La-Mulana 2

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 18
  3. Negative: 4 out of 18

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  1. Techbane
    Aug 20, 2018
    5
    Let me be clear about one thing up front: I like La-Mulana a lot. It has issues, but does what it does well. La-Mulana 2... is not La-Mulana. My best guess is that they ran dry on time or money and rushed it out the door; there are still, at time of writing, DOZENS of potential soft locks and save-bricking glitches, and while the aesthetic of the game is superb and they make more of anLet me be clear about one thing up front: I like La-Mulana a lot. It has issues, but does what it does well. La-Mulana 2... is not La-Mulana. My best guess is that they ran dry on time or money and rushed it out the door; there are still, at time of writing, DOZENS of potential soft locks and save-bricking glitches, and while the aesthetic of the game is superb and they make more of an effort to ease you into things (by making puzzles and bosses in the early game WAY too easy), the general design feels very half-baked.

    Even ignoring the fact that it's easy to accidentally brick your save...
    - The translation is choppy to the point where a critical part of a hint for a late-game puzzle was omitted entirely.
    - Strategic enemy placement and variety is way down, and "hurr difficulty" enemy spam is way up.
    - Bats have been deliberately recolored to blend into the environment.
    - Instant death traps and generally dickish pitfall traps have about tripled in frequency and are much more often completely unmarked rather than having some warning signs to intuit.
    - Progression is much less intuitive and more subtly railroaded. Both the first and second areas you're likely to unlock are actually late-game areas that offer nothing of value for their exploration at that point other than death. Where in LM1 you could often be chipping away at something like two to six major overarching puzzles simultaneously, you are instead punished for trying to explore here. In LM1 every area you could access from the Guidance Gate was intended to be accessed at that point in the game and each one let you make significant progress. In LM2 you're basically handed a series of baited mousetraps that you must jab at until you find the one that DOESN'T snap shut on you.

    The later parts of the game will still legitimately test your puzzle-solving and boss-killing resolve, but frankly the uphill battle with artificial difficulty it takes to get to the genuine challenge isn't worth it.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

68
#68 Best PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. Worth Playing
    Feb 13, 2019
    85
    La-Mulana 2 is an absolutely solid sequel. Even though there are a few additions to the core gameplay loop, they don't dilute how unforgiving the game can be. The level of difficulty doesn't feel cheap, and obtuse puzzles can feel very rewarding when solved. The game is long enough to feel like you've squeezed more than enough value out of it, but it never drags on. The game has a few flaws here and there, but anyone who's looking for a tough platforming experience will be pleased with what they find in La-Mulana 2.
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  2. Cubed3
    Sep 24, 2018
    90
    La-Mulana 2 doesn't reinvent compared to its predecessor, but it doesn't have to. The foundation left behind by the original La-Mulana is strong enough to justify a sequel that, on the whole, follows the same beats as the original. Exploration is deeply satisfying as Eg-Lana is one of the finest crafted worlds in a Metroidvania; puzzles require genuine use of critical thinking more than not; and, while the curve perhaps isn't as refined as in the original, the difficulty provides a consistent challenge from start to finish. La-Mulana 2 is more of the same, in the best way possible.
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  3. Everyeye.it
    Sep 4, 2018
    84
    A complex and extremely challenging metroidvania.
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