What in the world happened here....
Let's get this out of the way: I played this on launch. And if you played this at launch, you'd know it was a disaster. Open world ran under 10 fps at ALL times, with stuttering and freezing. It was borderline unplayable. The first game had tons of technical issues too, but they were nothing compared to this game.
But ok, that's one thing. And I was able to look past the issues mechanic wise in the first game.
But sadly, the narrative that we get here isn't enough to sway my judgement. It still has lots of great moments. I do like Patti a lot and the dynamic between York is enjoyable. They have a good bond and bounce off each other well. I like the shifts this game has as sequel and prequel. It is certainly a unique way to tell the story.
But otherwise...? I was just forcing myself through this one. York is still great, but you could easily be tricked into thinking this is how he acted in the first game, but it actually isn't. In the first game he's kind of a jerk? Hes aloof and uncaring about many things around him, but he has moments where he acknowledges these and it makes him feel like a dynamic character. York in this game is just spouting off movie and actor names every 5 seconds, which is something he did only on occasion in the last game. The character was not just a reference spouting machine. They got the same voice actor as last time and he is delightful and tries to make the material work. But it's missing an edge he had last time.
As a prequel, it's a pretty nothing story once you finish it. You wonder why they even bothered to tell it with the way it ended. And as a sequel it just raises a ton of questions: York should have known about many things that happen in this game well before the first title, but it's never expanded on or even mentioned.
But then we get to what pisses me off, the gameplay. Mind you, the first game was not the most amazing game in terms of levels or whatever, but every level actually felt different? There were puzzles, unique settings, and there was a variety to what you were doing.
I kid you not, there are maybe 4-5 instances in this game where you shoot things. And it is the EXACT SAME copy pasted level. Copy pasted enemies. Copy pasted boss fights, I was utterly baffled. Did they just give up halfway through development? This isn't like the first game where the janky sections are charming. This was just tedious and frustrating.
And the open world map was way worse to explore this time. In part because of the performance, but you don't even have unique vehicles this time. Just one skateboard with awful physics, it's like they were working on making a car but gave up and just gave him something they wouldn't have to spend much time animating or designing mechanics around.
This is missing just everything the first game had. It is moments of enjoyment in bursts, but not as a cohesive experience. I don't think I'll ever play this again.
Let's get this out of the way: I played this on launch. And if you played this at launch, you'd know it was a disaster. Open world ran under 10 fps at ALL times, with stuttering and freezing. It was borderline unplayable. The first game had tons of technical issues too, but they were nothing compared to this game.
But ok, that's one thing. And I was able to look past the issues mechanic wise in the first game.
But sadly, the narrative that we get here isn't enough to sway my judgement. It still has lots of great moments. I do like Patti a lot and the dynamic between York is enjoyable. They have a good bond and bounce off each other well. I like the shifts this game has as sequel and prequel. It is certainly a unique way to tell the story.
But otherwise...? I was just forcing myself through this one. York is still great, but you could easily be tricked into thinking this is how he acted in the first game, but it actually isn't. In the first game he's kind of a jerk? Hes aloof and uncaring about many things around him, but he has moments where he acknowledges these and it makes him feel like a dynamic character. York in this game is just spouting off movie and actor names every 5 seconds, which is something he did only on occasion in the last game. The character was not just a reference spouting machine. They got the same voice actor as last time and he is delightful and tries to make the material work. But it's missing an edge he had last time.
As a prequel, it's a pretty nothing story once you finish it. You wonder why they even bothered to tell it with the way it ended. And as a sequel it just raises a ton of questions: York should have known about many things that happen in this game well before the first title, but it's never expanded on or even mentioned.
But then we get to what pisses me off, the gameplay. Mind you, the first game was not the most amazing game in terms of levels or whatever, but every level actually felt different? There were puzzles, unique settings, and there was a variety to what you were doing.
I kid you not, there are maybe 4-5 instances in this game where you shoot things. And it is the EXACT SAME copy pasted level. Copy pasted enemies. Copy pasted boss fights, I was utterly baffled. Did they just give up halfway through development? This isn't like the first game where the janky sections are charming. This was just tedious and frustrating.
And the open world map was way worse to explore this time. In part because of the performance, but you don't even have unique vehicles this time. Just one skateboard with awful physics, it's like they were working on making a car but gave up and just gave him something they wouldn't have to spend much time animating or designing mechanics around.
This is missing just everything the first game had. It is moments of enjoyment in bursts, but not as a cohesive experience. I don't think I'll ever play this again.