Big improvement over the first game. They try so many things, making each level feel pretty unique. Level design is pretty good, sound track is bangin', and Dixie is a great new character with a standout "ez mode" for jumps.
I found most of the animal buddies to be really fun to play as, except for one in specific circumstances, which I'll get to later.
The game has a ton of bonuses and collectables. They did feel a bit inconsistent on how well hidden they were though. Sometimes they had a literal arrow pointing at them, or a stray banana(s) that tells you an otherwise dead-end may hold secrets. Other times you better hope to catch a glimpse of the 1 pixel that showcases that there's a secret in an otherwise bottomless pit, or worse yet, have a random ass wall that you can just pass through for no reason with no indication it is any different from other walls.
I went half way through the game getting every secret before it became a challenge just to pass the level, never mind trying to squeeze into every nook and cranny. I really feel like the harder ones are designed for people who already know the levels inside and out.
My complaints mostly come down to a few things that make it harder than it really should be. The first is that the screen can often feel too far zoomed in, and enemies or obstacles come too fast to react properly. It's not the worst case ever, and I'd even say it's definitely a problem in the minority of levels.
The other thing is that hit boxes can feel a bit janky at times. The hornet enemies, and brambles stages definitely highlight this (and God help you if you're playing as the parrot in a brambles stage - which is the animal buddy thing I referenced early).
Both of these things wouldn't be too bad by themselves if it had a system like Sonic where you could easily power through if you kept your 1 safety ring, but this game has a maximum of 2 hit points at any one time. The game is already hard (in a very fair way) just by design, so having these 2 things costing you health, can really make this game walk the line between masterpiece and fucking annoying piece of shit.
I found most of the animal buddies to be really fun to play as, except for one in specific circumstances, which I'll get to later.
The game has a ton of bonuses and collectables. They did feel a bit inconsistent on how well hidden they were though. Sometimes they had a literal arrow pointing at them, or a stray banana(s) that tells you an otherwise dead-end may hold secrets. Other times you better hope to catch a glimpse of the 1 pixel that showcases that there's a secret in an otherwise bottomless pit, or worse yet, have a random ass wall that you can just pass through for no reason with no indication it is any different from other walls.
I went half way through the game getting every secret before it became a challenge just to pass the level, never mind trying to squeeze into every nook and cranny. I really feel like the harder ones are designed for people who already know the levels inside and out.
My complaints mostly come down to a few things that make it harder than it really should be. The first is that the screen can often feel too far zoomed in, and enemies or obstacles come too fast to react properly. It's not the worst case ever, and I'd even say it's definitely a problem in the minority of levels.
The other thing is that hit boxes can feel a bit janky at times. The hornet enemies, and brambles stages definitely highlight this (and God help you if you're playing as the parrot in a brambles stage - which is the animal buddy thing I referenced early).
Both of these things wouldn't be too bad by themselves if it had a system like Sonic where you could easily power through if you kept your 1 safety ring, but this game has a maximum of 2 hit points at any one time. The game is already hard (in a very fair way) just by design, so having these 2 things costing you health, can really make this game walk the line between masterpiece and fucking annoying piece of shit.