Another Platinum for the books.
I had a lot more fun with this game than its predecessor. The new stances, especially when maxed out, makes for super fun combat and the lightsaber bosses are pretty awesome (Rayvis is the best fight). Platforming is pretty fluid this time around (also happy you start with a double jump this time around), and it expands upon the predecessor's foundation to make traversing and puzzles very engaging (I actually loved about 90% of the puzzles this time around, a huge step up from the last game which inundated the playtime with mediocre puzzles). The side content is mostly good too, the bounties and legendary creatures function as optional boss fights so they're pretty fun, albeit mostly reskins of enemies in the main story. Building up Greeze's bar adds a layer of bringing life to the world that is endearing. The gambling mini-game was a bit too RNG for my enjoyment. The extended garden also adds more charm into customizing to your preference. I'm not super into Star Wars' stories, but this had me more invested in the cast than the last game.
The post-game collectible hunting was a bit grating on me, it was fun at first but it ended up becoming super repetitive and almost had me burnt out. There is also a difficulty spike after the Vader fight (spoiler I guess, but it's Star Wars. Who doesn't expect Vader or Luke at this point?) where the game sends mobs of enemies at you that show the weakpoints in the combat (admittedly I didn't have my force abilities up much so it might improve on NG+). Personally I think the "souls" inspiration on the combat should be replaced with a proper action game system (still holding out on my dream game of PlatinumGames' The Force Unleashed 3). That said I do enjoy parrying and countering during the saber duels, at its best it's almost a baby's Sekiro.
I enjoyed this game and great deal and definitely want to do a NG+ to take on the bosses again, even if my enjoyment comes with strings attached. Despite my gripes, it's still a fun combat system and I had a good time.
8/10
I had a lot more fun with this game than its predecessor. The new stances, especially when maxed out, makes for super fun combat and the lightsaber bosses are pretty awesome (Rayvis is the best fight). Platforming is pretty fluid this time around (also happy you start with a double jump this time around), and it expands upon the predecessor's foundation to make traversing and puzzles very engaging (I actually loved about 90% of the puzzles this time around, a huge step up from the last game which inundated the playtime with mediocre puzzles). The side content is mostly good too, the bounties and legendary creatures function as optional boss fights so they're pretty fun, albeit mostly reskins of enemies in the main story. Building up Greeze's bar adds a layer of bringing life to the world that is endearing. The gambling mini-game was a bit too RNG for my enjoyment. The extended garden also adds more charm into customizing to your preference. I'm not super into Star Wars' stories, but this had me more invested in the cast than the last game.
The post-game collectible hunting was a bit grating on me, it was fun at first but it ended up becoming super repetitive and almost had me burnt out. There is also a difficulty spike after the Vader fight (spoiler I guess, but it's Star Wars. Who doesn't expect Vader or Luke at this point?) where the game sends mobs of enemies at you that show the weakpoints in the combat (admittedly I didn't have my force abilities up much so it might improve on NG+). Personally I think the "souls" inspiration on the combat should be replaced with a proper action game system (still holding out on my dream game of PlatinumGames' The Force Unleashed 3). That said I do enjoy parrying and countering during the saber duels, at its best it's almost a baby's Sekiro.
I enjoyed this game and great deal and definitely want to do a NG+ to take on the bosses again, even if my enjoyment comes with strings attached. Despite my gripes, it's still a fun combat system and I had a good time.
8/10