This was my first Analgesic game after eyeing up their works for years and years at this point. I remember being excited for Anodyne 2 coming out despite not having the played the first. I tend so often to decide who my favourite artists or works of art are before I've even interacted with them, based on some intangible impression I can get for whatever flighty reason happens to strike me at any given moment.

So with my disclaimer to impartiality out of the way, I've set about this Easter weekend to see how much progress I can make through this series of games, starting with Even the Ocean (spoiler: I loved it. Who saw that coming).

Over an unhurried eight hours - which could be done quicker if you don't exhaust all dialogue, try all the food from supermarket, make friends with the librarian, etc - you play as Aliph, electrical engineer extraordinaire, on a journey to fix a series of energy plants for reasons and increasing stakes that I won't spoil here. The overarching plot reminded me in part of a few other things that I love, but to note that comparison here would be to invite spoilers. What a sentence for you, eh, dear reader. Words for words sake.

The interpersonal exchanges are where the writing really shines though, as the characters tackle all-too-human issues, and ground this strange, alien world for the player.

As a final thought too, I was almost expecting the "gameplay" to exist in service of the story, and play out like a walking sim with some light platforming, which is something I've no problem with if I'm enjoying the story. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find some genuinely tight and well designed puzzle-platforming sections, with a ramp up in difficulty as the game progressed.

All said, a beautiful work, and I'm off to start Anodyne now.