of that. The new charm crafting is awesome too, allowing one to make stronger versions of found charms which adds for even more depth to your playstyle choice. The fact that you can enjoy all this with NG+ now makes for a perfect replayable experience. It has to be mentioned somewhere but the music is phenomenal. Especially the custom vocals (and wonderful strings) heard on the streets and the credits, "The Coup" and "On The Sands Of Serkonos" are amazing. Lastly the level design has to be mentioned because by god they did a fantastic job. I love the modular home of Jindosh, it reminded me of H.H.Holmes murder castle. That was my favorite level to play through. I thought there was no way to peak that and then the next level has you use a device to travel through two points in time to find out what happened there three years ago and a means to navigate the area in ways not possible in the present. It, everything, was so well done, I was captivated.