1 step forward, 1.01 steps back. Ultimately Prime 2 is still an utterly fantastic game, but it just doesn't reach the same highs as Prime 1.
Like Prime, Echoes's atmosphere is top-notch. Rather than aiming for a lonely atmosphere like Prime, Echoes aims for a significantly more oppressive and terrifying feel, and it absolutely succeeds. The Dark Aether areas are genuinely unsettling at times, with their Silent Hill-esque music and body-horror visual design.
It's hard to really elucidate what makes Echoes a little less great than Prime, but I think it really comes down to the backtracking. I know "lmao Echoes backtracking" is a meme, but it really does drag the game out longer than it needs to. In particular, returning to the Temple Grounds after every main area and the Sky Temple key hunt during the endgame are the biggest culprits.
The much higher level of difficulty is also a point of contention in the community, but I always found Prime 1 to be a little too easy, to Echoes's greater challenge is welcome in my eyes. The final boss in particular was an excellent challenge.
Overall, Echoes is still an excellent game despite not being quite as good as Prime 1, and in my eyes is nonetheless a worthy sequel that adds almost as much as it subtracts from Prime 1.
Like Prime, Echoes's atmosphere is top-notch. Rather than aiming for a lonely atmosphere like Prime, Echoes aims for a significantly more oppressive and terrifying feel, and it absolutely succeeds. The Dark Aether areas are genuinely unsettling at times, with their Silent Hill-esque music and body-horror visual design.
It's hard to really elucidate what makes Echoes a little less great than Prime, but I think it really comes down to the backtracking. I know "lmao Echoes backtracking" is a meme, but it really does drag the game out longer than it needs to. In particular, returning to the Temple Grounds after every main area and the Sky Temple key hunt during the endgame are the biggest culprits.
The much higher level of difficulty is also a point of contention in the community, but I always found Prime 1 to be a little too easy, to Echoes's greater challenge is welcome in my eyes. The final boss in particular was an excellent challenge.
Overall, Echoes is still an excellent game despite not being quite as good as Prime 1, and in my eyes is nonetheless a worthy sequel that adds almost as much as it subtracts from Prime 1.