The New Classics #28: Death End re;Quest 2

 

The Backstory: The original game was promising enough, and could have become a New Classic if not for my reservations about the universe and the positioning issues in combat. Still, I had good hopes that the sequel would fix these issues — despite a lower Metacritic score than the original. But hey, who cares about aggregated scores when the gaming instinct rules supreme? 

 

 

The Game: SO DARK! This is what came to my mind after a bit of playing. First, I had to crank up my Switch’s brightness all the way up, because I couldn’t see a darn thing. Secondly, the tenebrous atmosphere hinted at by the cover art is a thing indeed, as most of the action takes place at night or inside shadowy corridors. Last but not least, the story is seriously grim (SPOILERS!), with the MC murdering her father two minutes into the game and being held at knifepoint five minutes later (END OF SPOILERS). 

 

 

While I’m not exactly fond of such gloominess, that alone won’t deter me from enjoying some good gameplay. And boy, is RQ2’s gameplay good indeed! It does fix the positioning issues of the original, making combat much smoother and sleeker. The immense potential strategic depth I spotted in the original entry is very much alive and well, and levelling-up is just as deliciously fast. Fighting as a whole is a thrilling bit of business, and it wasn’t long before I was murdering everything in sight. 

 

 

Everything else is fun as heck. The game lets you roam dungeons at breakneck speed and delivers plenty of secret passages, which you can search for yourself or locate thanks to an in-game hint system. The MC is a badass without even trying, the supporting characters are zesty and zany, and everybody looks gorgeous and stylish. Last but not least, the story packs plenty of intrigue, suspense and dark thrills, and I cannot wait to read it without the Skip mode on. 

 

 

The only low point is the graphics: not only are they too dark for their own good, but they are also ugly as heck. The first dungeon looks like a ’90s flash game, and the whole game bristles with pixels so enormous they could pierce your retinas. But being the retro whore I am, I don’t care one bit about crappy graphics — and I care even less when gameplay is that good. 

 

 

The Verdict: New Classic, yes please! I had good hopes for RQ2, but I didn’t think I would like it that much. Sure, I preferred the sunny and open vistas of the first game; but I definitely prefer everything else in that sequel, from the pull-no-punches story to the splendid combat. I secretly hope for a third entry that would mix everything together; but for now, I’ll enjoy that redeeming second instalment.