Beyond the Ice Palace 2

Yeah the platforming for this can be rather slow it's by no means unresponsive. It all works with the use of the chains that once imprisoned you now acting as both a whip & a way to interact with the environment is a creative breath of fresh air & executed well. I'm not familiar with the first Ice Palace title but from what I've looked up it plays like another title I'm not familiar with, Ghosts N Goblins, so making this sequel more in line with Castlevania was a good move to bring in more people. Just don't go in expecting usual Metroidvania. This has taken inspiration from the earlier, & much more linear, Castlevania titles like Simon's Quest, Dracula's Curse & Bloodlines with combat having some decent depth to it. The platforming can also feel clunky like in those early platformers to but not terrible. This is worth getting but so long as you keep your expectations in check then you'll have balls of fun with it.

Beyond The Ice Palace 2 was a pleasant surprise. Starting from the presentation, the game is solid: the pixel-art is excellent, and the soundtrack is also good, fitting the mood quite well. Sounds are also well designed, and generally the game does a good job of providing you with a pleasant feedback to your attacks. The gameplay is good, and from the very beginning it provides some fun mechanics. Your weapon will attach itself to rings (generously distributed through the levels) and will be used to swing, launch yourself, steal shields from enemies, pull levers for puzzles and much more. A charged attack is at your disposal to destroy certain barriers or finish off some enemies which would otherwise come back to life. You also have a dodge move, which doubles as a movement option (although both the charged attack and dodge will consume stamina, so you can't constantly use them). Finally there are a slide (very useful to move quickly) and a dive-kick (almost useless, given that you can't re-use it after hitting an enemy). Eventually, you'll unlock more powers, although they are all diffferent forms of movement options, actually (double jump, buff to the dodge to become omni-directional and a way to attach rings to certain surfaces). Still, you can also power up your character by spending crystals you find around the game (usually in secret areas or after bosses/challenges). Shops allow you to buy some utility items and equipment, although the selection is narrow. The game has flaws: bosses are often too easy to simply outdamage often, while the regular levels can sometimes be too challenging due to the placement of enemies or obstacles. The movement is great fun, and makes up for some of the frustration (the regular jump is anemic, but all other options are cool). I found some bugs, however the devs seem to be fixing the game so I hope it will be polished by the end. An interesting take on the genre, if you don't mind some frustration at times.

I left off writing a review until I had completed the game. For the first 2 patches there were progression halting bugs but those have been fixed. As others have noted BTIP2 is very in line with the Original Castlevania games but it does have some minor backtracking as well. Most of this consists of finding items to increase your stats. The music and art direction is excellent. I do wish the bosses were a bit tougher as I can often cheese them and the last boss was easier than some of the earlier ones. One thing to keep in mind is the controls are a bit on the clunky side but I could look passed that as the game was fun regardless. All in all I have enjoyed the game and if you like throw backs to the C64 area, with some modernization, you will probably like this. I hope to see something similar to this but with the C64 version of Below the Root.

Many reviewers already noted how awful the controls are, and I couldn't agree more. Even trying to remap the controls didn't help. It always felt wonky and unresponsive, and while the game looked fun, like classic Castlevania, it doesn't play like it. It is slow and unwieldy, and navigation with rings was a nightmare, and while the game said I could press D to block certain attacks, it wasn't true. There was no block that I could find with any key. The same was true for a move called the hanging dash grab. The game told me to press a certain key to execute such a move, and nothing happened when I did. The entire experience was frustrating and a total waste of my time. In feedback threads the designers kept saying that the character was supposed to feel unresponsive and junky until later in the game. News flash, game designers, if the game and gameplay is this bad at the start, there is no later in the game. People won't play your game. I'm just thankful that GOG has a refund policy.

suddenly stopped gameplay is not so good