Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 Reviews

very fun game

its good but its too easy

I don't think I've ever had to sing to complete a game before, but here we are.

I want to start with the textboxes as its the first thing you'll see.. they're all diagonal. It is very exhausting for my brain to read like that, or I'll try to turn my head, which isn't good for my neck. It is a stylization choice that fits the game, but I would prefer normal textboxes... The game itself plays very smoothly, every enemy gets an easy to see healthbar, except for the levelending bosses. Which is very annoying, at first I didn't even notice it. Its very small at the bottom right of the screen, barely noticable in colors blending into the background. Because of that, it took me half the game to even see that it exists... I don't really get what all the different weapons are about, as they all just seem to handicap myself instead of helping. The basic weapon seems to work just fine and if I don't see other weapons dealing significantly more damage, I see no point in using them. They're all harder to use anyway, so at least give me damage that I can actually feel. The game also seems to have a set amount of loading screen time, as there is NO way, that it actually loads that long all the time. Makes dying pretty annoying, if you gotta wait for the loading to finish again, knowing your PC should be able to load it instantly. In this game you play in a Megaman like setting, through different stages with a boss at the end. The gameplay itself is fun and I would really like to rate this positively, but too many things are just feeling like a chore. You have the same levels for 2 different characters, which play slightly differently, but I was fine with that. On top of that, both characters however, also get a bunch of bonus challenges. If you want to complete them all, or close to all of them, you'll be playing every stage at least 3 times, if not more. I hate doing things multiple times in games. Especially if the game forces me to do it. Wait a second, it forces me? Yes. If you have played through both stories, you will need to have cleared about 80% of those challenges and beat the last stage AGAIN. Again as BOTH characters. How many times am I supposed to play through everything, if I want to see everything? Yes the game is short, they need something to keep you coming back, if you so desire, but I highly dislike having the true endings for a game locked behind having to play stuff many times. If you've done that, you unlock a new mode in the main menu. (which btw. only states that you need to clear the game to unlock, not even that you need to do so on both characters, much less that you need to do it twice on both characters with several challenges done...) Also if you happen to have a mic plugged in. The Gunvolt final boss will want to have you sing along to be able to beat the boss. Let me as the player decide if I want to use a mic or not, do not just decide that. It was very annoying, having my sleeping wife next to me and suddenly the game wants me to be loud? No thank you. Overall the game can be really fun, but for me personally, there have been way too many annoyances to be able to recommend it. Sadly.

With well designed levels, boss fights and mechanics for two distinct characters, it's great fun casually and it's made with beginner players in mind. But where it really shines is in advanced, stylish play, when you try not to get hit, go fast and build up combos for very high scores. It's immensely rewarding to learn how to play it well, and it has a bunch of secrets to find and optional challenges to clear.