The first thing Dementium 2 gets right is atmosphere. The abandoned hallways of a deteriorating mental hospital are rife with bloodstains, grime, and disarray. The monsters are interesting and make telltale sounds, so you know theyre coming before you see them. Sometimes that gives you time to set up an attack. Other times, you become paranoid when you havent seen them for a few minutes. The boss battles are epic and largely enjoyable, though the final two suffer from some design issues that Ill get to in a minute. The Dementium team at Renegade Kid (who also made The Ward and Moon) really know how to make the system sing at this point. The first games fantastic flashlight effect is back here, and I still love it. Id say Dementium 2 is comparable to a low-res N64 shooter, which is no small feat. Not all the production values are consistent, however. The musical score is either absent or too repetitious, and I found myself turning the music down entirely in the options menu and listening only to the monsters and ambient noise.
The gunplay has improved somewhat, with more available weapons of varying strength, though its easy to miss the best one if you dont remember what specific doors are unlocked by specific keys. Because of the scarcity of ammunition, however, Dementium 2 tosses a handful of interesting melee weapons at you, including a buzz saw, sledgehammer, and flamethrower. Theres one weapon, acquired late in the game, that can be thrown like a boomerang, but it barely does any damage. It is useful only when you need a ranged weapon and have no ammo (this becomes a problem during the final boss fight).
The rarity of ammo would not be so problematic if the game didnt force you into kill rooms. Unless you want to waste all your health pills fighting off demons at fisticuff range (they gather around you), youll need to make use of your guns. But if you use your weapons, youll be forced to spend the next half-hour searching for ammo and stabbing monsters with a knife along the way. So, heres the first PROTIP: Run away from enemies that are not in kill rooms. Theyre easily avoided anyway, and nobody ever drops a good helm (or anything else).
Boss encounters are great, but go on too long. Youd think that a shotgun to the face at point-blank range would knock some serious HP off their meter, but youd be wrong. The first and last bosses are the worst offenders. For the first boss, you are forced to use a knife. The fight takes ten to fifteen minutes, and thats if you dont die. Your reward for the battle is a handgun. The final boss has a monumental amount of HP, and if youve been wasting ammo on non-kill room enemies, you wont even get him down to half health. Thats where the boomerang comes out, hand-cramping seizes up, and you restart the game. So, PROTIP number two: Remember to go all the way back to the second map (theyre all connected) and grab the best gun before diving into the last bosss area.
The plot is intriguing, and its never really clear what "side" youre on. Are you the crazy one, or has the rest of the world unwound itself? Happily, the end of the game makes you think, and has inspired me to replay it with that knowledge in mind. The creature design is top-notch. Id love to see Renegade Kid's concept art, especially for a gigantic boss close to the end. Oh, thats right: PROTIP number three: when you encounter this behemoth, turn around and run away from it. After a little while, your path will become clear, by accident if nothing else.
My problems with the first gamea useless map and no checkpointsare somewhat cured here. The maps here are smaller, but they all interconnect somehow, and you are rarely locked out of previous areas. The save system also got an overhaul, and now features distinct save points within each area. Unfortunately, some are poorly placed. If I get killed by a boss, and the last save point was ten minutes away, thats annoying. Aside from the story mode, theres not much to see here aside from Survival mode, which is exactly what it sounds likewipe out hoards of monsters until you die. The game is still a first-rate effort, despite its middling problems. Anyone who enjoyed Southpeaks previous effort, Moon, will also dig this game. Just follow those PROTIPS that Ive scattered throughout the review, and your first playthrough will be as enjoyable as my second one.
Pros:
Lastability: 5.0
Survival Mode is not my cup of tea, but I am inspired to replay the game (a third time). Its also the kind of game youll want to show off to your friends. "Dude, look at how good this game looks!"
Final: 8.5
Certainly the strongest Southpeak game yet. Somebody needs to let these guys unleash their talent on a proper console game. I very much like Dementium 2, and now that I know how I should play it, I think Ill enjoy it even more.
