Lovecraft’s Untold Stories 2 is an Action RPG with Lovecraftian Mythos and elements of Roguelike where you control one of 6 characters and fight against the Great Old Ones, insane humans and demonic creatures as you try to uncover the truth.
It Ain’t No Mona Lisa
Starting off as an inmate in the asylum, you are given the choice of 3 characters (with the other 3 being unlockables) as you try to break out of the asylum and uncover the truth by following the path of an artist, Ardois-Bonnot whose painting called Dream Landscape caused mass hysteria.
Different Pockets
All the characters have their own unique, starting weapons, stats and skills to suit your playstyle. With the 3 of them being available at the start. All characters start with a main weapon, depending on the character, some can carry more amulets whereas some can carry secondary weapons and such.
Different Skills, Same Madness
The Detective starts off with a shotgun & grenades, his skill move is a dodge roll that helps him get out of combat quickly but at the time of writing his dodge roll doesn’t allow him to roll through enemies when cornered. The Witch starts the Ancestral Skull, which shoots flame and is one of the fastest to reload. She can teleport some distance which is helpful as getting cornered and blocked off by enemies is common. The Professor has a Plasma gun that has one of the largest magazines so reloading isn’t an issue. His shield ability that helps block off poisons and acids if he steps on them. Other characters such as the Veteran, Alienist and Medium will require to be unlocked in order to use them.
They are Human After All
The environments are distinct and varied from one another with the commonality between them being gloomy and dark and that they are of the same twisted world. Some are open, whereas some are less so and for now suffer from collision issues where enemies can’t fit through or can’t figure out how to get through a narrow space such as bridges. But those instances are only noticeable in side quests which the developers have acknowledged and are working on.
Beauty in Chaos
The artsyle, tone and theme of Lovecraft’s Untold Stories 2 are definitely one that catches one’s attention. Everything is stylistically dark and grotesque that it fits into this world very well. The pool of enemy variety is deep and interesting as with the mini bosses and bosses. One can’t overstate the level of detail and skill that goes into the environment, characters, enemies and world in general.
Collect and Protect or Lose It
There’s a crafting system in-game so farming for resources and bringing back the right one between runs is paramount in order to craft better gear as the game is punishing. One that is a norm for roguelikes as dying on a run will mean losing all the resources you have found on that run.
I Need Answers
What’s missing in the game, deliberate or not, is the lack of communication in its gameplay. There’s sanity and certain actions can help increase or decrease it but there’s no obvious value for the player to see in order to know where they are at. Not reading the guide (not in-game) may leave the player with more questions as to what some items/mechanics are, to a degree may add a level of mystery and might be deliberate.
Too Quick To The Stick
Other issues which most are minor and some QOL include, the game not stacking items to existing stacks. Items not transferring when accessing and exiting the storage container. Text that pops up disappears too quickly to be read or is not obvious even though it’s important.
Final Thoughts
As of time of writing Lovecraft’s Untold Stories 2 definitely has some kinks to be ironed out that are to be tinkered. But it is safe to say that most of the moving parts and gameplay work as intended and are more enjoyable than frustrating, unless you play the Witch (she’s too frail). With the gameplay challenging, making every run an important one at the same time exciting as you dive further into the dark abyss. The developers actively adjust according to feedback but at the same time maintaining its challenge, rest assured that this is very much far from the tentacles of a sophomore slump.
Purchase Lovecraft’s Untold Stories 2 on Steam!
Hailing from a small Island. Huge football fan. Drinks too much tea.
Survival, Roguelikes, Turn-based or Indie games in general are my go to genres but I like to dabble in all kinds of genres. I tend to have a soft spot for Shmups and Hidden Object Games once in a while.
As a fan of the original, this was such a disappointment, even after the update it’s just not the former self!
To you what was the essence of the first title that this second one is lacking?