Reviews from

in the past


The candy corn gimmick was actually a fun way to play the game.

Not as good as the original but still fun

depois de 4hs jogando eu deletei o save e não consegui recuperar

I played Costume Quest, but don't think I finished it.

This seemed short and I certainly enjoyed playing it while I was playing it, so that's good. And the story line was fun and it never got overly bogged down at any point.

My 4 and a half year old nagged me to keep playing this one. We had to take a break about halfway through as the trick or treating was freaking her out, but a few weeks later she was asking for us to play it again.

She was rather grumpy that it ended, but there was an achievement for honking the horn 1000 times, so she got to spend some time pressing the same button over and over again

I got this one for free with Games for Gold, so from that point of view it was certainly worth what I paid for it

I think overall I preferred the first one but they're both about even. Fun breezy little Halloween games with goofy stories, what's not to like.


Fun goofy game, story is stupid but thats not a bad thing in this time

For some reason it's just not grabbing me in the same way as the first did. One of these days I'll actually finish it, but my attention wanes every time I try.

Love this game almost as much as the first, still love the art style and music alongside the dialogue, love how they never fixed the out-of-bounds glitch.
(played on Mac and Ps4)

Not as charming as the first game, some interesting new mechanics and costumes but fails to be as engaging. Still a fun time!

This review contains spoilers

Why do I need to know that these children will have sex and have a child in the future?!? It just feels so weird to me. Why?!? I didn't need this in this kids game. Fucking hell. Why does Double Fine insist on these weird plots with breeding. First was Broken Age with its weird breeding plotline and now they injected it into this Halloween themed kids game. I haven't finished Psychonauts 2. Hopefully Raz doesn't psychically breed with Lili and have a psychic baby that resembles the two of them.

This review contains spoilers

Really a step down from its predecessor. It's a game that hurts the good clean fun of the original. The story is by the numbers garbage. With odd story decisions like taking out the two minority characters from the original game and making them into side characters. Then they make the genius decision to pair them up in the future such that they have a child together. Really not a fan of shipping kids, it's kinda sick actually. Then the story does some dumb "authoritarian" dentist story, but it really just tries too hard and without the depth that something like that would require. It tries to take the aesthetic of stuff that is considered "authoritarian" but without much nuance. Talk about shallow! The original game was a fun romp with a cast of wacky kids. This time around, the fun aspect felt secondary to the mess of a storyline. Also, the level design was kinda shit. The only redeeming factor for me was the hot dog costume, that was sick.

As a child, I loved the original Costume Quest. I thought about it at least two to three times a year and I missed it so dearly. Picture my surprise when I'm showing a friend about it and I see a second one was released! I finally get to around to playing it, and although I was slightly confused as I didn't play Costume Quest 1 DLC, I got the hang of it and fell in love. Every minute spent playing this game was enjoyed and brought me so much nostalgia. These games are fucking amazing, not only do they have a cohesive and really cute story, but their runtime is pretty decent for such a old game. This game was my childhood and I am so grateful to have played it.

Costume Quest 2 doesn't feel like a proper sequel. Assets from the first game are everywhere, from characters to locations. It's at best a stale retread of the original, the worst kind of sequel. The funniest joke in the game is on the player if they opt into the new Candy Corn costume intentionally designed to do nothing. It's an alright idea, but playing with it felt like a drag. I bailed on it when I noticed my game time ballooning as my enjoyment was decreasing.

My memory of the first game is a little hazy, but every boss fight here seemed to lack any gimmicks and often wasn't even backed up by some trash mobs. Most of the random encounters posed more of a challenge and had more variety. The final boss fight got me thinking they'd be a few forms when it hadn't chipped away at my party's health much, but nope that was it. The game seemed to wrap up very abruptly from there, even with the credits doubling as an epilogue.

The story has a lot in common with Back to the Future Part II. The antagonist using time travel, a dystopian future, a trip into the past, etc. Not necessarily bad, except that the game doesn't bring many ideas of its own. If you want more Costume Quest story, I think you'll probably find the game a bit too much of a grind to get any enjoyment out of it. Costume Quest 2 is a disappointing sequel that lacks anything to distinguishes itself.

Cool locations and atmosphere, and usual great Double Fine writing, but the combat and story really drags everything back.

For years now, I've always avoided this game around October and I'm not sure why. I thought the idea was neat enough, and I figured it was high time I actually give this game a shot. But damn, was I bored. Within minutes I realized the cutesy style of the game and theme couldn't support what was just a slow drag with little to keep me interested. Usually I'd just toss a game like this aside and forget about it, but what burns me the most about this one is that it's been on my backlog for years. It probably should have simply stayed there.

A cute game that overstays its welcome by like 30 mins.

Its also possible that I just took to long doing one section of the game

Secuela directa de la primera entrega e igual de divertida, nuestros protagonistas conocerán nuevas amistades y a un nuevo y peligroso antagonista que nos obligará a viajar en el tiempo para resolver escalofriantes puzzles para salvar la noche de Halloween de una vez por todas. Sigue siendo un RPG por turnos pero con un sistema de combate más pulido y más variado al permitirnos coleccionar y usar diferentes cartas con poderes que hacen referencias graciosas a los dulces de Halloween. Si te gusto la primera parte está también la debes de jugar.

This review contains spoilers

Spoiler only discussed at the very bottom

I wish I could be more enthusiastic writing this review, but I gotta be upfront with you guys- Costume Quest 2 was not fun. Not only does it do nothing to fix any of the issues I had with the first (minus one alleviant that has its own shortfalls), but it also saps the charm its predecessor at least coasted on when the gameplay faltered. The story is underdeveloped, the protagonists less individualistic, and the combat as atrocious as before. I don’t recommend it in any way, shape, or form.

When we last left off, the quartet were stranded in a plane of existence housing multiple portals. Unfortunately, there is no save transfer, meaning you’re going to get some discontinuity with the costumes the four are wearing here versus at the end of your Grubbins on Ice playthrough (an aspect that’ll prop up multiple times, but more on that later). Those who thought this would lead to some Rick and Morty-esque traversals through different dimensions with their own takes on Allhallowtide celebrations would be wrong as you are instead provided a basic time travel tale: the twins’ resident dentist, Orel, is scheming with time wizards to remove the holiday for good.

I know it’s dumb to dissect a lighthearted plot for its holes, but consistent worldbuilding is imperative when it comes to any fictional project. No matter how silly the tone, if you do not have coherent rules, your story will crumble and consequently lose viewer interest. These wizards, led by a sage named Kronoculus, appear out of nowhere: we aren’t told why they’re making a deal with Orel, why they care about removing Halloween, or why they’re so incompetent if they can control time. It may seem strange, but their parallels in the first Costume Quest were all addressed: Dorsilla’s magic gave her power and influence over the Repugians; they were targeting Halloween in order to amass enough confectionaries for Big Bones; and the Grubbins were regular blue collar workers who hated their job and subsequently privy to labor mishaps.

It’s a shame that the narrative wanes as often as it does because there was potential for an actual emotional climax(+). Yet that wasn’t to be, and you’re alternatively left with the generic goal of trying to save the timeline from culminating into a candyless dystopia.

Gone too, are the personalities of the Twins. The prior game glided on their conflicting demeanors and burgeoning acknowledgment that they loved each other: now, they’re just lackeys for whatever MacGuffin the other characters set them out to retrieve. There are moments when they get some one liners here and there, but overall they’re silent protagonists in spirit.

I mentioned earlier that one drawback from CQ1 was resolved, and that was the lack of player control over speech. You were forced to essentially sit back and wait for this recording to play out, no matter how fast or slow your pace of reading. The sequel fixes things by adding a control trigger, but this is offset by the transitions going from one pose to another. It’s like you’re reading a comic book, with the next character’s line of speech being associated with a complete shift in their posture, facial expressions, or even location. The result was jarring and lazy, as though the developers were unable to program a stationary camera showcasing these adjustments occurring between conversations in-real-time.

Graphically, Costume Quest 2 hasn’t changed much: you can read my critique of the first game for a full breakdown (https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/279063/), but the character models and architecture are more-or-less unaltered. The decor of Hallow’s Eve is also more diminished this time around, being substituted with a nighttime vibrancy dependent on the district you’re in (the Jazzy French Quarter is decked with pink and purple stage lighting; old Auburn Pines a dilapidated neighborhood of Autumnal plainness; New Repugia a smokey metropolis of LED signposts and economic grit). As you can probably guess, there are a lot more locations this time around compared to CQ1, and the aesthetic minutiae were evidently planned to a tee by Double Fine. Unfortunately, while I do understand wanting to avoid rehashing the prequel’s atmosphere, the lack of an overarching theme does leave something to be desired in a game that is technically focused on Halloween.

The only real visual downside I found was the occasional costume clipping during trick-or-treat cutscenes. On that note, let’s talk about the gameplay: it’s literally the exact same. Progressing from one region to the next entails you doing a series of quests whilst engaging in combat with the monsters roaming about; 99% of these tasks (including side ones) consisting of fetch quests. Though a few involve interacting with some eccentric individuals, the majority are boring and forgettable, whether it’s playing hide-and-seek with the local kids, trading cards, or collecting candy/packages (read: trick-or-treating) for the occasional mook.

What brings down the whole experience, however, is the combat. It’s a good thing my rant from the first game remains true, as I don’t have to waste words explaining why it’s so bad, so if you want to know why it (and the RPG elements in general) fail, head over to that page. To be fair, a few adjustments have been made: one, sticky treat cards replace battle stamps from before and can be used by any character; two, the Repugians are replaced with a greater diversity of enemies (though they still go down the same); and three, taking a cue from the first two Paper Marios, there’s now a collision meter whenever you attack/defend that increases the power of each the closer you tap it to the moment of contact between you and the foe. Sadly, it’s diminished by the fact that you don’t unlock it’s full usage until close to the endgame, and it ultimately doesn’t do much to modify the repetitious nature of brawls. And while there are more than 10 levels this time around, I honestly went out of my way to avoid fighting whenever I could because of how monotonous such scenarios got.

Not only is the customization the same, but you’re often forced to reacquire and rehash suit powers that you used to own before, like the light sword for navigating dark alleys and the pirate hook for riding ziplines. That Double FIne couldn’t come up with any more unique abilities is definitely disappointing. Oh well, at least the menu interface is a lot cleaner, and you start off with the rocket boots by default, allowing you to burst drift from the get-go.

The one area Costume Quest 2 improves upon its progenitor is the sound. Attacks have a lot more force behind them, allowing you to feel the impact of whatever strike you throw out. I also enjoyed the score more this time around, the main theme being catchy, the battle music invigorating, and the ragtime tunes of a Saxophone as soothing as ever. On the downside, there is still no voice acting, and Costume Quest 2 is definitely a title that would have benefitted from the inclusion of vocalizations, at least for its main players.

That’s about all I can say on the subject. Despite being thematically appropriate, I do not recommend you waste your Halloween indulging in Costume Quest 2. It adds nothing to the original (minus retconning it to have a happier ending for the Grubbins), drains it of its charm, and doesn’t fix any of its qualms. Play something else.

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The idea of resolving Orel’s childhood abuse by using his past self to confront his future self was intriguing, and hearkened back to Goob from Meet the Robinsons. But it’s rushed and not delved into. Their sole interaction is reduced to a brief dabbling in Faustian bargaining.

It’s a shame too as seeing the adult Orel having a secret trick-or-treating facility was heartbreaking, yet confronting the trauma that lead to this situation is tossed out the window in favor of his adolescent version simply declaring he won’t turn into a loser. Wren stealing the talisman from him at the last minute (indicating, as the adult points out, a lack of trust in the kid coming to the right decision on his own) is just brushed aside.

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Really love the art and characters but the combat was sadly a bore.

Retains the charm of the first game through its visuals, music and overall presentation.
Adds a few new mechanics to the turn-based combat, but it still remains rather simple, just like the first game. It's good they at least spaced them out.
The story could've been somewhat better and it felt like they mishandled certain moments, but I didn't mind it too much.
Collecting costumes and cards felt cool.
The game is overall pretty easy and can be beaten in around 6 hours.

Charming and fun little turn based combat game. Cute visuals, not overly long, and a game that I was able to introduce as a starting point for a few people who hadn't ever played games before. Nothing groundbreaking or mind blowing, but still solid.


I got this for free, beat it, and forgot what even happened it in.

Mejora al primero en aumentar mucho la capacidad de movimiento y hacer una enorme cantidad de referencias a todos, pero el sistema de cartas es aburrido y te medio obligan a farmear para todo, con lo cual empeora mucho la experiencia.

Like Persona but better. I’m sure there is a dentist out there who played this game and has had nightmares over the amount of candy these kids have consumed. Imagine what their gums look like after this.

This review contains spoilers

Costume Quest 2 is a good sequel to the original game but in all honesty, a good stand alone title as well. I had originally played this before the first game back on the PS4, but this time around on Xbox I played the series in order.

There are a good amount of improvements to the last game with the ability to use abilities as cards in combat and have more variety in your fighting style, but the target timing button press isn't as fun as the combat in the first game.

New costumes and a new story are always good but the environments felts too similar and I found that the first title was better imo. Fighting a dentist who rules the world in the future vs the previous game's monsters and magic are different, but the later was a cooler concept.

I'd love to see a third game for modern systems with more costumes and another story, but I'm unsure of what they could do these days.