Hi! Before starting this game I was thinking: "why II? Is this Essay on Insipidity II a sequel of another game?". I do not think so, anyway I will find out later. First let's start this review.

An Essay on Insipidity II is an extremely linear story about Arkhip, a (lately unsuccessful) hunter that is enduring a harsh winter, and since his family is starving, he takes all his money and travels to the nearby village to buy supplies. The game is basically the trip to the village and the return home.

Clearly this is clearly not an epic story or a funny lighthearted adventure, and many hints from the beginning will give you a clearly idea of what is going to happen during the story, bit I like how the first image (the main menu) is almost the same of the ending, like a full circle.

The problem is, unfortunately the rest: this game is a sort of linear walking simulator, and except for some rare istances, speed goes from slow to very slow. Ok this is annoying but maybe it's perfect to simulate the tiring walk in the frozen forest.

There are some rare encounters and flashbacks that tells something more about Arkhip and his family, still there is something that feels a bit out of place: for example the main character sometimes sounds a bit emotionless. I mean he says "oh my God" or "No!", but that's it, I'd used more dialogues to espress clearly his thoughs and feelings. Also the scene with the soldier is a bit odd but uhm ok. Finally the merchant, I do not remember hearing him talking his friend before, and after passing the village again (during the return) he don't even mention him.

This is not a terrible game, but scenes could have been a bit different,"richer", and more cutscenes, just to give a more emotional situations and dialogues, more background, that interrupts the long walking parts.

I don't mind the absence of real gameplay, I don't need exploration, a good story is enough for me, but I believe that it could have been told in a more detailed way, and it would have been better considered this kind of game, because I believe that it's a good and solid concept.

I took in account that this game was made for the Trial of MZ event, and I do not mind the Rtp graphics: they are adequate and charsets and facesets fit the setting, mapping is ok, and for example I liked a lot the intro sequence. Sounds are a bit repetitive: we have the howling of the wind and then the crackle of the fire. And then the howling of the wind and then the crackle of the fire. Yeah, that's all.
Beside this I do not think there is much more to say about the game, it's quite short and I don't want to spoil everything about what happens during the story, I guess I said enough, I suggest to try it yourself and see if I am right or no.


Uh, Arkhip I do not think this is a smart move. At all!

Verdict
Despite the terribly slow speed this is not a terrible game, I assume that given more time and just a little more content this would have been a more interesting and enjoyable adventure. The base idea is good, the themes are original, but probably it could have realized in a different way in order to make the game more captivating and interesting for the player.

In any case I'm pretty sure that the flaws are just due to the short time available to make this project and the necessity to use a new rpgmaker version (MZ) that is clearly a disadvantage for most developers, and I believe that Raziel will turn out to be a much better game! I'm sure.