Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm

[Maryokutai]

So that little Zelda-like with the weird title and a soundtrack from Uematsu is shifting its viewpoint (and production values) for what is possibly the most ambitious sequel in the indie space I've ever seen.

 

Oceanhorn 2 doesn't quite wear its inspirations on its sleeve as clearly as the first one did. In its essence it's a very classic action-adventure game, but there are also shades of JRPG in there. It's not quite as clear cut as the internet would make you believe and comparing it to one or the other feels rather unfair then. If I absolutely wanted to compare it to other games, I'd call it a mix between Sudeki and Venetica in how it's structured and as far as its noticeable flaws thankfully don't impact the enjoyment too much.

 

So far my character can fight with a sword, throw bombs and shoot non-elemental, fire or electric pojectiles with his gun. All those actions are used for combat (more on that later) and puzzle-solving. You can burn certain wooden obstacles with the fire shot, charge generators with electricity, blow stuff up with your bombs - the usual stuff. Exploring the various locales (towns, cities, fields, dungeons) yields a couple of rewards, but they're not particularly impressive for the most part and usually consist of trinkets that will be immediately transmuted into a certain amount of money. Occasionally you'll find shards which are used to power up your equipment or heart pieces which bump your maximum amount of life after finding three. I really enjoy wandering around the areas and getting rewarded for it, but there could have been a bit more to keep you motivated (maybe scrolls that unlock special moves in combat or mixed-elemental shots would have been a cool idea). I've also travelled by boat on the world map a bit but so far it looks like this aspect will become more important later on. Right now everything that isn't part of the next story destination is blocked off.

 

Speaking of combat, which unfortunately is the game's weakest link. It's not fundamentally bad: hitting an enemy with your sword feels good and does solid chunks of damage, aiming and shooting with the gun works better than I expected it to. But combining everything together feels clunky, secondary combo hits have to be inputted right at the tail end of a swing and enemy attack patterns feel random and oddly animated so you never really know if you have time for one or three attacks before they counter, as they never flinch -- unless hit with a critical attack, which you have no control over unless it was a surprise attack. With better readability and a more fluent moveset combat would have been solid. As it is now it's more of a hit-and-run affair. It's not game breaking and there aren't too many fights anyway, but still something to keep in mind.

 

So that's basically it, you run around exploring the world, find secrets, solve puzzles and fight the occasional monster or two. It's a very classic game-y setup but I enjoy it quite a lot. It's a charming throwback to those colourful action adventures from the PS2 era. There's a bit of story there as well but it's not the main draw certainly. Still, to give them some credit, they at least try to build upon the lore they established in the first game, but it's nothing we haven't heard or read before. The player character is unfortunately silent, but he's accompanied by two likeable, if a bit tropey, party members who can also be used in puzzles (and are absolutely useless in combat).

 

Visually it's one of the prettiest games on Switch which came a bit as a surprise considering it's an indie title. Very clean style, popping colours, a lot of detail, good animations for the most part, solid performance, great lighting and despite all of that the loading times are some of the shortest I've seen on the system so far (it takes 20 seconds after clicking on the icon on the Switch menu to being able to walk around).

 

This is getting a lot of flack online for being "not as good as Zelda" which I think is both unfair and not even entirely true, since it doesn't even want to be a Zelda-like. It's flawed but enjoyable, maybe lacks some depth but makes up for it with its charm and beautiful world. The price tag might look a bit steep at first glance but I don't regret buying it. Spent the best part of my weekend playing it and am looking forward to more.

 

 

[Maryokutai]

Coming to PC, Xbox and PS5 at some point in the future:

 

 

I really liked it. It doesn't reinvent the wheel or is a game that sets the world on fire but it's a charming old-school action adventure that doesn't outstay its welcome. 

People who enjoyed these mid-budget B-Side games on PS2 (think Sphinx ad the cursed Mummy) will have fun with this, too. Certain aspects like the overworld make it feel like a JRPG at times, too, even though there are no proper gameplay elements from that genre present.