Anisoptera

This was a very ambitious project. The voice acting is second to none, the visuals and atmosphere excellent, sound and music outstanding. The game play is good, improved from the first game but definitely feeling more dated and with the length of this game it became repetitive. Puzzle elements are also good rather than great, and although the visuals are excellent I was hungry for a change of scenery. The story though is where the game unfortunately has major issues. The creative team that made the first game, did not have all the same talent on the second, and this game does not recapture the magic of it's predecessor. The story they wanted to tell, and how they wanted to tell it, was great in principle but failed in execution. It suffers from massive pacing problems, and character arcs that do not engage meaningfully or further the character development in a way that is consistent and makes sense. With characters this beloved and a story this bold, missing on story elements is a glaring fault for a sequel. If you loved the first game, you can pass on this and know you really didn't miss anything special in terms of the story. If you had strong emotional attachments to the first game, you may find it outright depressing. But for many it may still be worth picking up (perhaps on sale) just for some of the better sequences and cut scenes which can be powerful and stunningly beautiful, or to have another game of this style to enjoy with excellent graphics and visual elements.