Planet Stronghold 2

I played -and loved- Planet Stronghold 1 back in the day a [i]lot[/i]. So, needless to say, I was thrilled when I found out that PS 2 was finally out after years of development. Currently, I'm about half way through - at least I do hope so, since I don't want the game to come to an end just yet. And I love pretty much every minute of it. Everyone who played PS 1 will recognize the art, characters, gameplay (for most parts) and the humour - though, I have to say, with Milo on board the "humour" spiked quite a bit. His humour is not necessarily always appropriate but he does get reprimanded for it. Something else that spikes in a weird (but already known) way is the difficulty. Especially after main events and/or venturing into new areas, it's quite possible to get your ass kicked. Especially if you either didn't buy new equipments or upgrade the current one. After that it can become VERY easy during certain fights (playing in Normal) but the old source of frustration -that is, enemies healing their allies back to health even after they got K.O.ed or having a group of enemies who all use 'Protect' on each other- is still here. Boy, did I miss that. [strike]Well, maybe not but it does make it challenging at times while still being manageable in Normal mode.[/strike] The story so far is quite intriguing, having me wonder how things would have played out if I had chosen the other starting point. That alone is incentive enough for me to go back and replay it in full length. Even though I would probably feel bad to have sided with King Oscar. A very big "problem", however, is the fact that a certain former "gangster" has stolen my heart and will quite likely be the reason for me to break up with Tom. Especially because I was reminded soon enough why I had my fair shair of trouble with that handsome white hair in PS1. [strike]I should've just chosen Damien or no one as a transfer romance looooool[/strike] VN Mode for the rescue I guess. To put it in other terms: I really like how the characters get some more backstory and their share of fleshing out in the second installment. [i]In particular[/i] Damien since he had not much screen time in PS1 and neither was he a playable part of the team. I AM worried that Avae and Lakadema will suffer a similar fate but I'll see how that goes. Tl;Dr: Just go and buy it, you won't regret this [i]if[/i] you are either a fan of VNs and/or the certain battle gameplay. And the OST is great, too. Probs worth picking that up as well along the way. Tl,DR^2: Thanks for that wonderful game, Jack. It really made my whole week to learn that it finally came out. Stay healthy, keep up the good work and I'll look forward to play Loren 2, whenever that may be.

科幻题材，两位主角两个阵营两条主线，虽然画风相较Loren显得有些粗糙，但看久了也还挺喜欢的。个人感觉玩不玩1对于剧情的理解影响不是特别大！像我这样的游戏黑洞看到可以选择跳过战斗的Visual Novel模式真的感动晕了555 感情线方面……不愧是欧美游戏，可攻略对象之间关系可谓是错综复杂，如果你攻略了其中一位，剩下的角色也可能在结尾自己开展恋爱关系！我用Joshua攻略的Milo，这是第二部出的新角色，等于并没有第一部的感情基础，而又由于共通线部分比较长，就显得突然进Romance部分后稍微进展有些迅猛，不过Milo是真的很可爱—— 期待Loren续作XD

A lot better than part 1. More content, easier interface and detailed characters,

Planet Stronghold 2 is an amazing game. This is everything I expected and wanted from a RPG/Visual Novel hybrid. Really I think that giants like BioWare should learn, that you don't need unlimited amount of money to create something deep, fun and replayable. I might be old timer, used to play on PSX so Amazing graphics isn't important to me, but honestly, if anyone has any doubts, don't. This game is worth it!! I'm moved by story and characters. Battle system is not boring, it's fun. Classes are customisable. Many skill to learn, but it's not overwhelming. Romances takes time to build, like in real life. Great job Winterwolves!!!! <3

fantastik game haven't finished the story yet, but the UI is one of the best Winter Wolves have ever made, the characters is looking good, I mean there is nothing more to say beside it is a fantastik VN/RPG/SCI-FI game. I personal have something i don't like ,but it is minor things, like the map when you in the hovercraft, I cant really tell on what box i am in, and I just prefer the front row back row combat, there is in Loren and SW. But it is so small thing that I don't like, that all the good things just push it away. I can't say much about the story haven't finished it yet, soooooo.... Edite: just finished the game, I can not understand how people can hate on this game the story OMFG it is good, the choices, the thinking, who is should you help and who would smack your ass. I love it

Planet stronghold 2 est un jeu passionnant. J'ai longtemps hésité à l'acheter à cause de la barrière de la langue mais j'ai fini par craquer et je ne regrette pas du tout! Dommage qu'il n'ai pas de traduction FR mais avec quelques notions d'anglais et l'aide de google trad, ca passe . Ce jeu est un VN et peut se jouer uniquement en mode VISUAL NOVEL; mais aussi en mode combat d'escouades avec une dimension RPG avec gestion d'équipements et combats tour par tour . Dans ce mode, une dimension RPG intéressante permet d'optimiser l'équipement de l'escouade contrôlée: on peut acheter/crafter/démanteler de l'équipement (arme, armure, consommables comme les medikits, les grenades etc...). Comme dans tous bons RPG, la hiérarchie d'équipements est bien présente : commun, rare, épique, légendaire... Le bestiaire est très varié et il faudra un temps d'adaptation pour comprendre les forces et faiblesses de chaque race alien rencontrée et adapter l'armement de l'escouade en conséquence: armement explosif? acide? perforant ? etc... Les premiers combats seront sans doute déroutants mais on comprend vite comment ca fonctionne et comment optimiser ses troupes . L'histoire est pleine de rebondissements et à choix multiples. Ces choix ont une incidence sur l'histoire qui peut-être rejouée sans peine. D'ailleurs au départ on peut choisir de commencer l'aventure en tant que soldat de l'empire ou en tant que résistant (je n'en dit pas plus pour vous laisser la joie de découvrir cette aventure sci-fi extraordinaire. On partage du temps avec son équipe, on apprend petit à petit à connaitre l'histoire de chaque membre de l'équipe, on partage leur joie et peines ... on fini par s'y attacher . L'écriture est bien faite et on sent la passion du développeur pour nous donner un bon scénario avec de nombreux rebondissement. Ce jeu est une réussite. Merci Winter wolve games. Je n'ai pas encore fini mon premier run mais l'envie de vous faire partager cette belle découverte m'a incité à rédiger ces lignes. Si vous aimez les VN mais pas trop les RPG, ce jeu est pour vous. Il vous plongera dans une aventure passionnante . Si vous aimez les VN et êtes amateur de RPG, ce jeu est aussi fait pour vous: vous aurez le sentiment d'être un leader qui fera de son mieux pour préserver ses troupes et sa planète . L'un de mes très bon investissement du moment.

I’ve been low-key waiting for the release of [i]Planet Stronghold II[/i] since I first saw its sneak peeks several years ago. I am very fond of VN/RPG mixes, and Winter Wolves excel at them. I loved what I managed to see of [i]Planet Stronghold I[/i]; unfortunately, at the time I was too clueless to deal with its RPG side, which I found too difficult after losing the same battles again and again (I probably just didn’t find how to level up the characters or what to do with new equipment), so in the end I got frustrated and didn’t finish it. When I read the description of [i]Planet Stronghold II[/i], I was glad to know that I probably wouldn’t encounter the same problem. To be on the safe side, I’ve chosen Easy Mode and found out that I would’ve probably been fine with Normal Mode too. Anyway, I still enjoyed this side of the game immensely and had a lot of fun finding the right equipment and skillsets. However, enjoyable gameplay isn’t the reason I’m writing this review right now. The real reason is that [i]Planet Stronghold II[/i] is not only of high quality and has a whole LOT of content (which it is and it has). The truth is, I was completely taken and mindblown with how [i]heartfelt[/i] it actually was. I thought I would get just a good enjoyable story with diverse characters, maybe a bit on a cliché side. What I’ve really got was complex, emotional [i]experience[/i] that provided me with ample food for thought and made me cry and laugh quite a few times. And oh, the characters! All of them are complicated, multi-faceted sentient beings with their flaws and virtues, opinions and values, their previous experiences informing their thoughts and actions, their unique worldview. And [i]Planet Stronghold II[/i] gives MC an opportunity to form intricate relationships with them, which do not come down to just agreeing or disagreeing, affection or resentment. I especially liked MC’s relationship (not of a romantic kind :D) with Tom Shatz. While these two shared most of their values and saw things not-so-differently, their interactions were quite rocky—in no small measure due to how JUDGMENTAL Tom Shatz is capable to be. His background and motivations were slowly revealed part by part in the course of the story, and I truly enjoyed how nuanced and at times self-contradictory the inner working of his psyche is, and how ambivalent and tangled his attitude and his rivalship to (peaceful) MC. And it’s not just him—all the characters are either very likable, with admirable traits and relatable flaws, or not-quite-likable in a very interesting way. Philipp Koenig was, probably, my least favourite, for obvious reasons, and I still [i]cried[/i] during his personal quest! Another experience which [i]Planet Stronghold II[/i] creates masterfully is the experience of navigating the circumstances with extremely high stakes, where some trade-offs should inevitably be made yet you don’t have enough information to make the best possible decision and, moreover, even the best possible decision involves sacrifices and can be extremely uncomfortable to make and to follow through. And it [i]will[/i] elicit a negative reaction from a person or persons you hold dear and whom you want to like you. So you have to deal with that and with the consequences. You just have to. And there are MANY, MANY sub-optimal, ethically ambiguous, controversial, uncertain, pregnant with [i]implications[/i] and otherwise difficult decisions to make! And MANY, MANY consequences and diverse reactions of the sentient beings involved into these decisions! And your choices change not only the outcome but also your narrative as a whole, leading to the creation of a unique personal story for Joshua or Lisa and people around them! By doing so, [i]Planet Stronghold II[/i] also deals with many fascinating issues and shows different views on them. What is the most delightful, even extremely disparate takes on the same issue, expressed by different characters or MC of different judgment, feel well-explained and well-substantiated and [i]make sense[/i]. You can look at one argument and be like “yeah, this is a very good point!” and then look at the exactly opposite and go “well, this is an excellent point too”. The choices you make will lead to consequences and they also will be remembered by the characters throughout the entire story—who, at times, won’t shy away from reminding you of them, including showing their displeasure (Tom, I’m looking at you), which is very realistic and adds to the experience. Your choices really, really [i]do[/i] matter. And there’s also the Chapter 4 with its [i]insane[/i] branching. Oh god, the branching. I’m unable to wrap my mind around all the work and effort that has been poured into it. It is downright scary. As for what I perceived as letdowns, there were only a couple of mild griefs. The first of them is the way personal quests influence the relationship between MC and the character in question. If their attitude is well-defined, loyal or rival, everything works nice and smooth; however, when things between characters are complicated and they don’t always see eye to eye (which has resulted in neutral attitude), your choice during their quest makes an unbelievable boost to one of the sides, taking your relationship to the extreme. It feels dismissive of the complicated narrative that brought them to this point, and it kinda devalues the relationships with some other characters, whose loyalty was the product of consistently shared values and the sum of meaningful interactions. The second thing which was a bit wtf-ish and upsetting was that [spoiler]during my playthrough of the Chapter 4 and its final stage not even once Joshua did consider what was going to happen to Avae and discussed it with him, despite their mutual trust and good relationship; the first time when Joshua remembered him was after boarding their escape ship. And what exactly did he think? “Oh, I hope he will survive somehow.” WHAT THE F*CK, JOSHUA. NO ONE WILL SURVIVE. NO ONE. And it is not even that Joshua respects Avae’s decision to stay. For starters, there were no conversation in which Avae could express such decision. He kinda said that he would feel off-place in the colony, but it didn’t refer to the situation of the impending ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ doom. Secondly, in Cliff’s case, Joshua told him that he would bring him onboard by force, if necessary. And no such thing for Avae. This amount of apathy for the wellbeing of an alien as compared to a human friend felt disappointing and even OOC-ish[/spoiler]. Still, I loved the final sequence (cried for 40 minutes straight during and after it, in fact)—and it felt more than climaсtic, which is a wonder in itself given that the whole playthrough was pretty epic and quite a journey. To conclude such a considerable narrative in a satisfying manner is a feat and have been done magnificently. Again, it is unbelievable how much effort and [i]heart[/i] is put into [i]Planet Stronghold II[/i]. If you like ethical challenges and complex characters with varying lived-out opinions doing both objectionable and admirable deeds (and, sometimes, it is very difficult to decide which is which); if you are interested in feeling not entirely comfortable with the consequences of your actions; if you are fond of the works of fiction which masterfully balance suspense and hygge, heartwarmth and heartbreak, hilarity and poignance—treat yourself. [i]Buy it[/i]. UPD. Still. I wonder. Who has won the contest for the best butt? I'd like to know.

Planet Stronghold 2 is a solid sequel, having a captivating story while maintaining the gameplay from their first game (since it's been a long time since i played PS1, i really can't point if something changed, but at the very least it is similar). While it is not needed to play the first game, it is fun for those who like to know the details of the whole story. The reason it is not needed it is because at the beggining you can choose a few important decisions that were made at the first game, and if you romanced anyone or not. I have been waiting for this game for a long time, and after playing enough to give a better review, i recommend for all who like both VN or RPG games (there is an option for those who like to read VN only, where the battles are all skipped). If you have doubts about buying even so, you can wait for a sale to buy it.

I stopped playing VN's a while ago, and then PS2 sent me down the rabbit hole of replaying all of the VNs I own that are by Winter Wolves. 10/10, would try and speed run romances again - realise I can't break up with Cliff and just play the whole game again.

Worthy sequel, one of winterwolve's best games yet.