So after The Stick Of Truth was released to much skepticism, but then miraculously turned out to actually be really good, suddenly there were expectations for the sequel. Including from me, I also really liked Stick Of Truth, and after playing this one...it is better...and it also isn't.
If we're talking gameplay, it has certainly improved the combat system. Not that there was anything wrong with the more traditional turn-based combat of the last game, but it's evolved a lot this time. You can move around and need to be in the right space for attacks to land, you need to make sure that your party isn't being blocked by anyone, you can knock enemies into each other or your teammates for extra damage, and in general it's a lot more enjoyable than it was last time. However, I still think the game is far too easy on normal difficulty, and the only times I felt even slightly challenged was some late-game boss fights.
The town is still a lot of fun to explore and find all its secrets, and they did fix one of my biggest complaints from the last game, that being that you could walk around almost the entire town at the start of the first game and discover nearly all the side quests at once. This time, there's a lot more stuff blocking your path that can't be traversed until you have some later-game powers, which is nice to see. The interactions with all the different characters are still funny as ever, as are the collectables.
The main thing that rubs me the wrong way about the gameplay is that in some ways, it's even more shallow than Stick Of Truth, which was already mostly summed up by "equip the thing with the highest number" item management. This time, you don't get different equipable weapons or perks, instead, every class has three designated moves and an ultimate, and that's it. Sure, the game's still fun like that, but it would have been nice to see the weapons system from Stick Of Truth be improved rather than just done away with.
The presentation is still as 100% authentic as it was in Stick Of Truth, so I'll spare you all the time of going on about how perfect it is and just get to the story, which is...good...but for some reason I don't find it quite as memorable or as funny as Stick Of Truth, and I don't quite know why that is. Maybe it's as simple as the novelty of playing an episode of the show has worn off a bit after the first game, but regardless, something about it didn't click with me quite as well.
I can't decide whether I prefer this game or Stick Of Truth, but if you liked the first one, you'll almost certainly like this as well despite its shortcomings. That's as much as I can say at the end of the day.
