Genre: RPG
Developer/publisher: Gust/KOEI
Platform: PS4, Switch, PC.
Official Site: https://blue-reflection.com/secondlight/uk/
Release date: 2021-11-09.
Developer/publisher: Gust/KOEI
Platform: PS4, Switch, PC.
Official Site: https://blue-reflection.com/secondlight/uk/
Release date: 2021-11-09.
Well you know it was coming... but I delayed playing this game for a bit.
Prerelease I have seen some... less than positive comments I tried my best to ignore them
cuz i'm only really here to see how it ties all together. The anime wasn't the best either...
and I wonder what the hell gust even tried to achieve with this multi-media project? cuz it seems
like cash was tight or they just didn't have the time to do better? maybe that too.
It also didn't do that well in japan, blurays cancelled and lacklustre sales.
There's supposed to be a mobile game too but idk what happened to that.
If you're still wondering if should play the first game and watch the
anime... not really unless you
have time and want to see more Hiori/Mio or experience Hinako's adventure but its not a must.
Anyway... like I said in my post about the anime ray the characters and to some extend the story
really are BR's strong point, if you want a quick and dirty TL;DR for the most part I enjoyed it
but this game isn't the best either its nice in its own way.
Pro's
- Story&character are interesting to learn more of.
- Pacing is okay, feels a bit too relaxed at times though,
- Decent amount of optional content.
- Music is great.
Con's
- Requests that require stealth are quite annoying.
- One on One battles controls feel off, relies too much on perfect timing.
(Its interesting but idk why they decided to suddenly turn it into a QTE/action game....)
- Animation in combat, its hard to see what's going on while having to watch turn bar as well.
- Dating part while cute might get redundant and there are many.
- Was it really necessary to force an entire NG+ run for one more scene?!
-
I like the OP movie, song is calm and sets the mood for the game!
too bad it only plays once after you finish the prologue, maybe it also plays
if you linger on the title screen but I didn't bother to check.
Storywise it still offers the same type of emotional/chacracter development the first game
and the anime to some extend is known for so all in all its still blue reflection
really I think the character stuff like getting their memories back is the best part.
The first half of the game was pretty relaxing for the most part and felt like there was no rush
to go and do things which in a way is kinda bad? its very laidback that just playing
one or two hours was enough and come back to it whenever I felt like progressing.
Sometimes I do think this is nice, in most rpg's you always have to save or protect something
but in this game they're just trying to survive while getting back their memories
obviously the fighting/protect part came in too but overall it felt different from other rpg's
even the first blue reflection game which was more sailormoon-ish than this.I liked the general flow of the story, but it did remind me of the persona 4/5
cuz the dungeons are character focused and you slowly get to see the big picture.
However I fear this is gonna make or break the game for people, this game is a slow burn
and at times it feels more like a character game cuz the story takes a while to get going.
The one time I was annoyed was at the end of ch10's boss rush cuz there was no rhyme or reason
to be even fighting those exact same enemies again, there wasn't even any dialogue for it. >_>
I liked the majority of this game more than I expected even though I don't like the combat
at all and think that the original blue reflection had more charming UI/menu design.
I did always think that the original blue reflection was kinda open-ended
and that there was something missing maybe they did it on purpose? and now we
got the anime ray and this game second light which continues from that.
There's more content and subevents don't feel as static anymore as well unfortunately like most
gust games sub events can seem endless as they appear even and trying to see all date
or do all request once they show up can feel overwhelming.
Anyway its not a bad game but... its also not the greatest either its just okay!
Many times you want developer to do more with an IP and they don't...
well gust did try here and i'll give them credit for it! I mean the anime might not
have been the most appealing to watch but this game was nice to slowly go through
its just that depending whether or not you have the energy for a second run
its okay to just youtube the additional scene when you're done like it makes sense storywise
why they did it, however there's not enough new content to make it worthwhile.
and I wanted to add that it could ruin the experience by turning it into a slog.
I remember BR1 being more like oh well all's well that ends well but then this game
comes crashing in like bitch hold up you ain't got nothing on me! in the end
while I enjoyed most of the journey I still feel a little mixed about this entry.
I totally understand why some people are pissed or annoyed... because this game has a few
questionable design choices archaic even and I can't really recommend it
except as a character game and hey maybe you'll like the combat too
but its not really a typical rpg the story just doesn't allow it to be.
7/10
More rambles after the jump.
