La-Mulana 2

Do you like Myst? Do you enjoy needing to apply abstract and Z->A logic in solving puzzles? Are you the kind of person that plays puzzle and adventure point/click titles for those AH HA! moments--the thing puzzle solvers live for. Well this game is your huckleberry. Are you the kind of person that is typically disappointed in puzzle games because 'that puzzle that could have been amazing, was a total letdown and the game just literally solved it for you, etc. etc.' If you allow this game to satisfy your inner puzzler/inner Indian Jones, I'm sure it won't disappoint! 1st: If you have not played the first game, you should play the first game before this. It is known as La Mulana on stores and known in circles as "La Mulana Remake". 2nd: This game will challenge a puzzle solver. You will be tempted to cheat--seriously don't. It ruins your experience and ultimately means you repeatedly make the same problem solving errors. As a puzzle solver there's one thing I look for in reviews and when I ask friends that played a game--is the game fair? Everything in this game is absolutely fair, but be warned you may feel that thing you never feel in games...feeling stuck...feeling lost. It's not a feeling many gamers are comfortable with and it's truly something special when a game can touch you in that way. It's Myst-like in that regard, as well as the puzzles being amazingly well done. SPOILERS AHEAD (minor gameplay details and as a riddler I wouldn't read this--just some general comparisons but it may alter how you think and play. If you've read this review and think, "Game sounds great, worth a shot..stop reading!" Compared to LM1: Design of puzzles is even better, more variety. As compared to LM1, the way riddles are written up and presented there isn't a lot to argue that there is only one 'correct' answer to a puzzle. Some complained of translation issues in LM1 (I never ran into the issue myself), I did not feel that in a raw playthrough of 2.

The original “Archaeological Ruin Exploration Action Game” was a very unique approach to exploration-focused platformers, borrowing heavily from The Maze of Galious. Despite having a lot of similarities to the “metroidvania” games, it focused much more heavily on puzzles that could go from covering just the room you are in to the entire game world and required you to pay close attention to the details you see. It had a lot of unique and fun elements to it, but was also often infuriatingly obtuse with puzzle design. La-Mulana 2 feels like La-Mulana did, except if designed as a modern game with fun in mind, without sacrificing any of the excitement and challenge of the original. A lot of simple but very important changes are made to the basics of gameplay and you're told and given enough from the start. It’s so much more fun to explore too. All of the main locations in the game feel unique, with their own distinct looks, distinct focus, fantastic music theme and its own storyline. Game looks fantastic as well, managing to keep that pixelated feel, yet adding in a lot of 3D elements in a natural way. There are some familiar issues, however. Some of the boss fights still feel like you win either because you are cheesing them or because of sheer luck. There are still occasional moments or puzzles that are a bit too hard to understand. And additionally, even in the current state there are still occasional issues. Luckily, the game is still getting updates and a lot of things have been fixed and rebalanced since the release. La-Mulana 2 isn’t just a modern re-imagining of Maze of Galious, or an ode to an old era of games done well. It’s a truly amazing, unforgettable, incredibly smart exploration focused action advent– archaeological ruin exploration action game. It builds on top of all of the experiences and inspirations La-Mulana 1 was built from, and outgrows them, becomes a thing of its own.

The first La-Mulana quickly became my favorite game of all time as soon as I played it. Even being as hyped as I was to play this, it didn't let me down at all. I don't think it surpassed the first game, but a lot of that could just be a result of me already knowing what I was in for. The game does feel very similar to its predecessor and you'll be doing fundamentally the same things. Exploring ancient ruins, solving difficult puzzles, fighting loads of minibosses. The big difference here is that you have some actual air control, as you're now a spry young lass instead of a stiff old man. There's a bit more of a platforming focus in light of this, but nothing too major. It does make a lot of the combat much more manageable, though it is still pretty tough (I actually couldn't beat the final boss this time). The area design is generally quite a bit more interesting, as many levels are arranged around a central idea or gimmick. There was a bit of that in the first game, but here they tried harder with thematics and setpieces. The game has more spectacle and intrigue and manages to do so in a way that doesn't compromise on gameplay. The only quibbles I have are a few odd retcons (a translation issue?) and memespeak (definitely a translation issue), not that the story's a big deal, the music being more forgettable and an overreliance on mantras as a puzzle solution. They even make you use them during the final boss. None of these are enough to stop me from giving the game my highest recommendation. I bought it at full price and you should too. The world needs more La-Mulanas.

I did not enjoy the game. After a year, there are still game breaking softlock bugs that require reloading earlier saves. The movement, a direct copy paste from the first game, is glitchy, and several items often cause you to end up out of bounds. Grail points occasionally don't work, and areas don't load on screen transitions. There are a few development oversights in puzzle design which can produce an unwinnable state, although the developers are still working on getting those fixes. What happened? The first game was incredible, almost bug-free on release in 2005. This game felt like it was made by a different studio, based on the amount of issues I encountered during my playthrough. Ignoring the bugs, there are larger problems: It felt like the game was designed with the assumption that most players enjoyed the sadistic difficulty of the La-mulana 1 bonus dungeon as the entire level design of this game is based on tricky, precise platforming that's hard with the game's controls. There are enemise that knock you onto pits. There are spikes everywhere. As you play the game further, more and more and more enemies spawn, making progression through areas a hindrance. If the game played like Hollow Knight it would be fun. But it doesn't, and it's not. La-mulana controls like an obese sea turtle and the combat involves lots of RNG, bouncebacking and damage you won't avoid unless you're an absolute master in platformers. The boss fight and mini bosses are a bit more challenging that the first game, and several bosses feature boss design I found annoying to deal with. We don't play these games for the combat mechanics or platforming - we play them for the puzzles. Which brings us to the strong point: Fans of the original game will like the puzzles in this one. Some puzzles are trickier, some not. There's a lot of cool new puzzle mechanics, and added NPCs and dialogue is much welcome. Music wasn't as good as Mulana 1. Graphics are excellent.