Back in 2014, a group of latest builders calling themselves GalaxyTrail launched Freedom Planet—a retro model platformer that captured the hearts of many classic-era Sonic the Hedgehog followers. Freedom Planet, in reality, began life as a Sonic fan sport, although it established a singular identification for itself as growth wore on, and gross sales had been fortuitously excessive sufficient that the group was in a position to greenlight the event of a sequel. Now, ten years on, Freedom Planet 2 has lastly arrived for consoles, and we’re happy to report that it’s all the things you’d hope for from a sequel. The degree designs are tighter, the gameplay is extra thrilling, the graphics have gotten a pleasant enhance; that is throughout a way more assured and enthralling launch.
The story picks up similtaneously the ending of the primary sport, with the climactic occasions of that finale inflicting an historic Water Dragon named Merga to be launched from a magical jail. The plot then jumps ahead three years, following authentic protagonists Lilac, Carol, and Milla as they work to wash up the few robotic stragglers left over from the occasions of the primary sport. The trio is then recruited by Neera, the brand new playable protagonist, for a gathering with the Magister, who asks them for assist in attending to the underside of who has been inflicting the current robotic assaults. Naturally, the traditional menace they unknowingly launched has one thing to do with it, kicking off a prolonged journey to disclose this new villain’s motives and in the end foil their plans.
It’s a compelling sufficient story, helped in no small half by a lot better cutscene pacing this time round. Freedom Planet was infamous for its prolonged cutscenes, however right here they convey simply sufficient info to maintain the plot shifting and construct the characters with out getting in the way in which of the high-speed gameplay. Voice appearing performances general really feel a lot stronger as effectively, with returning solid members resembling Dawn Bennett and Aimee Smith showcasing their matured expertise, and this goes a good distance in enhancing the standard of the various cutscenes. For these of you who nonetheless aren’t too jazzed by the deal with story, cutscenes are nonetheless simply skippable, whereas finishing the sport in Adventure Mode unlocks a Classic Mode that permits you to play by way of the platforming phases again to again.
Gameplay follows the unique’s construction, tasking you with guiding your chosen character by way of phases full of a number of routes as quick as doable. This time round, the two-act construction has been dropped in favor of one-shot phases with barely shorter runtimes in comparison with their predecessors, every of which is capped off by a boss battle. Although the mechanics listed here are largely the identical, there have been some welcome additions, resembling a guard transfer for every character that grants them a couple of i-frames to dodge by way of enemies or a revive choice to proceed taking part in proper from the place you died for a small penalty.
Freedom Planet 2 might really feel similar to its predecessor, then, however the high quality of the gameplay and degree designs right here have seen a considerable improve in polish. Freedom Planet was actually no slouch on this division, however the stage design on this sequel simply flows so a lot better. Every degree is packed to bursting with new stage gimmicks and mechanics, thrilling set-piece moments, and a near-perfect steadiness of velocity and exploration, making every stage really feel like an exquisite theme park experience in all the most effective methods.
Not solely do the a number of potential routes by way of a degree provide up a variety of replay potential as you attempt to beat your greatest instances, however there at the moment are 4 playable characters that every really feel meaningfully distinct. Lilac, for instance, performs because the ‘Sonic’ of this launch, targeted on high-speed antics with a couple of useful choices for gaining altitude, whereas newcomer Neera is a extra technical and combat-focused character centered round varied assaults and magic spells she will solid together with her spear. Every character’s package feels full and brings new concepts to the desk, which might typically completely change your strategy to a degree. Though it’s a bit disappointing that the characters weren’t given their very own phases constructed for his or her distinctive specs, we nonetheless appreciated the range they provide, particularly given that every one has their very own distinctive perspective on story occasions as they unfold.
When taking part in in Adventure Mode, there’s additionally a brand new assortment of hub ranges interspersed between the motion phases, providing you with an opportunity to decelerate, speak to some characters, and purchase some powerups on the native retailers. Though a change of tempo was good every so often, these hub ranges felt like an pointless distraction and slightly misplaced. Still, you’re not required to interact in these hubs for too lengthy, and Classic Mode strips them out completely.
Visually, Freedom Planet 2 appears like a large step up from the unique, providing an extremely detailed and easy artwork model that makes just about each body a deal with. Whether you’re grinding on the rollercoaster rails by way of the theme park-esque Zao Land or rolling in a snowball down a hill within the junk-strewn Robot Graveyard, every stage overwhelms you in a flurry of sights and sounds with distinctive color palettes, detailed spritework, and superior animation all coming collectively extremely effectively. It’s the little particulars that actually take issues from good to nice, like how the parallax scrolling within the background through the Battlesphere stage has a slight curve to it to provide the sense that you simply’re working round inside a closed area.
These visuals are matched by a equally wonderful soundtrack that mixes pop, jazz, and EDM beats for music that may each elevate and funky the depth as wanted. Often the monitor taking part in for a stage doesn’t fairly match the pulse-pounding velocity your character is working at as they blitz by way of obstacles, but it by no means as soon as appears like a tune is misplaced. There’s an virtually dreamlike high quality to the tracks on deck right here, and we deeply appreciated the range.
Conclusion
Freedom Planet 2 is a superb achievement by GalaxyTrail, setting a excessive bar for high quality that will probably be powerful to beat if we’re ever fortunate sufficient to get a ‘Freedom Planet 3’. A compelling story, well-designed ranges, tons of gameplay selection, and beautiful visuals all come collectively to make this an absolute must-play for followers of high-speed platformers and a sure blue hedgehog. Freedom Planet 2 exudes high quality and keenness in nearly each means possible.
