Time-travel across different video game eras and genres | First Impressions - Evoland 2

Evoland 2 is the sequel to the original Evoland and offers a unique blend of gameplay styles , mechanics, and graphics that evolve as the player progresses. In many ways, Evoland 2 clearly improves upon the first game, especially in the narrative, gameplay department, and length.

The game's storyline is an epic and sprawling adventure that spans across different eras and dimensions, taking the player on a journey through time and space. The game’s prologue starts off in a gameboy low resolution green-ish setting, then immediately switches to a much more modern 2D pixel art graphics that serves as the original medieval fantasy setting the main characters are from. Overall, it sets the tone for the epic adventure to come, with its lighthearted orchestral score and cinematic presentation. There is no voice acting, so everything must be read by the player.

The gameplay in Evoland 2 is a unique blend of different game styles and mechanics, ranging from classic 2D action-adventure gameplay to turn-based battles and even card games. They are mostly paying homage to RPGs, but other genres are included as well.

From the 8-bit pixelated graphics and retro soundtrack to the turn-based battles or even side-scrolling shooter action, Evoland 2 pays homage to the history of video games in a way that feels both old and brand new. If you ever want to go on a video game history tour, while still playing a decent game, Evoland 2 is the one and only perfect fit.

When Evoland 2 is in a classic Adventure RPG format — which I would probably label as the game’s main genre — the game's combat system is adapted from a Zelda-style combat where players only have one attack button, no dodge, block, nor a variety spells, except for one ability where the current companion comes to the player’s aid.

The game also features a variety of puzzles and platforming challenges that require critical thinking and logic, and sometimes careful timing and precision.

Knowing about the game's time-traveling and game evolving aspect beforehand, Evoland 2 immediately grabbed my attention and compelled me to play, just to see how all the different game evolutions would play out. Additionally, the epic adventure story was a nice cherry on top that pleasantly surprised me and added another reason to play.  It is not directly related to the first game, so newcomers can try this one out without playing the first.

Full Review will be posted soon here on Taptap! Stay tuned!