Having laid a very good foundation with Caligula Effect 1, it's clear from the off that this game was able to build off that and with a budget that wasn't actively hindering it.
This game looks and runs much better on Switch than Overdose did (some framerate drops here and there and a low resolution handheld performance still though) with nice environments and character models as well as smoother animations.
The battle system now flows much better with picking one move instead of 3 and target switching automatically when an enemy dies. There's also a neat little boost you can activate from X for more damage too.
Dungeon wise my gosh what an upgrade. Gone are the bland corridors in favour of more interactive and well designed areas inside train stations and museums with puzzles to suit each location.
So yeah gameplay wise, this an upgrade over the original in every way possible.
Story wise, it's very solid. It does a great job at throwing the player off of its late game twists, the new Go-Home Club are a fantastic bunch of characters, each with their own regrets and issues, and each one has a musician to bounce off. There's plenty of intense moments and heartwarming scenes and X as our main virtuadoll companion this time round is an absolute blast of a partner.
Unfortunately, the game's story and cast here didn't quite resonate as well with me as Overdose did. Overdose, for all its flaws, hit me with the raw ugly side of emotional trauma for its characters, further helped by having character episodes for it's musicians too which really helped let you understand the mental trauma these characters faced. It was uncomfortable, it did perhaps cross the line in some areas but it also felt real and it was something that I connected with more. 2 tends to focus more towards characters regrets, like pretending to be someone else or regretting a career choice and lost years and while the character episodes are really good (especially for Marie, Kiriko, Gin, and Niko) it doesn't quite resonate with me on the same level unfortunately. That's not to say I don't love these character episodes, Gin in particular did a much better job handling something similar from Overdose, just that I preferred those messier and uglier episodes from Overdose.
I also have a preference towards Mu and her story over Regret's. I think the ending needed a bit more time between it's revelations and a little bit more insight into Bluffman and his relationship with certain characters. I also would have liked the connections to Overdose to have been explored a little bit more. A few characters are mentioned a few times but we don't get to see much or any of them outside of the singularity point.
But yeah, those slight grievances aside, the story and characters were really good here. It did get me to cry at a few moments and while the cast might not have resonated with me as strongly as Overdose's did, they do still have a place in my heart (especially Marie who deserves the world)
Ultimately, The Caligula Effect 2 is almost a perfect sequel. My story and character preferences/stuff that resonates with me more is the only thing stopping me adding it to my 5 star collection because otherwise, this takes the foundation of the original game smashes it out of the park
This game looks and runs much better on Switch than Overdose did (some framerate drops here and there and a low resolution handheld performance still though) with nice environments and character models as well as smoother animations.
The battle system now flows much better with picking one move instead of 3 and target switching automatically when an enemy dies. There's also a neat little boost you can activate from X for more damage too.
Dungeon wise my gosh what an upgrade. Gone are the bland corridors in favour of more interactive and well designed areas inside train stations and museums with puzzles to suit each location.
So yeah gameplay wise, this an upgrade over the original in every way possible.
Story wise, it's very solid. It does a great job at throwing the player off of its late game twists, the new Go-Home Club are a fantastic bunch of characters, each with their own regrets and issues, and each one has a musician to bounce off. There's plenty of intense moments and heartwarming scenes and X as our main virtuadoll companion this time round is an absolute blast of a partner.
Unfortunately, the game's story and cast here didn't quite resonate as well with me as Overdose did. Overdose, for all its flaws, hit me with the raw ugly side of emotional trauma for its characters, further helped by having character episodes for it's musicians too which really helped let you understand the mental trauma these characters faced. It was uncomfortable, it did perhaps cross the line in some areas but it also felt real and it was something that I connected with more. 2 tends to focus more towards characters regrets, like pretending to be someone else or regretting a career choice and lost years and while the character episodes are really good (especially for Marie, Kiriko, Gin, and Niko) it doesn't quite resonate with me on the same level unfortunately. That's not to say I don't love these character episodes, Gin in particular did a much better job handling something similar from Overdose, just that I preferred those messier and uglier episodes from Overdose.
I also have a preference towards Mu and her story over Regret's. I think the ending needed a bit more time between it's revelations and a little bit more insight into Bluffman and his relationship with certain characters. I also would have liked the connections to Overdose to have been explored a little bit more. A few characters are mentioned a few times but we don't get to see much or any of them outside of the singularity point.
But yeah, those slight grievances aside, the story and characters were really good here. It did get me to cry at a few moments and while the cast might not have resonated with me as strongly as Overdose's did, they do still have a place in my heart (especially Marie who deserves the world)
Ultimately, The Caligula Effect 2 is almost a perfect sequel. My story and character preferences/stuff that resonates with me more is the only thing stopping me adding it to my 5 star collection because otherwise, this takes the foundation of the original game smashes it out of the park