PRO:
On one side, Tarsier Studios did an outstanding job on creating the world of LN that we know and terrify of. Outstanding storytelling via level art, details, atmosphere, lighting, asset composition in each area feel tight and connected to each other, giving an unsettling yet familiar feeling of places you know in real life - but madly twisted.

The characters' stories are full of twists and are carefully scattered throughout each level, each animation and interaction between each other and the world itself (not to mention details that you won't find in the game only, but also other mediums like comics & website). The idea of Mono having to physically hold Six in his hand will definitely make players like me feel so personally attached and use it throughout the walkthrough, even when Six turns out to be a selfish c*** and only cares about her safety in the end, especially when seeing how Mono can be a threat to her in the long run. Sadly, by throwing him back to the Signal Tower, she creates a paradox that leads to the existence of the Tower & the final boss at the beginning. . All these details give more depth and insight - even theories - of how the story goes, or how even when the studio confirm this game is a sequel, so many details make folks can't help but thinking of it as a prequel.

Puzzle, as usual, plays an important role in the game, with the welcoming improvement such as having the key stored in Mono's pocket, the light and remote that give more diverse ways of solving and the ability to be able to fight back with certain weapons - even when it feels clunky, as the game isn't truly intended to be an action game. And I'm glad the studio has given an Alyx treatment (HL series) on Six's AI so she can keep herself safe, rather than turning her into annoying Ashley (RE4). Overall, a fairly welcome gameplay that remains consistent in this 2nd installment.

NOW, THE CON:
But because of that consistency, $*** hits the fan more than once during my walkthrough.

Since the puzzles in this game are mostly physics-based, you will encounter trials and errors that shouldn't happen, such as the box/cart that you carefully pushed to the right spot suddenly shifts a bit (more like bugs at this point), a line-up jump or hit that doesn't follow with your intended direction - resulting in almost reaching and edge or completely missing the hit to an enemy.

Speaking of enemies, their AI & learning curve are messy sometimes - especially at the school with the Bullies, when their screams for some reason don't register as a sign of jumping onto you, but a taunt or just smiling instead, resulting in a hit that got missed. Dues to the game's nature of not supporting action, you have to line up the hit correctly, or you'll end up missing just 2-3cm of your hammer hit, or completely to the target's left or right. Yep - the game has Zero target-lock function. But the whole Hospital section has it with the flashlight, so Idk. Maybe it's meant to be.

All of this, combined with the classic treatment of timing-based puzzles make a fairly frustrating experience in solving the game's puzzles that are fairly interesting on their own. One time, Tarsier clearly does it on purpose for cheap death at the Pale City level, where a TV needs to be arranged in front of a window before Mono get teleported by another, but the game doesn't show any clue or sign you need to do that first, resulting Mono jumping to TV A, which teleports him to TV B and has him slammed to the window and die. .

Speaking of cheap & easy deaths, this game has it - it's like a classic way of treating puzzles for Tarsier in both LN1 and Very Little Nightmares (on Android, iOS), with deaths that come so unexpected & unpredicted, trials and errors is a must. It's 2021 - there are literally channels that can teach you how to design games & puzzles properly, which Tarsier's game designer can learn from to improve this utterly cheap approach to puzzles.

You might think I'll include short game time in here too - but actually NO. The length is just enough to stop you from torturing yourself from the deaths you will have encountered, so that should be a Pro - but a Pro that shouldn't have to be included.


8/10. Just the right amount of time to enjoy an intriguingly nightmarish adventure about two kids that should have been given a proper time to be kids, but end up seeing deaths and anomalies that beg to be continued in the next sequels. But the puzzle treatment & the implementation of action need some more refining, as they regrettably drag the game's shining performance down to a highly promising one instead.

But nonetheless, this game is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Go grab it in full price to show some support for the studio so they can improve its puzzles in the next sequels !