Aragami 2

Aragami 2 is an adventure that can be enjoyed by stealth fans and anyone who wants to try infiltrating an enemy base with satisfying results. Even if you’re bad at stealth games, Aragami 2 encourages you to create your own path and explore different ways to tackle a challenge. Sometimes close combat is my jam, and other times I just want to avoid confrontation. The many ways to experience Aragami 2 made it feel less catered to one specific audience and more towards anyone who is interested in trying a stealth experience. While the plot isn’t all that engaging, it is satisfying in its own way.

Aragami 2 is a bold and aggressive take on the stealth genre, when it finds the confidence to step out of the shadows. Occasionally, however, it's a little too timid and reverts to playing it safe, cowering in the corner rather than seizing the initiative.

Ultimately, poor combat fails to sour the strong level and encounter design here that meshes beautifully with well-thought-out controls and plenty of mechanical variety. An impressive sequel, but perhaps lacking the purity of its predecessor.

Aragami 2 is a very linear stealth experience that gives too much power to the player, making it extremely easy to overcome any kind of challenge the game throws at you. Repetitive missions and buggy performance make it a hassle to play through.

Aragami 2 will surely scratch any itch that you’re looking for within the stealth action genre. Laying waste to unsuspecting enemies with your buddies and jumping from rooftop to rooftop provides a certain sense of satisfaction. Unfortunately, however, the other systems can’t keep up with this action, leaving the narrative, AI, and overall game loop to simply exist in hopes the play doesn’t get lost in the shadows.

Aragami 2 manages to offer a classic infiltration game that offers a very dynamic gameplay thanks to very fast movements. It does feel quite repetitive with dull missions and only a handful of maps to play.

Whilst not revolutionary, this sequels improves over the foundations of the original, with a greater, better focus on multiplayer and replayability.

Aragami 2 is wonderful when you're being a ninja, but one-on-one encounters are poor, and a lack of variety lets it down.

With its simple and nervous gameplay, Aragami 2 offers a classic infiltration experience but of formidable efficiency. Add to this the many skills available to players, and the levels can be crossed with great ease for an exhilarating sensation. Unfortunately, the title suffers alongside a lack of variety which gives the feeling of always repeating the same levels over and over despite their large size and barely different objectives. We also regret the change of artistic direction for a result less captivating than in the first part and which reveals a fairly simple technique. Nonetheless, it remains a nice and effective infiltration game that will surely gain in depth thanks to its multiplayer mode.

Although an intriguing atmosphere, Aragami 2 can't stand out as the first game did and some choices in level design make it feel more linear than it should.

Aragami 2’s persistent bugs, technical issues, and a lackluster presentation bog down what can otherwise be a fun and intricate stealth action game.

The appealing character designs and settings, carried over from its predecessor, have lost stylistic flare alongside repetitive missions. However, Two Feathers’ score, pretty backgrounds, and smooth sneaking are the sequel’s saving grace.

Feeling excellent in the hands, it’s a shame that the repetitive missions almost entirely feel like side-quests, seemingly hampered to fit the multiplayer vision. [Issue#7, p.75]

Aragami 2 had potential to be a great follow up to an indie classic released five years ago. Unfortunately it lacks any real challenge and feels bloated with repetitive mission types and locations. The game starts to overstay its welcome after a while, but there’s definitely fun to be had before reaching that stage if you can put up with the plenty of bugs that still need to be fixed.

Aragami 2 tries to add a layer of co-op action on top of its core stealth gameplay. Funny enough the stealth and combat mechanics are anything but co-op friendly. It feels like a half-baked release, with the developers having no clear direction how to continue the first game. It has its moments in co-op, but even those are ruined by the glitches and bugs. After the first few hours it becomes a repetitive grind and there is no real motivation for anyone to finish it. Aragami 2 is a completely unworthy and unmemorable sequel.

Coming off the first game, the hope was that the sequel would expand upon the hardcore stealth mechanics, and it would have worked a treat with Aragami 2’s larger levels. The increase in co-op partners make for more ways to have fun, and being able to see how certain groups tackle things silently or with all-out mayhem could have given the community more to strive for. The new direction in Aragami 2 is not a bad thing at all, considering the general quality present, but perhaps giving players the option between this new style and the old would have made this sequel a more complete package worth killing for.

A bigger, more ambitious stealth sequel which revamps the original’s mechanics and personality but most of the changes are to the game’s detriment.

With a patch or two, chances are Aragami 2 will turn into a game that’s well worth a stealth fan’s time and money, especially if they like dabbling in multiplayer. Until then though, you might want to think twice before diving in. While it’s initially fun nipping around Aragami 2‘s maps thanks to traversal options such as shadow leap, and later unlockable abilities really empower you, repetition does take its toll on the experience. All the while, frequent bugs and technical issues make you wonder if you’re playing something that was ready to step into the light for all to see.

Aragami 2 ends up being a bit of a mixed bag as a gaming experience. On one hand, the stealth mechanics, outstanding skill tree and playground-esque level designs means that the core gameplay is a blast. On the other hand, the new combat system isn't great, repetitive mission objectives and map reuse is maddening, and the bugs certainly don't help matters. The new addition of co-op has potential to make missions more fun by working with a friend, but this is purely speculation as Screen Rant was not able to test the feature as of writing this review. Stealth fans should find enough to enjoy about Aragami 2, but be prepared for a few stumbles along the way.

Aragami 2 was released in an abysmal state. Tons of bugs and lame AI made it pretty much impossible for me to enjoy the two main improvements over the original game – increased focus on the co-op mode and enhanced character mobility. I was also disappointed by boring mission design, as the tasks I had to tackle made the impression as if RNG worked on them. [12/2021, p.56]