Before any one asks yes AbbeyGames gaved me the opportunity two years ago to playtest this game in a very early stage. Since then I played every version that was playable, but most of the playtime comes from the last version in the last few weeks. Anyway here are my final thoughts about the game:

Graphics/Performance:
Reus 2 has its very own art style, every biotica looks very unique and super cute. I tried to search for games that look at least a bit, like Reus 2, but I haven't found one yet. Compared to Reus 1, Reus 2 made a huge step up in terms of graphics. If you play Reus 1 after playing Reus 2, you surely will notice a difference. The performance is pretty decent now, it had a lot of problems a few weeks ago, when I started playtesting the last version, but now it runs pretty smooth, I only had one crash and that got patched pretty fast. The game has some problems with unrealistic high amount of yields, but I can calm everyone down, reaching those amounts wont be possible, the playtester NoBanana managed to break the game pretty often, therefore it got all patched by now and it shoudn't be possible to get such high numbers anymore.

Soundtrack:
The soundtrack was composed by Pieter van Vliet, he already did the soundtrack for Godhood,Reus 1 and Renowmed Explorers: International Society and in my eyes the soundtrack in Reus 2 is a huge step up from before. The game has so many great soundtracks, I would listen to some of them even outside the game, If I could. I especially like the soundtrack of the Calm Eras and the Solar Punk turning point. Both are stuck in my head now for quite a while...

Gameplay:
The gameplay is very different from Reus 1, if you didn't liked the time limit in Reus 1 and how you nearly had to play with a Wiki all the time, you will most likely like Reus 2 a lot more. In Reus 2 you have unlimited time, you can think how long you want and upgrading is a lot different. You have to draft new biotica on every planet. Except for the one star biotica everything else is randomized, so you will most likely have different bioticas every time. You can reroll your options though, if you dont like what the game offers you. Instead of upgrading the same tiles over and over again you exchange them for different bioticas or you legacy them, a new mechanic that lets you carry on the amount of yields you had on that tile to the next biotica, might sound like magic, but it gets explained in the game better.
I can understand that some may like the system from Reus 1 better, but statistically many players didn't like it at all (me included) and the way it is now, it is definitely better than before.
However, sadly there aren't any human interactions with the giants or with the other humans, apart from trade and some cutscenes, so if you liked the Greed system from Reus 1 and how they went at war with each other, for example, I have to disappoint you, as this feature hasn't made the cut. I criticized this as well, and the devs explained that they wanted to add it, but it felt to unpolished and that's why it wont be in the final game. Still, they want to bring it with an Update later on, so cross your fingers that it may happen one day.

Level of difficulties:
Since last week the game has some additional difficulties, where you get more Eon and your cities grow a lot faster than usual. You may not unlock achievements while playing on those, but you unlock new biotica and meta progression nontheless, so if you have trouble coming any further, I recommend playing on lower difficulties first, as you may learn the game even better, who knows.

Turning points :
The game has 3 Eras in total right now, each one has about 5 turning points. Every turning point has its own goals and requirements, getting them all on 3 stars is one of the main goals of the game and believe me, some of those are really not that easy. You most likely have to think about a strategy in advance to be able to get those 3 stars. When you just started playing Reus 2 you most likely wont be able to achieve those, but it will get easier, the longer you play the game, since you unlock new bioticas quite often, especially at the start.

Meta progression and Biotica unlocks:
Last point of this review is about unlocking bioticas and the meta progression. When you start the game for the first time, you will most likely notice that you don't have access to many things yet. Some may feel that they are limited in their actions, but in general it is easier to learn the mechanics one after another than to have everything available from the start without knowing how they work and how to use them. Regarding the biotica unlocks, I can say that you gain them pretty fast, especially at the beginning for every star that has been achieved for the first time and for every 3 stars that is achieved in total. There are currently about 250 Biotica and I encourage everyone to unlock them all, as they are many that may open new paths on some turning points....

Conclusion:
I would recommend the game to everyone that loved Reus 1, but especially for those who hated the time limit. The best part for me in the game is to find out strategies on how to unlock all the three stars in every turning point. You really need to use different strategies, as every turning point demands something different from you, especially the last ones, that even have their own mechanics and that is what makes Reus 2 so special and unique.
Let me thank again AbbeyGames for this amazing journey, it probably had a lot of ups and downs, but in the end the game turned out pretty good and regardless of the fact that not everything is in the game that you may have wished to be, I'm confident that it will be sooner or later.

Before any one asks yes AbbeyGames gaved me the opportunity two years ago to playtest this game in a very early stage. Since then I played every version that was playable, but most of the playtime comes from the last version in the last few weeks. Anyway here are my final thoughts about the game: [b] [u] Graphics/Performance: [/u] [/b] Reus 2 has its very own art style, every biotica looks very unique and super cute. I tried to search for games that look at least a bit, like Reus 2, but I haven't found one yet. Compared to Reus 1, Reus 2 made a huge step up in terms of graphics. If you play Reus 1 after playing Reus 2, you surely will notice a difference. The performance is pretty decent now, it had a lot of problems a few weeks ago, when I started playtesting the last version, but now it runs pretty smooth, I only had one crash and that got patched pretty fast. The game has some problems with unrealistic high amount of yields, but I can calm everyone down, reaching those amounts wont be possible, the playtester NoBanana managed to break the game pretty often, therefore it got all patched by now and it shoudn't be possible to get such high numbers anymore. [b] [u] Soundtrack: [/u] [/b] The soundtrack was composed by Pieter van Vliet, he already did the soundtrack for Godhood,Reus 1 and Renowmed Explorers: International Society and in my eyes the soundtrack in Reus 2 is a huge step up from before. The game has so many great soundtracks, I would listen to some of them even outside the game, If I could. I especially like the soundtrack of the Calm Eras and the Solar Punk turning point. Both are stuck in my head now for quite a while... [b] [u] Gameplay: [/u] [/b] The gameplay is very different from Reus 1, if you didn't liked the time limit in Reus 1 and how you nearly had to play with a Wiki all the time, you will most likely like Reus 2 a lot more. In Reus 2 you have unlimited time, you can think how long you want and upgrading is a lot different. You have to draft new biotica on every planet. Except for the one star biotica everything else is randomized, so you will most likely have different bioticas every time. You can reroll your options though, if you dont like what the game offers you. Instead of upgrading the same tiles over and over again you exchange them for different bioticas or you legacy them, a new mechanic that lets you carry on the amount of yields you had on that tile to the next biotica, might sound like magic, but it gets explained in the game better. I can understand that some may like the system from Reus 1 better, but statistically many players didn't like it at all (me included) and the way it is now, it is definitely better than before. However, sadly there aren't any human interactions with the giants or with the other humans, apart from trade and some cutscenes, so if you liked the Greed system from Reus 1 and how they went at war with each other, for example, I have to disappoint you, as this feature hasn't made the cut. I criticized this as well, and the devs explained that they wanted to add it, but it felt to unpolished and that's why it wont be in the final game. Still, they want to bring it with an Update later on, so cross your fingers that it may happen one day. [b] [u] Level of difficulties: [/u] [/b] Since last week the game has some additional difficulties, where you get more Eon and your cities grow a lot faster than usual. You may not unlock achievements while playing on those, but you unlock new biotica and meta progression nontheless, so if you have trouble coming any further, I recommend playing on lower difficulties first, as you may learn the game even better, who knows. [b] [u] Turning points : [/u] [/b] The game has 3 Eras in total right now, each one has about 5 turning points. Every turning point has its own goals and requirements, getting them all on 3 stars is one of the main goals of the game and believe me, some of those are really not that easy. You most likely have to think about a strategy in advance to be able to get those 3 stars. When you just started playing Reus 2 you most likely wont be able to achieve those, but it will get easier, the longer you play the game, since you unlock new bioticas quite often, especially at the start. [b] [u] Meta progression and Biotica unlocks: [/u] [/b] Last point of this review is about unlocking bioticas and the meta progression. When you start the game for the first time, you will most likely notice that you don't have access to many things yet. Some may feel that they are limited in their actions, but in general it is easier to learn the mechanics one after another than to have everything available from the start without knowing how they work and how to use them. Regarding the biotica unlocks, I can say that you gain them pretty fast, especially at the beginning for every star that has been achieved for the first time and for every 3 stars that is achieved in total. There are currently about 250 Biotica and I encourage everyone to unlock them all, as they are many that may open new paths on some turning points.... [b] [u] Conclusion: [/u] [/b] I would recommend the game to everyone that loved Reus 1, but especially for those who hated the time limit. The best part for me in the game is to find out strategies on how to unlock all the three stars in every turning point. You [b] really [/b] need to use different strategies, as every turning point demands something different from you, especially the last ones, that even have their own mechanics and that is what makes Reus 2 so special and unique. Let me thank again AbbeyGames for this amazing journey, it probably had a lot of ups and downs, but in the end the game turned out pretty good and regardless of the fact that not everything is in the game that you may have wished to be, I'm confident that it will be sooner or later.