The Soul Stone War 2

[h1][i]NOTE: I went through the game first on my phone and only then in Steam, so the actual play time is way higher (about 30 hours) than the one shown here. I also have the DLC with extra stories in the mobile version.[/i][/h1] Oof…and here again go my plans to complete the review by the release date…Welp, better late than sorry, as my inner sloth always says. I still stand by my option that The Soul Stone War is one of the underappreciated series in the Hosted Games catalogue. For many people, the main problem in the first game was the protagonist – many saw them as weak and annoying. I have written my thought about this issue in another review, which you can read [url= https://steamcommunity.com/id/futabatian/recommended/1222400?snr=1_5_9__402] here [/url]. But I would also like to add, that the situation has improved in the sequel, so be ready to kick some buttocks – we are no longer a punching bag, honey! Anyway, let’s get down to the main features, shall we? [h1] You are not who they thought you were[/h1] So, as I always say, there are several things that can either make text-based games a masterpiece or ruin them forever. [b][u]First, writing.[/u][/b] I do not think that much has changes in the author’s style. If you enjoyed reading the first game, you will like the second one as much if not more. The author gets more ground with plot development and world-building as our party is going deeper into the adventure and the mystery of Soul Stones. Oh, and we also meet several more [spoiler]dragons[/spoiler] and try winning the battle of wits…by rhyming some sick poetic burns. My only complaint here is that, in my opinion, some events were rushed. Or, better say, we got some rewards too easily – a few threats looked way scarier than they actually turned out to be in the end. I am sure you will understand what I mean as soon as you get to these specific parts. [b][u]Second, characters.[/u][/b] Rejoice, all haters of the protagonist – our guy/gal/nonbinary friend has finally started growing a spine in the second book. To begin with, as I predicted before, we no longer faint at every opportunity and serve as a damsel in distress for the mighty party of admirers. This time around, our character started showing newer, quite useful sides – whether it is some specific magic skill or good fighting techniques. Or just a winning smile, which goes a long way, as we all know. The protagonist starts helping more and plays a more important role not only in decision making, but also in direct confrontations. Speaking of other members of the party – and our possible lovers, - they also get more development. If you are smart and curious enough, you can learn Daelynn’s secret. Or get some info out of our mighty duo of cute warriors. Or invade the mind of one mysterious sexy guy [spoiler]who, if you are on his secret romance route, now wants to suck not only your blood (because, yeah, this game is for adults and has quite explicit sex scenes)[/spoiler]. Sadly, we do not see much of Eledwen for quite obvious reasons, but I am sure she will appear more in Book 3. I also really like the fact that we can finally lie to people properly. Do not get me wrong, I usually praise honesty in real life, but it is so much fun to be a bad guy in a fantasy game, don’t you think? So, some casual mistruths and manipulation here and there will not hurt anybody…or will they? I am hinting at some serious stuff here, so take my advice and be careful around some conversations. [b][u]Third, romance.[/u][/b] If we speak about characters, not mentioning the spicy stuff would be a crime. Well, it does not really have to be that hot as you can opt for more sweet choices – or just play as a dum-dum who refuses to believe in their feelings (*looking accusingly at one stubborn vampire from Wayhaven Chronicles*). The no-romance route is also available. You will not miss anything plot-wise, but to be honest, some really good and well-written things appear specifically during closer interactions. I have read other stories and extras by Morgan Vane on their website and it seems that this author generally excels in romantic and adult topics in particular. I am quite satisfied with the amount of romantic (and more adult) scenes in the second book. We definitely get deeper into the relationship with our chosen one and learn more about them, while also revealing some of our own secrets. The secret route is still the best one and you cannot change my mind, nope. [spoiler]I like hot vampires with difficult personalities, OK?! I thrive in angst.[/spoiler] [b][u]And finally, hidden stuff and extras.[/u][/b] Everything has secrets here – from you and your lovers to the stones themselves. So be on the lookout for some hints and conversations that will help your see things in a different light. That all my wisdom for today, folks. No applause necessary. Oh, and by the way, you can get some achievements for being the master sleuth. On a side note, I am rather sad, though, that the author removed the gallery from the second game. I really liked those beautiful portraits of the main characters. And to end this review on a positive note, here is some sweet news for you. WARNING! A major spoiler ahead: [spoiler]there is a new romanceable character! It seems Mornie finally decided to get more than just a kiss, so be ready to see more of her in the future.[/spoiler] [h1]My Verdict[/h1] Compared to the first entry in the series, the second one has shown several nice improvements. The protagonist is finally more active and determined and is slowly learning how to deal with the situation. We also get to beat some tough guys and solve riddles in deadly battles for stones. Sounds cool, right? Other characters show some new colors too, and our romance with them is starting to become more meaningful rather than being some short-lived fling. I also recommend buying the DLC with extra stories because they share some very, very important lore-related stuff, as well as reveal the past of several people major to our adventure. Overall, The Soul Stone War series is still pretty high in my personal rating of text-based games and I am definitely looking forward to the next book. The cliffhangers, man…the cliffhangers are breaking my heart. [spoiler]And I want to smooch one brooding vampire, as you might have already guessed[/spoiler] [i]P.S. Magic-focused characters rule. They are even cooler than silver-tongues this time, hands down.[/i] [h1][url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/32296668-Casual-Game-Reviews/] More reviews on our Curator Page[/url][/h1]

[h1][b] The Soul Stone War 2[/b][/h1] [h2] TLDR: [/h2] While there are things I definitely liked and enjoyed about this game, the things that bothered me were too prominent and consistent for me to simply ignore. I suggest reading my gripes, because if they DON’T bother you, then I think you’ll actually quite like this one. [h3][b]The Good:[/b][/h3] - [u][b] Extra Stories [/b][/u]: If you like this series, good news! There are extra stories included in this game. They cost money though…and they’re non-interactive. But! If you enjoy this world and these character there’s much more to experience. Support an author creating the content you enjoy with the DLC! - [u][b] Intimacy [/b][/u]: I think this game’s strongest point is the relationships that you build with core squad. There’s lots of smooching and intense eye-contact. I can definitely say this is one of the only COG/HGs that let’s the romance be a focus, rather than a sidelined aspect. Romance also creates new plot points, which made me try multiple playthroughs. Also friendship definitely gets its time to shine as well. - [u][b] Poly: [/b][/u] Significant poly options! I think there are three? And they feel like routes that are inclusive of a distinct group, rather than smushing together the two individual routes. - [u][b] The profanity/exclamation system [/b][/u]: made me laugh. 10/10 giggles for 'toast' being my preferred profanity. [h3][b]The Not So Good: [/b][/h3] - [u][b] Tone: [/b][/u] Tonally, I thought this story was kind of all over the place. Sad moments had really flippant lines, intense moments had really flippant lines, and although this seems to be a more old-timey/fantasy-world the writing felt really anachronistic. It’s not a purple Hawke situation, where the character can be humorous in inappropriate situations or as a personality trait. I would exemplify this with lines like: “Your brain reaches a threshold and then goes, ‘Nope, I'm out."” It’s not that everything needs to be SO serious, or SO old-timey sounding, but when I’m looking to the narration for guidance, or to maintain the tone, and then it does something different I just don’t connect with the world as much as I think I could. - [u][b] Token brown person with blue eyes [/b][/u]: I’m bothered. Other people have written eloquently stated analysis of why this trope is problematic and frustrating. I suggest finding those if you don’t get what I’m pointing out here, but all I will say is that the execution of that trope is ESPECIALLY prominent with the constant reinforcement of blue gazes, blue meeting some-other-color, blue clashing with yada yada. Every time I read one of these lines, I was brought back to the trope, and then I had to wonder, did the author do their due-diligence researching how to write characters of color? Is this character meant to be a dark-skinned character? Why shouldn’t this character have brown eyes? Does the author think brown people with brown eyes are unattractive/would be unattractive to their readers? Does the author think brown people need light colored eyes to be appealing? Did the author mainly not consider this because they expected a primarily white audience? I don’t know! Maybe all of these, maybe none of them, but I felt forced to consider these questions over and over throughout the book, and it left me feeling some type of way. - [u][b] Lots of perspective switching [/b][/u]: Just a subjective gripe. I would much rather not experience perspectives other than the main character’s. I want some mystery, not only in terms of the plot, but also in terms of other characters. I’d like to not know a little bit more, especially when that information comes from the perspective of character that I don’t want to spend more time with, or that I’m particularly unempathetic towards. At times it can feel like I’m being forced to build a relationship, when (again, to me) that doesn’t feel earned or desired. [h3][b]Suggestions for New Players: [/b][/h3] • Try all the romance routes including the polys. New plot points will unfold! • Remember, there are other ways through than to punch. [h3][b]You’ll Like This If OR if you liked this then you might try: [/b][/h3] • The Wayhaven Chronicles [h1] Visit [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41411199/] A Variable Review [/url] for more reviews [/h1]

[b]No, this is not the last part. More to come.[/b] Better than the predecessor, though, so worth playing it now if you're thinking of only playing when all the parts are out, as I was.

Honestly I never make reviews, but this time I'm just that excited, so here we go. Fair warning though, I'm not a native English speaker and commas are really hard to use. I've now finished three different playthroughs (in around 7-8 hours total) and I can safely say this is a big step up from the previous book! I already enjoyed the first game, but a common complaint many people had was the certain lack of player agency, aka the many moments where the protagonist would have to follow a railroaded path and/or be useless in many encounters as the other characters shined. That wasn't quite a big deal for me, but I have to agree that there were times where the other characters were definitely more competent, contrary to the main character. As far as I've seen, though, that was set up on purpose to make the MC's development feel a lot more significant - now you get to truly watch (or, well, read) them get stronger and used to the world around them - and I believe the MC is finally being allowed more agency due to said development. From what I've experienced so far, the romances and characters are very well developed. Well, almost all of them are, at least, except for a certain character from the previous game who doesn't show up a lot this time around (and I'm not complaining, it's understandable considering their very peculiar situation at the moment). Even then, although there aren't many events with said person, the book constantly references them and your potential relationship, including the worry the MC may or may not be feeling, which is a very welcome detail a lot of other choice games forget about. There are also a lot of new interesting paths your story can take, be it by (vague spoilers) [spoiler]apparently double-crossing your party, entering a rap battle with a mighty creature, investigating a suspicious character and finding a worrying truth, learning more about your companions' backstories, unlocking some secret powers, dealing and working with incredibly shady people, or even stupidly falling for said incredibly shady people.[/spoiler] Funnily enough, I barely explored most of the plots I just mentioned in my first playthrough, but I was still pretty satisfied by the end because of all the other awesome things happening. Still, that made it so that the pacing sometimes felt a little off, with most chapters being very full and detailed while others only had a few pages for me to read through because I'd sometimes miss an important plot that could've happened. Either way, there are tons of different ways of getting to the end this time. I'm relatively sure they'll all lead to pretty much the same start when the next book comes out, but it's still nice to see the different ways you can use your connections, strengths and knowledge in the last few chapters. Probably the only actual complaint/criticism I would have is the lack of combat. By the end of the last book, I was extremely excited for all the cool, badass fighting moments the Stone would bring! Except... I don't think there was even a single time I actually used my weapon this time around, honestly quite a bummer. No killings monsters, no hunting hunters, no staking vampires. But! This is most likely a side-effect from my own way of playing (favoring wits and compassion over combat) as, on my following playthroughs, I had a few interesting battles (though not as many, as long or as interesting as the ones from the previous book). Still, even if they weren't as badass as I expected, the interactions I chose to do instead of fighting were definitely fun enough to make up for the lack of action. Seriously, a [spoiler]rap battle[/spoiler]. Anyway! TL;DR: 8.5/10, maybe 9/10, thumbs up emoji, very cool, excited for the next one, Eledwen still the best character, relieved emoji, very [i]very[/i] cool, etc., bye bye!

实际阅读时间没有这么久，虽然这部章节分很多，但每章篇幅不长。总之秉持着既然都玩了第一部，好歹看看后续剧情的心情打完了这部！ 主线部分依然是那么儿戏，所有破局都是靠天降神兵这种偷懒的方式；主角性格感觉比之前要丰富一些，有挺多选项可以选择的，感叹号也减少了！和队友以及灵石的相处模式实际上我很喜欢，大家的感情真的很好，就算只是友情线也让我嗑了一大碗。 与之相对的……是我们的大反派Manerkol一开口就是his same old 古早霸总 self，带着七分薄凉两分狂傲一分柔情的冷笑谈论着his treasure和soulmate，作者完全没写出阵营对立针锋相对却又彼此吸引的张力……以至于让我愈发后悔没选Dae姐或者和Dae姐&Morkai组成三人家庭（甚至三人家庭也不能满足我了，为什么我们不能六个人在一起呢——主角要和所有RO结婚，猜猜谁不得邀请？Manerkol！）。本身说二周目换线，但这个主线索然无味得让我提不起兴致重读一遍，就这样吧，等完结了再说！

Way better than part one. Definitely enriched if you have a romance with the villain, Manerkol.

Продолжение, которое я ждал. И оно меня не разочаровало, всё написано на уровне. Эмоциональные переживания по прежнему играют важную роль в повествовании, нередко перетягивая на себя основное внимание. В отличие от первой части только стоит отметить что переживания эти теперь более сконцентрированы, т.к. ГГ перерос некоторые из прежних проблем и его внимание сконцентрировано на более важных и насущных вопросах. В этом аспекте рост протагониста чуть более заметен, чем рост в силе и способностях. Кто играл в первую часть - знает, что там протагонист несколько слабее своих соратников из-за своей неопытности, но по мере движения сюжета он набирается этого самого опыта, решительности и в итоге принимает куда более активное участие в любых стычках. Во второй части у ГГ предполагается (сюжетно) резкое "усиление", но лично я не заметил какой-то особой разницы между ГГ ближе к концу первой книги и ГГ на протяжении второй части. Не исключено что это связано с внесением разнообразия в повествование, которое вытеснило проверки для героя и заменило их на проверки для игрока (который по сути и не менялся). [spoiler]Я говорю про загадки и прочие головоломки, которые никак не зависят непосредственно от героя. Имеет значение только соображалка у игрока.[/spoiler] Например, некоторые варианты ответов могли бы зависить от уровня способностей протагониста, но я такой зависимости не заметил. В итоге лично я не вижу непосредственно рост героя, который тут предполагается, но ГГ очевидно занимает позицию лидера в команде, проявляя инициативу в большинстве ситуаций. Это порой кажется несколько неествественным и не всегда веришь в такое. В целом я тут заметил слишком мало зависимостей от способностей героя. Они идут ближе к концу книги, а вот основная часть даёт одинаковые возможности протагонистам с разными навыками. Здесь куда большим ограничителем выступают выборы из первой книги, чем какие-либо характеристики самого героя. Не могу сказать что отсутствие таких проверок - это плохо. Но создаётся ощущение, что умения моего персонажа несколько обесцениваются. И я говорю только про навыки: характер героя регулярно влияет на повествование и отношения с другими персонажами тоже имеют значение. Очень радует вариативность, хотя она во многом зависит от первой книги. Есть несколько крайне неожиданных концовок, которые меня определённо порадовали (да, я люблю прописанные плохие концовки в играх). Книга затягивает и мне не хотелось от неё отрываться. Кажется, она даже закончилась как-то быстро. Теперь буду ждать третью часть...

Team brooding vampire :^)

Yeah I said there was no way I'd ever buy this book if it came out. But i Couldnt resist. My anger was so strong with the first book (and playing it through again to get a save point to play this one one just fed it all over again,) I just couldnt leave sleeping dogs lie. I bought it to hate it, to hate the thing that stole my PCs soul and killed him. I waited with baited breathe for the beginning to tell me, sorry your dead, go play the first book again and choose diferently this time.... But that didnt happen. The author respected my choice, and then continued the story line with all that anger and frustration right there for me to express to my hearts content. And grudgingly, slowly, it worked! It was believable and I was willing to meet my soul stone half way. He's sorry for trying to kill me and endangering my friends by holding me captive and unable to help them, and Im sorry for not trusting him in the first place. Do I know where this relationship between my PC and this Voice in his Head is going? no Not really. But atleast I am able to take a step back, and give it a chance. And the gods know my poor PC needs a friend desperately. He wasnt able to really trust any of the people he got stuck traveling with. Not their fault really, he just hates being a 3rd wheel. He didnt want pity or sympathy, and he wasnt interested in crashing in on anyone else's relationships. Nor was he willing to be bullied or "owned" by some creeper tormenting him with nightmares. Oh and he totally isnt into some kidnapper either, honestly the people that throw themself at my PC really really worry him about how messed up everyone in the world seems to be, and darken his hopes of ever finding someone one thats honestly just interested in him, for who he is. Not because he has pretty eyes, or a Soul Stone to throw into the bargain. All that said, Yes I do recommend this book.

Чего я вообще ждал, понятия не имею. Снова выборы без выборов и лор без лора. Любовные сцены расписаны подробнее, чем сюжетные. Игра очень короткая даже для текстовой новеллы. Ставлю лайк в основном на контрасте с предыдущими прочитанными книгами: тут я не путаюсь в сюжете (он простой как палка, без вотэтоповоротов и линейный) и могу отличить одного персонажа от другого (несмотря на то, что все они скучные). Автор немного научился писать немного лучше, поэтому вот ему "положительный" отзыв вместо шоколадной медальки за старания. Играть не рекомендую.