As this is a direct sequel to the previous game, I do recommend playing the first game before you jump into this.

Events from the previous game lead our fishy protagonist (I say she's a fish, as almost every cutscene has her gaping in surprise) to Dark Falls Asylum, which is where the game is set entirely. Over the course of her search she'll discover a few things about the place but I don't feel she discovers everything. The ending is kind of weird and unexpected, but you might find it annoyingly unfulfilling.

Unlike the previous game, this one is a bit less strict on achievements - notably, you no longer have to sit through the whole game in one go. A small note on collectables you should keep at the back of your mind, is that the full list of figurines is limited to the main story - there is no bonus chapter, meaning if the story finishes and you don't have them all, you might have to restart.

I say 'might' because the final one is on the menu screen after the game is finished, oddly.


Much like its predecessor, this title suffers from an overly drab and uninteresting colour palette, due (once again) to the horror theme and abandoned building setting. The outdoors setting of a frozen winter does little to help this.

The usual jump scares are in steady supply, often at predictable moments. As such, it can come across as overused, not scary, and sometimes just plain silly. I learned to ignore it and just get on with the gameplay, but others may find it a turn-off.

More on the gameplay. As with Part 1, traditional mess and clutter scenes don't exist. Instead, the out-of-focus, grey static areas return, marking obvious areas where you follow a particular path of picking up items to be used as a stepping stone towards finding other items. Such scenes are not common - most of the game has you finding objects and figuring out how to use them to further your progress. Most puzzles are of the kind you see in other HOGs.

Such puzzles include but are not limited to rotating arms and hands of a statue with four faces into correct positions, matching patterns in various different puzzles, making a punchcard, orienting sections of pipe for a power-flow maze, just to name a few.

Much like the previous game, there are one or two areas I got stuck on. At one point I was checking areas systematically using everything on everything I could find. The major sticking point I had was just before the stairs up to the 2nd floor in the B wing, and I had some hitches getting the full set of 4 statue images near the end.

So the game can give you some trouble, especially if you play on Expert, but there is nothing game-breaking and everything is there for you to find.

I can't speak much for the sound effects and music because I turned it all off to play Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts VI - Locusts, which I felt went with the game so much better. I highly recommend everyone plays their horror games with this album.

___________________________


If you want to test how observant you are, and that all your deductive reasoning skills are in top form, then games like these make for a decent experience. It can be frustrating at times, but it's mostly fun, and I find it much more fulfilling than a mindless first-person shooter.

PS: There is a Part 3 on the way. Keep an eye out for it.