The sequel to a sport that was inevitably troublesome to observe, Teslagrad 2 has been crafted with plenty of care, consideration and data of what made its predecessor so particular.
From the beginning, it’s clear it has retained the prequel’s attraction. The artwork and animation are attractive. The setting is drawn from historic Europe, with key identifiers that floor you in a Norse-inspired countryside with out being explicitly related to a particular occasion or time. This permits the designers to point out off their creativity, embellishing the setting with unbelievable creatures and villains with a free relationship to historical past and folklore.
Teslagrad 2 begins with an animation of a steampunk airship crash-landing on a seashore. The protagonist Lumina scrambles to her toes and is launched right into a race for security, with missiles launched after her from enemy ships. The controls are intuitive and straightforward to choose up shortly with principally no directions, even in the event you’re new to the collection.
As you scramble by way of the fjords, you shortly discover the equipment required to benefit from Teslagrad’s signature electromagnetic physics. Glowing crops and rocks are littered all through the map that you would be able to both cling to or launch your self away from utilizing these abilities.
Afterward, you additionally study to propel your self forcefully by way of water so you possibly can leap up waterfalls. Even later, you discover an electromagnetic axe you possibly can throw and summon again to you. That is helpful not solely as a weapon but additionally as a strategy to rip by way of obstacles. These further powers construct on the electromagnetic talents established within the prequel in a manner that feels pure. They make for a logical development, in addition to being very properly suited to the brand new setting.
If you safely attain the village, a mysterious benefactor defends you out of your enemies and grants you entry to towers located on both aspect of the settlement. You may deal with the towers in whichever order you want; the primary few ranges of both are straightforward sufficient to tackle with out the good thing about the opposite.
Already, the sport is bigger than its prequel and clearly non-linear. As you discover, you unravel the story contained in Teslagrad 2 and the place Lumina suits into it. Key particulars are scattered all through the background of the sport. Within the tower halls, you discover portraits, murals, statues, movies and pictures that act as clues about Lumina’s household, their relationship with the village, the sky pirates that chased her right here and the mysterious figures that awaited her.
You additionally gather scrolls as you go, which act as an incentive to not depart a single stone unturned. There are a complete of 81 to search out (which instantly suggests a extra complicated map with extra hidden secrets and techniques than the 36 scrolls within the prequel). In the event you handle to search out all of them earlier than you attain the ultimate boss, you unlock a second, more difficult boss battle that actually proves your talents.
The world of Teslagrad 2 presents each pure and man-made phenomena, exploring each grand caverns with lakes and waterfalls, in addition to huge castles with unbelievable structure. Within the background, misty mountains and fantastical castles loom over your journey.
At key factors, you discover launchers that help you hearth ropes into the center of the map, both to the village or to the airship floating above it. These help you rappel again to these central factors, making the map simpler to navigate when you’ve unlocked new areas.
Because of the freedom it’s important to discover at your personal tempo, Teslagrad 2 generally is a very quick sport, relying on the way you play it. On my first run, I reached the ultimate boss with out realising it was the ultimate boss. I’d left sections completely unexplored and even missed a complete minor boss – and the bonuses its defeat would’ve provided me.
Nevertheless, in the event you take your time to be thorough, you will get rather a lot out of this sport. The labyrinths are a number of enjoyable to discover and revisit with the brand new powers you develop all through your journey, and there are many secrets and techniques to uncover in the event you’re paying consideration. Teslagrad 2 builds on already attention-grabbing mechanics to go well with a phenomenal new setting in a manner that positively pays off – and appears attractive doing it.
