[quote]A review copy was provided by the developer.[/quote]
[quote]Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews,[/url] so you can be updated whenever I post a new review.[/quote]
[h1]Overall Rating - Seriously Flawed ★★☆☆☆[/h1]
[h1]First Impressions[/h1]
I'm not entirely sure how long ago it was, but I've seen YouTubers playing the first game. Too much time has passed for me to remember much, but seeing so much cartoony gore mixed with a puzzle game intrigued me. That's why I had so much interest when I saw an offer to review Slayaway Camp 2 (SC2). Horror isn't my preferred genre to say the least, yet I can handle it in this kind of format.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
Even though it has an interesting theme, SC2 winds up playing like most any sokoban or block-sliding puzzle. Since you're trying to eliminate all the victims though, this does alter the win/lose conditions. You can freely rewind and reset the stage whenever you want, but the main fail conditions revolve around either making it impossible to finish off the last victim, or scaring someone off the edge of the screen. When a person flees, they'll run until something gets in their way, so without an object blocking them, they're able to escape from you. Otherwise, they'll either hit the object and remain in place, or it'll kill them, because they stupidly ran head-first into something like an open fire, or tripped a land mine. The other failing condition should seem familiar to those who've played sokobans, as any wrong placement of a block is all it takes. Unfortunately, it's not obvious if you've messed up, and have to figure out for yourself.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3369843758
[h1]Controls[/h1]
The majority of the game can be controlled with WASD or arrow keys, but you have to use the mouse for the machete interaction. Considering it doesn't make for fun moments, I found this to be an odd inclusion.
[h1]Story[/h1]
If you take the opening cutscene seriously, an evil slasher gets sucked into a smart phone when a kid summons, then unsummons him, by reading a digital copy of his diary. I don't know how that would translate into him being teleported to several, convenient murder locations, and opening access to other killers and movie titles. This was more confusing than anything.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3369843408
[h1]Visuals[/h1]
How a game looks doesn't tend to be a large focus for me, but I found quite a few flaws with SC2's appearance. I don't love how the user interface is arranged like you're playing on a smart phone, as the wasted space makes it cumbersome to navigate. When it comes to background objects and stages, those items look fair enough. However, I'm not fond of how any of the people look, as their proportions seem off, and their faces aren't appealing, screaming or otherwise. Seeing them move around doesn't help any, as I often can't even tell what's supposed to be happening in the kill animations, “You spun them around five times, and their head falls off?”
There are five types of horror antagonist you'll unlock, but within each category, none of the different skins have unique features. For example, when selecting a slasher, none of them have special kills. This can make for odd-looking animations, like almost any of them being done by a refrigerator. Not giving more meaning to what character you choose seems lackluster to me. Imagine playing Mortal Kombat, but each warrior had the same fatalities. That'd suck.
[h1]Sound Design[/h1]
Out of every area, the music is where I'd say the horror movie theme is best utilized. The main tune is pretty catchy, and though it's not quite spooky, elements of that song still capture a horror vibe. I don't know the specific features that make for great chilling tunes, but there's definitely a certain touch where you recognize it upon hearing it. Having listened to some of the different songs, I'd say they're all good choices for this game. I'm not sure what determines which song is chosen, although I'd assume it's the setting. Many places revolve around the forest, but there's still differences between whether you're in a cabin, surrounded by water, there's an abundance of trees, and the like. Regardless, I liked the sound direction in SC2.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3369864221
[h1]Pros[/h1]
🌟 Rewinding is very quick and responsive. Plus, not only will the hint give some idea how to solve the stage, you can watch a video clip for the entire solution.
🌟 There's no turn limit, so your route can be inefficient, as long as it leads to the correct result.
[h1]Cons[/h1]
❌ Several puzzles don't necessarily feel like they were designed to be tricky. Instead, the objective seemed more focused on how many steps you had to take, and maxing it as much as possible, “This won't make things any harder to figure out, but you'll have to do 40 extra actions now.”
❌ Making a crucial mistake doesn't trigger a game over screen, so you have to figure those things out for yourself.
[h1]Tips[/h1]
🔍 Always determine the requirement for killing the last victim first. There's no point in wasting your time barking up the wrong tree, when the way you take out another victim could be vital to how you beat the stage.
🔍 If you're going to watch the video clip solution, it's surprisingly easy to forget a crucial step. That's why I focused the most near the end, so I wouldn't forget how to finish the stage.
[h1]Final Thoughts[/h1]
Overall, my biggest issue with SC2 is the presentation. Even ignoring the smart phone matter, it doesn't make full use of its premise. To some extent, any horror movie level pack will center around one theme, such as trapping victims in mud, or rolling them over with boulders. However, even that loses focus from the challenge stages, which often prioritize other mechanics, while only the last victim highlights that feature. It's especially obvious when for no reason, you suddenly have to deal with ice physics, or the breakable floor. Since each is supposed to represent movie scenes, I think the puzzles should better reflect that, leading through the path of the horror flick's slasher or monster. Intentionally design victims and stages that make a clear, distinct script and sequence.
Considering the over-the-top nature of some titles, I'd also have played on that, changing the mechanics for gorier outcomes. Instead of including a pointless machete mini-game that has no relation to anything, use an idea from the movie you've selected, such as the kooky hunter. When you startle him, his shotgun goes off, and causes devastating chain effects that you assembled in advance. For the finale scene, have it culminate in something crazy, like a dam bursting that destroys the whole town, or even the unexpected demise of the villain. Changes like this would make level packs have prominence, and feel more interesting to try. Lean into the cheese. Regardless, I found the payoff and aesthetic underwhelming. Also, even with the solutions available in-game, few people earn achievements just for unlocking later areas, which speaks volumes. That's why I wouldn't recommend this game.
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[table]
[tr]
[th]PC Specs[/th]
[th]Performance[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ryzen 2700
RTX 2070
16GB RAM
ADATA SSD
1920x1080
[/td]
[td]The game ran without incident on default settings.
💖 - SC2 is healthy
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
