Sylvio 2

Absolutely terrible. Everything that made the original game feel unique and interesting has been stripped down to a boring cycle of walking to glowing orbs, waiting for a clip to play [you don't even actually use your mic to record voices, they just automatically happen when you stare at the orb] and either walk to the next orb that popped up or do the same scan minigame from the original. The big "addition" to this sequel is videos you can scan through, but they are much, much worse than pure audio for a few reasons. First, most of them are actually just audio tracks you're trying to scan back and forth at different speeds to find voice snippets anyway, but instead of having the waveform in front of you so you can tell what parts to check, you just have to scan through the whole scene. Secondly, the ghosts all over the videos are not scary or even interesting. Actually seeing so many ghosts without any pressure is like a bad monster movie where they wave the terrible prop in front of the camera in broad daylight. Finally, a lot of the notes you're trying to get from the video clips are just invisible silent tags that unlock without any indication of what you're supposed to have learned. On to my biggest problem. There is no potato gun, because there are no puzzles. There are things that seem like they're puzzles, but they aren't. You'll learn a 3 digit combination from a ghost, but when you go to the lock afterwards, you just click on it and it vanishes. It's functionally the same whether you get the location for a key or just another floating orb you stare at until you learn the name of a ghost to interview. Most of the areas are just apartments with bad wallpaper, and the overworld is a joke. In the first game you spent a good portion of the first level fixing up a car and used it to explore the overworld. In Sylvio 2, you just click on a boat, plug in some coordinates [a new set gets told to you by a ghost for no good reason every level] and click on a bed to skip the travel time. The design of the overworld is an endless foggy ocean spotted with giant black coils of very unhealthy looking poop. You climb on some poop heading for the floating glowing orb until you get teleported into another apartment with bad wallpaper. The voice acting seems to be done by the same lady who was in the original game, and she does a fine job with what she was given. There is barely any other voice acting in the game, again comparing poorly to the original which had the lengthy audio logs from the kid who was killing crows or whatever. The story is terrible, mostly shuffling you along one too-obvious 'tragedy' to the next without any depth to the characters or situations presented, and the main character seems to instantly lose all interest in the ghosts she's interviewing the moment one of them bafflingly spits out another coordinate to feed into the boat's GPS. I wish I could say it was all made up for by the completely stupid ending, but even that was too insubstantial to be interesting. In summary, this game is a pale shadow of its excellent predecessor. Sure it's less frustrating and confusing, but for all the wrong reasons. Give me an interesting but flawed concept over a laser focused snorefest any day.

Update/Edit: I still recommend this game but I found myself recently wondering why I haven't gone back to playng Sylvio 2 despite the first one being one of my favorite games of all time. I put a lot of thought into it and I think the reason is this: the first game had an open world quality and in between the open world and story bits, there were these odd shooting parts with a potato gun that actually broke up the monotony really well. That being said, this game does away with the open world and the shooting, leaving just the voices and the video playback mechanism. While this makes for a decent game, it doesn't have the same feeling of the first game and hasn't quite grabbed me like I thought it would. My initial excitement over this game wore off pretty quickly and now I haven't gone back to playing it. I still recommend it as the story is very well done and the video mechanic is still incredibly intriguing but I do very much miss the style of the first game. I have no idea when I will play Sylvio 2 again as it's stuck in my backlog now. The first game made me want to keep playing it. I played it on PS4 and I got every single trophy and did literally everything the game had to offer within a week and was hungry for more. I think this game is just different enough from it's predecessor to draw some people in but others (like me) may be slightly pushed away. It's an unintended consequence of course but it's happened none-the-less. There will still be many who greatly enjoy this game. But unfortunately, it's not quite on the level of the first one. I felt it was my duty to update this review since I haven't gone back to playing the game and couldn't help but wonder why. Maybe I will return to it one day but maybe not. Time will tell. Original Review: I'm only about an hour in so far but MAN is this good! If you've never heard of Sylvio, I strongly suggest you play the first one as it is an EXTREMELY underrated game. I played the first one on PS4 early this year and just absolutely fell in love with it. I bought Sylvio 2 as soon as it went up for sale this morning and I played it a little bit this evening. The graphics are not fantastic or anything but they work really, really well with this type of game. The fun in Sylvio is basically walking around with a recorder and recording voices in the static. Ghosts and whatnot. Then, playing those recordings at 6 different speeds (forward, fast forward, slow forward, backwards, slow backwards, fast backwards) to pick out hidden voices that will give you story info and clues. Using the information and clues you move the story forward, etc. In Sylvio 2 you do the exact same thing only last time it was just audio...this time it's audio and video. You record ghosts and play back the video. It's actually quite addictive. The game has many locations but I've only been to three so far (I just arrived at my third location). This game has a similar open world structure to the last game only this time you are on a boat and each location is an island that you visit by punching coordinates into a computer. I'll update more when I've played more of the game but so far, this is definitely an improvement but more of the same at the same time. I couldn't be happier with it so far. Do yourself a favor, if you are thinking about checking this one out, I do highly recommend the first one. Maybe watch some videos online to see if it's something you would be interested in. I find the game unique and facinating.

[h1]«Всему приходит конец, и обычно скорее, чем мы этого хотим.»[/h1] [b](с). из игры Pillars of Eternity[/b] [b][u]Sylvio 2[/u][/b] – это приключенческий инди неинфарктный хоррор от 1-го лица, который не должен был случиться. Это тот случай, когда случился регресс в серии, это стало чем-то отчуждённым, непритягательным, утопающем в меланхолии. [h1][b]==========[/b][/h1] [quote][b]Введение:[/b][/quote] Нас встречают виды водной глади и скалистых местностей, мы всем своим телом стоим на борту небольшого корабля. Погодка ясная и приветливая, в рубке капитана приятного вида мужчина в возрасте обращается к нам: [i]«Эй, Джонатан(?), мы почти у Маяка, сынок. И я хочу увидеть то место, о котором ты говорил «семейный парк Сагино». В любом случае я расспрошу главу парка о ситуации с пропавшей подругой. Но он вряд ли позволит тебе осмотреться вот так внезапно, поэтому тебе понадобиться найти обходной путь. Я буду ждать тебя здесь. Как только ты её найдёшь, как можно скорее возвращайтесь на корабль. Этой ночью обещают очень сильный шторм, и я не хочу застрять здесь, ожидая вас, так что действуй быстро. Я надеюсь, тебе удастся её найти и, что с ней всё хорошо»[/i]. Корабль подплывает к небольшой пристани. Темнота, звуки шагов, дверь открывается с неприятным скрипом. [i]«Где это я? Как долго я была в отключке?»[/i] - этот голос… Джульет. Вы – охотник за голосами призраков, Джульет. Вы – друг Джульет, Джонатан? [h1][b]==========[/b][/h1] [h1]Плюсы:[/h1] Мне тяжело об этом писать, но их практически нет. Если вкратце, то мы имеем:[list] [*]Добавили Бег. Спасибо, бл*ть, реально пригодился быстрее это всё пройти. [*]Визуальное обновление работы с аудиозаписями. Теперь это делается с помощью компуктера. Есть аудиозаписи, а есть видеозаписи, но всё также работа происходит со звуком. Визуально достаточно аутентично выглядит и неплохо интегрировано; [*]Атмосфера пытается в меланхолию, что вообще отлично… Было бы если не с десяток [b]«НО»[/b]; [*]Работа актёров озвучки адекватна, хороша. Джульет узнаётся, она как маленький якорь тянула меня всю игру, чтобы я не сорвался. [*]Звук шумов окружения, хрипов¸ треска и тому подобное делал вполне себе хорошее дело. Звуковые фишки игры были вполне себе годными. [*]Музыка исполняла знакомые космические призрачные мотивы [spoiler](теперь я понимаю почему)[/spoiler], но ощущение будто её меньше стало, или меньше стала замечаться. [*]Истории ситуаций встречаемых душ, в принципе местами интригуют, но это не спасает игру.[/list] [h1]Минусы:[/h1] [quote][b]Визуальный ряд:[/b][/quote] Если коротко – я упал в кал лицом. Извините пожалуйста, но это не работа, я знаю, что это делал один человек, но это не оправдание в свете множества примеров других игр, сделанных одиночками, [b]ДА ГОСПОДИ, ДАЖЕ ПРИМЕРОМ ПОСЛУЖИТ 1-Я ИГРА ЭТОЙ СЕРИИ, С*КА![/b] Несмотря на свои огрехи, 1-я часть была ладно скроена, с помощью ваших зрительных рецепторов она помогала вам попасть в нужное атмосферное настроение, она делала это хорошо. Здесь же всё чёрное, серое, безжизненное, размытое туманом, что говорить, некоторые «визуальные произведения» на локации сами намекают на то, во что вы ступили… наступили ногой. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2801478569 [quote][b]Cюжет:[/b][/quote] Нет, вот то, к чему это в итоге пришло, концовка этой игры, это бред. Это даже не смешно, это неинтересно, это бездарно. То, как эта игра закончилась, вызывает лишь недоумение, автор решил списать всю сюжетную линию на это: [b][u](если готовы, то далее идёт скриншот-спойлер)[/u][/b][spoiler] [b]КАК МОЖНО БЫЛО ВСЮ ИСТОРИЮ ЗАСРАТЬ КОНЦОВКОЙ ПРО НЛО?! А? АА?? АААА?[/b] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2801478990[/spoiler] Несмотря на все истории встречающихся призраков, какой-то более менее мистической картины, всё закончилось так, как не хотел никто, ей Богу я уверен в этом. Такие концовки хорошо смотрятся в виде шуточных и то в крупных проектах, таких как [b]Silent Hill[/b] итд. [quote][b]Атмосфера:[/b][/quote] Как я уже упоминал, меланхолична, и это было бы шикарно, если бы было грамотно обыграно и собрано. Господи, да возьмите тот же [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/364390/Downfall/][b][u]Downfall[/u][/b][/url], [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/253110/The_Cat_Lady/][b][u]The Cat Lady[/u][/b][/url], [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/593960/Lorelai/][b][u]Lorelai[/u][/b][/url] – это игры основанные на депрессии и меланхолии, но насколько филигранно они ей манипулируют, олицетворяют, передают. Здесь же, всё валится в огромную спиральную клоаку, смердящую безвкусием. Джульет (актриса) пыталась это исправить, но скорее несознательно, ибо это работал мой мозг, моя память и восприятие. [b]ДАЖЕ ВИЗУАЛ[/b] своими испражнениями, пытался меня утопить в «меланхолии», но я выплыл, грязный и злой. [quote][b]Геймплей:[/b][/quote] Засран на корню. Его подрезали причём неаккуратно, невежественно, криво:[list] [*]Ружья нет; [*]Машины нет. Есть корабль, но плывёт он сам, только дай координаты. Кстати говоря, ребята, пока корабль плывёт не ждите его швартовки, обратите внимание на кровать в капитанской рубке, я по началу страдал, пытался себя развлекать, пока плыл; [*]У главной героини теперь микрофон по умолчанию в руке. А главное, чтобы его увидеть, надо себе под ноги посмотреть. Это на*уя так делать то? В добавок к этому, он к руке привязан, нет анимации при нажатии [b]LMB[/b] движения руки с ним вперёд, как в 1-й части, это конечно очень помогает атмосфере (нет). Сбор же слов призраков в статике визуально теперь выглядит как отрезанный аппендицит, убого, серо; [*]При работе с аудио, пропал пункт «аудио-файлы», видимо, чтобы субтитры не пришивать. При условии, что когда Джульет озвучивает свои мысли, субтитры есть, но в интро по канону х*ем по лбу провели; [*]Уменьшились локации, что казалось бы неплохо, но игра стала рельсовее, без минимального вызова совсем.[/list] [quote][i]«По итогу: вы и сами поняли – всё плохо, отвратительно, бездарно, серо, убого. Гражданин [b]Niklas Swanberg[/b], вы убили своё детище, вы - убийца. Я не знаю, что вас на это сподвигло, я понимаю, что вы всё делали в одиночку, но предпочли растоптать всё то хорошее, что вы же сами и создали. Мне горько от того, что стало с игрой, ибо у неё были все шансы стать лучше, но видимо и впрямь вмешались иные силы с направления млечного пути».[/i][/quote] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2801748298 [quote]P.S. Материалы взяты с 2-х YouTube каналов: [b][u]Перевод интро:[/u][/b][h1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg81XqKybXg&t=138s&ab_channel=LunarBird%5B%D0%AD%D0%BB%D0%B1%D0%B8%5D[/h1] [b][u]История создания игры Sylvio 2, то, чем она могла стать:[/u][/b][h1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8s0fUPa3f8&t=355s&ab_channel=HappyWolf[/h1] [b]Спасибо, ребята! Помогли немного разгрестись.[/b][/quote] [b]=================================================[/b] [b]Пациент:[/b] [h1]ClickamaN[/h1] [b]Психологическое состояние:[/b] Меланхоличное поведение, отсутствующий взгляд. Вчера разбил стулом компьютер на посту дежурной медсестры. Была задействована охрана с 4-го и 3-го этажей. Сегодня утром заперся в ванной комнате, пытался утопить себя в раковине. Кричал, что за ним летят с Омикрон-Персей 8. На данный момент сидит в изоляционной комнате, привязан к стене. [b]Лечение:[/b] Сильнодействующие успокоительные, внутривенно 4 кубика 5 раз/день. Ингаляция ментолом и шиповником 2 раза/ день в течении 2-х недель. Тяжёлые работы в котельной в течении недели. Из еды: картофельное пюре на воде, непосоленные котлеты из индейки, морс из кирпичной крошки.

Sylvio 2 is an odd duck when it comes to video game sequels, its common for the sequels in this medium to be improvements in pretty much all respects. Sylvio 2 is an improvement to 1 in some ways, but in other’s it’s a bit shaky. Sylvio 2 is much more of a pure adventure game this time around, gone are the spud gun, malevolent shadows, and awkward platforming of the first game. It makes for more of a linear experience, especially because all ghost phenomena is indicated by orbs of light now that guide you to them, but the ghost gadget mechanics have been improved on with the addition of the video camera, which adds even greater creepy atmosphere to the game. And said atmosphere as just as great as the first game, with you now exploring abandoned apartment buildings and the like. The soundtrack also maintain the first’s quality. The overworld this time is a bunch of islands in a huge lake that you navigate by boat. This honestly feels like padding, especially because you can skip the long travel times by sleeping in the nearby bed in the ship’s bridge. The islands tend to either have the subterranean buildings you to need to go to progress, strange symbols you can collect, and bodies that grant you keys that gives you access to doors in the ballroom area. I think it would have been stronger to have the game be set in a singular building, but that would probably complicate the ending. And let me tell you about the ending… The ending is one of the most torn I felt with a videogame ending in a while, because while on one hand it’s a huge jarring genre shift with very little foreshadowing from either game to the point it feels like its almost a joke, it actually gives you a good explanation of what was going on in both games when there really wasn’t a clear definitive answer. It’s also ridiculously conclusive. Ultimately Sylvio 2 is still a flawed game like its predecessor. Its ghost hunting mechanics are great and I’d like to see more like it in other games, but the ending and some of the execution (Namely how the ghosts' narratives could have been stronger) kind of bring it down. It’s still a really nice atmospheric horror game worth playing though.

[b]Atmosphere/Music/Voice Acting:[/b] I think Stroboskop nailed it with the atmosphere, the soundtrack and voice acting really carries the game. The music adds an ominous vibe, at certain parts you really get the feeling that something is about to happen. Overall I think Sylvio 2 is spookier than the first game. I'm pleased that the same voice actor is back, I like the soft spoken dialogue, it fits the mood of the game. [b]Gameplay/Puzzles/Mechanics:[/b] Sylvio 2 changed up the gameplay from the first game much more than I had expected. The most notable new feature is a video playback mechanic, very cool and reminds me of late night low budget ghost hunter TV shows. But there is no longer any platforming or combat, and the puzzles are straightforward and logical. Finding voices in the static I feel was made too easy in Sylvio 2. [b]Story:[/b] Interesting, the game takes you on a mind boggling ride. [b]Presentation/Graphics/Performance:[/b] The graphics are rough by modern standard, the quality is about the same as the Sylvio remake. The textures look mediocre, and the proportions of some objects look wrong. The overall map design and transitions between locations/areas just sometimes don't make sense. I sometimes get the feeling that there are cut-scenes missing. However the ghost recording videos look cool and the performance of the game is great. It will probably run fine on most integrated GPU's. [b]Technical issues:[/b] The game itself works fine, but some bugs remain related to the settings as of now (resolution detection, vsync and quality). The issues can be worked around, but will for sure annoy people. [b]Overall: [/b] I think basically everyone who liked the first Sylvio game, most likely will enjoy this game too. But there will be polarizing opinions about if the changes made to the games formula, are for the better or worse. I kinda miss the platforming, weird combat and obscure puzzles. But maybe I'm just being nostalgic, because those things also frustrated me the most about the first game. Anyway I enjoyed Sylvio 2, has an even better spookier atmosphere than the first game. Note: I played a full playthrough of a pre-release build (I'm one of the Patreon backers), and a partial playthrough of the released game.

Like everyone already mentioned, Sylvio 2 is a downgrade from the first game. Probably the only thing I enjoyed was the voice acting lady from Sylvio 1. The game had a lot of potential as there was an early demo for Sylvio 2 that showcased not only audio recorder but video too, unfortunately the funding failed so this is what we got. But yeah the game is pretty much glowing orbs, no potato gun, and non existent puzzles,just go from this location to the next and follow the globs and scan the audio recordings and repeat. Personally I would have enjoyed more a Sylvio 2 set with the same mechanics as Sylvio 1 but different location/story. I still hope that Niklas will get back to the Sylvio 2 DEMO and maybe release it as a Sylvio 3, I really don't want the series to die... Skip Sylvio 2, Buy Sylvio 1!!! PS: for people that don't know the S2 DEMO : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bh51CICQLc

Game is not fun when compared to the original. The clucky combat mechanics and the fact that you were always on your toes in the original is what made it fun. So what if we can see the ghosts we are recording that doesn't matter when you remove what made the previous game good.

I see a lot of negative comments about this game, but it deserves better than that. It's not perfect, but no game is. It took what was established in the first game and puts a spin on it, which I enjoyed. It has an interesting story that can both stand on its own and continues what was started in the first game. Can recommend.

The first Sylvio game, while rough in execution, had a lot of potential and originality. Sylvio 2, on the other hand, feels fractured, lacks confidence in its design, and is oppressively controlling. Pros: + Unparrareled twisted feel of the game + Improved voice and visual recording manipulation gameplay + Great sound, music, and voice acting Neutral: * Story quality and its delivery Cons: - Visually boring and monotone game - Reduced gameplay elements - Goofy ending It wasn’t always supposed to be this way. If you play or look at the demo for the kickstarted version of Sylvio 2, it was supposed to be a natural evolution of the first game and a title that would offer something truly special to the horror games genre. But, the Kickstart failed and these hopes were dashed away, and you’ll feel that with every minute you spend playing this game. It is not all doom and gloom, however. Sylvio 2 excels in providing a unique and tension-filled atmosphere, a superbly gloomy soundtrack, and stellar voice casting, just like the first title had. Both games have an eerie and somber look filled with warped locations forgotten by Time itself and sound and music production successfully enhance this feeling. The actors again have a minimalist yet effective voice delivery that further eases you into the game’s foreboding atmosphere. In Sylvio 1, you had the Electronic Voice Phenomenon recorder, used to capture what the ghostly apparitions had to say. This time, you also have a camera recorder that can capture these phenomena on the video. You can change the playback speed and direction on these tools to find out what the voices from beyond have to say. These mechanics play to the game’s strong points and provide short and memorable moments of dread and unease. There is at least one part in the game where looking at the recorded tape will make your skin crawl. Sadly, all other gameplay elements were stripped down or removed, compared to the previous title. The shooting sections, while deeply imprecise, served the overall story in the original Sylvio. Here, these sections are completely gutted. Another thing that is gone is the solid level design that intuitively leads you where to go next. Sylvio 2 instead offers direction markers and invisible walls everywhere that hamper your freedom of movement and prevent you from thinking on your own about your next step. This effectively destroys any motivation to explore and the whole game feels like a walking simulator. This is not a bad thing per se, but such games better have excellent stories and visuals to make up for this. Speaking of story, while the “adventures” of the ghost whisperer, Juliette Waters, continue where the first game ended, the whole story feels emaciated and less engaging. It successfully conveys the mystery of what is happening to Juliette, her dear ones, and the place she is in. This time, the story is more personal and lonesome, as the frail yet brave Juliette is now alone and trapped in an inhospitable and desolate world outside of regular space and time. You will also look into what happened with other inhabitants here. Sadly, these two story arcs feel incomplete and lack emotional depth or lore that will keep you hooked. And the ending is pure cringe, comes out of nowhere and makes little sense with the overall story Sylvio 1 and 2 were weaving. These two games with spooky folklore horror make a U-turn as the ending, and the next installment, Sylvio Black Waters, completely embraces the Sci-Fi hodge-podge of ideas. Lastly, while the game still looks original, all the visual splendor and colors are gone. Some interiors look creepy and weird enough, but the outside locations look utterly boring and unimpressionable. I would even go so far as to say that the “islands” you are visiting look like an excrement. I simply have no idea why the developer went this route. I showered the first game with high praise despite its significant flaws. However, I simply cannot recommend Sylvio 2 to anyone except those who are really into all kinds of horror games and those who want to see where this story goes. I hope that the Black Waters will bring much-needed improvements; because, right now, Sylvio 2 commits the biggest sin of being completely forgettable.

Major letdown. They stripped out much of what made the first one so unique and compelling. Gone is the compelling desolate landscape of the first. Instead you find coordinates to pilot your ship between mounds of black sludge. And inside each bit of black sludge awaits one of the least compelling aspects of the first game - indoor exploration. You make a beeline from orb to orb, listen to recordings (or video recordings, the one new aspect), perform the audio trawling that was so unique in the first go-round, and...that's it. It all feels so linear and boring. Gone are the enemies, gone are the puzzles, gone is the potato gun. And to cap it all off the ending reveal is beyond ridiculous. From the heights of the first one to this shocking low, it's puzzling to see just how wrong they went on this one. Avoid.