this game is... really interesting. there's so so much i love about it but also so much bad. but the bad feels almost... intentional? as in, the game is boring and tedious; but it almost feels like its supposed to be that way. it feels like its supposed to be frustrating to play. the controls are another thing - tank controls are absolutely amazing for the silent hill series and there's no option for them in this game. and despite this game coming out after silent hill 3, it doesnt look nearly as good from a graphical and animation standpoint. i want to finish this so bad but the entire second half becomes an escort mission through all the areas previously visited and... i just couldnt take it anymore. i may come back and finish this at some point and even bump up my rating if i feel it deserves it, but for now - i cant bring myself to play any more.

its not a bad game by any means - the fact that darkness feels like even more of an obstacle than the first is pretty cool and the monster encounters feel genuinely dangerous.

however, this just doesn't feel like it was made by the same team behind SOMA and Amnesia: TDD. this game has the last tangible atmosphere out of either of those - and though i'd consider it to be scarier than SOMA - the story kinda falls very flat in comparison. SOMA has, in my opinion, one of the most well written stories to ever be in a video game. this game's story is definitely not bad, i'd even say it's quite good, but it just doesn't feel nearly up to par with frictional's more recent output.

on the gameplay side of things, the game feels way too linear minus some small more open ended parts (the highlight being that first fort area in the desert). i also felt there was a huge overuse of the indoor alien temple settings, which all look nearly identical to each other. it looks cool and is surprising the first time but i much prefer the desert setting, which i felt went underutilized. if you couldn't tell, i just finished the game so my thoughts are kind of scattered, but being a huge fan of frictional games and following every little thing they do - i was kinda disappointed by this game. i'm still gonna play every game they make as soon as i can though.

finally got around to finishing this, and will probably start the third pretty soon as well. this time around, the collection of games is mostly good! unlike last time, there's nothing in here i REALLY disliked. most of them had their merits or at the very least cool concepts. so anyway, here's my review for each in the order I played them:

- Arcadletra: i started off with the one from the timore dev because i think his games are unintentionally funny. was pleasantly surprised that this is a somewhat more mature and interesting game from him! although not nearly the same quality as some of the others in this collection. no idea what story this game is trying to get across or why it's set in an arcade

- Squirrel Stapler: i love you david szymanski. although i think the map is a bit too big and this game takes a bit too long, this was probably my favorite in the collection. the ending is worth all the time spent hunting.

- Sucker For Love: silly little game that's also kinda fun

- The Diving Bell: really loved this one, probably the most interesting story in the collection. super immersive and feels longer than it is (in a good way!)

- Touched By An Outer God: really fun little doom-esque arena shooter. getting upgrades was very satisfying.

- The Toy Shop: was really enjoying this one's world, narrative, and atmosphere up until you get a gun and it gets frustratingly difficult. not bad but the enemies are way too annoying for what the game is.

- Solipsis: maybe my second favorite game in the collection, and its only about 5-7 minutes long. a short, highly polished and legitimately scary experience with a really great visual style.

- Another Late Night: as with the last collection, i'm not a big fan of secret cow level's games. this one just kinda happens and i wasn't sure if i was supposed to be doing anything other than reading the stuff that comes up on screen. i was excited for this one too because it takes place on a fake computer desktop, so i suppose i was expecting some kind of file digging gameplay. instead, that presentation doesn't seem to mean anything as all the files you can click have nothing to do with the game. oh well. it's not horrible, it creeped me out a little.

- The Thing In The Lake: love the presentation and even the mechanics but it's just a bit too frustrating. i actually never even completed chapter 4 the main way (i found some kinda secret UFO ending) because i couldn't find the left arm or something. thankfully, the UFO ending seemed to count. i do like this game but i have no idea how to finish it, and attempting to finish it just gets me killed by a monkey.

- Charlotte's Exile: SUPER cool little puzzle game where you decipher an ancient language. the first time that the creature makes a loud noise when i looked up scared the shit out of me. really atmospheric and tense. love this one!

- To The End Of Days: a fun little cheesy shooter. good music too! i like how all their games seem connected.

- Undiscovered: last but definitely not least, i can say i'm definitely a fan of torple dook. this game is in 2nd person, which is kind of insane. the animations are fantastic as well as the aesthetic. really good!

- finally, the launcher itself: LOVE the presentation here. having to solve a little puzzle inbetween each game (which is how i did it) is super cool. the ending was a bit anticlimactic though.

overall, i enjoyed this collection even more than the first! i'm really looking forward to starting the third, and whatever else the dread x team have in store.