Freedom Planet 2 was one of my most anticipated games of all time. I had a lot of problems with the first game, but I also had a lot of appreciation for it. This sequel did not disappoint. It's an improvement in every way. It's a fun fast-paced platformer that I enjoyed thoroughly.

Gameplay:
This game takes a LOT of inspiration from classic Sonic games, 3 & Knuckles especially. I also got a lot of Adventure 2 vibes too, with the level design sometimes feeling like a 2D version of that game's ideas. You'll be going fast and running into all kinds of interesting level mechanics to keep things fresh and interesting. Some are better than others, but I overall found the levels to be quite consistent! They're certainly a huge improvement from the first game's overly long ones, that's for sure.

Though the level design feels familiar to Sonic games, the core mechanics are quite different. Firstly, building speed is not something the game focuses on. While you do go fast, your movement speed is a bit more fixed, making it more about traditional platforming than using physics to throw yourself around. This combined with the level mechanics gives the game a really distinct feel, which isn't always great, but it gets the job done. Secondly, there's multiple playable characters that play quite differently. I did my full playthrough with Lilac, and she's the most like Sonic with her instant spindash-like move and slight double jump that slows her fall. Thirdly, there's a sizable emphasis on combat. It's a simple system made fun through interesting boss attack patterns. You have a single attack button, but you can utilize your character's abilities to do damage too. There's a guard button to completely negate damage from an attack as well, if you time it right. Though the combat is an improvement over the first game's, I did still feel like it typically overstayed its welcome. Luckily, there are some accessibility features that help lessen the pain a bit.

Story:
Freedom Planet 2 takes place sometime after the first game with Lilac, Carol, Milla, and a new playable character, Neera, at the forefront. The plot centers around the return of Merga, a water dragon seeking revenge for her species's near extinction who hires many quirky characters to achieve her goals. Each character plays through different events, but Lilac (the main main character and the one I played as) has her story focus on the history of water dragons and her internal conflict about being one herself. I didn't find the story to be too crazy, but it was still fairly interesting and good for what the game needed, especially since cutscenes were frequent.

Sound and visuals:
The music was pretty good! The sound design was competent, though there is some obvious mixing issues. The voice acting overall took me by surprise with how good it was.

The visuals are great! There is lots of effort put into the art and animation with tons of small touches that really enhance things! This especially shows in the cutscenes that make the most of the engine they're confined to. The environments are gorgeous too. What really knocked my socks off was the sea of meaningless NPCs that each have unique designs. Like... WHAT? That was so much effort to put in for something that has no bearing on anything, and yet, it's there and it's great? Seriously, major props to something like that ending up in an indie game. It's super impressive.

Conclusion:
Freedom Planet 2 is such a solid experience! With fun gameplay and great presentation, it's certainly worth checking out, especially if you're a Sonic fan. It's also a huge improvement over a previous game that showed lots of promise but was plagued by issues. It was worth the long wait, and I loved it.