Why? Well, smaller foes are typically either off-screen, or close enough to instantly cause harm to you. The fights against really large bosses are usually fine, mid-sized bosses are mixed and the player-character-sized bosses are almost all complete dogshit. The effect of this is that the game is quite exhausting to play at times and it took me a while to finish.Īnd those bad boss fights. Doesn't help that when you do attack an enemy, there is no feeling of impact (unlike the player character who gets stunned by hits). And unlike FP1, the core gameplay isn't quite as engaging, since besides some good platforming and gimmicks you're mostly just ignoring the enemies and taking random hits. In general, the difference between FP1 and 2 is that the former feels more restrained, with level design that guides you forward, whereas FP2 regularly makes it difficult to tell which way you're meant to be going. The added guard mechanic seems useless but thankfully wasn't required for Lilac, whose dash has about a billion i-frames and does good damage. Enemies are almost entirely not worth dealing with, as many of them have untelegraphed attacks and a tonne of HP, but you will still take plenty of damage from enemies that attack as you run past. In one stage, there is a crushing block hazard that drops so fast that you actually can't avoid it if you're stood still, which you may be if you boosted forward and bopped off the wall where it comes down. Sadly, most of the levels are at least a little chaotic, as there are enemies and stage hazards that seem unavoidable given the speed of the game. Some levels, like the Ancestral Forge and Nalao Lake, are really bad, but there are also some great stages- Lightning Tower is my favourite, mixing in some very light puzzle elements with hazards that are activated as you turn on power, and generally a more calculated level design with a good sense of progress as you climb. This scope is impressive but it's clear that the developers had ambitions beyond reason, leading to both a lengthy development period and a really hit-and-miss quality to the levels and boss fights. There are many gimmicks and almost all levels have a good sense of individual identity both visually and in terms of gameplay. The level design is more ambitious than the first game with long, complex, multi-route levels. For an indie 2D platformer with a breakneck pace that's a lot of level. The game could feasibly take someone 10 hours to finish on a first playthrough and I expect most will be over 8 hours at least. There's trouble around every turn, from insects to giant robots to sheer explosive destruction, but you'll have a variety of special fighting abilities to blast your way through each stage.Īs Lilac, you can use Dragon powers to whip enemies with your hair, spin like a cyclone, or fly through the air at high speed like a comet.Īs Carol, you can bust through foes with a flurry of punches and kicks or summon motorcycles that let you ride up walls and ceilings.It's a trite comment at this point, but this is another case for 'Steam should have a mixed recommendation option instead of just 'yes' and 'no'.'įirst of all, it's impossible not to be impressed by the amount of real content in this game. Freedom Planet is a combat-based platform adventure that pits a spunky dragon girl and her friends against an alien attack force.

Freedom planet 2 release date