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Hitting a Stride

This is the second chapter of the LEARSON series. I'd advise reading my review of the first chapter prior to reading this review, if you have not already.

First, I'm going to talk about what I'm a bit disappointed by, so that I can finish with more positive aspects.
The gameplay is essentially the same as before, but does a little better with laying out where to go. Maybe by this point I am getting used to it. However, the system still fails in pointing out where to go. The puzzles seem a tad more disorienting this time around and there is little added variety in the gameplay. The puzzles seem more socially oriented than the previous game with having to interact with characters in a puzzle-like manner. As with the first chapter, this chapter relies primarily on talking and is very writer-led. There still isn't enough worthwhile gameplay padding the story in my opinion.

Secondly, the things I liked.
The story is much improved. It focuses on more of knowable area, which helps you get a grip of what the world is like. I think the plot moves along nicely and introduces new characters while expanding on older characters.
This game is stand alone. While that means I don't have to worry about carrying data over or having to start from scratch or something, it does almost invalidate the previous chapter. Almost everything in the first chapter can be learned in this chapter. I actually think this is good in the context of this site by making it more accessible. Sadly, this may annoy people who played chapter 1. The plot here is far more tense than the first chapter. There is an unexpected plot twist that I really would like to mention, but it would be spoilers. This plot twist makes me want to keep playing. The story doesn't fall into any ruts.
There is also some genuine difficulty to this chapter. It felt less like running fools errands and actually doing things.
Grinding is not an issue, this is more of an adventure game than an RPG. Combat isn't any more than typical, but it is acceptable.
The music is good and the maps look better.

Overall, I can't give it a better score than the previous game due to it not significantly improving beyond the previous chapter as far as gameplay goes.
The story does improve significantly from the first chapter, but it still is chugging along at being just above average when it could be a more.
The improvements to the game simply don't cover the more frustrating parts of the game.
I'd suggest playing them in chronological order, but you don't need to. For people who played chapter 1 and liked it, it is certainly worthwhile of your time. For people who haven't played any of the chapters yet, it will still probably be worth your time.

Posts

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Thanks for the review, it's very helpful.

I was just wondering which plot twist you were referring to? I've actually forgotten what was meant as a twist in this chapter, it's been a long time since I looked at this chapter from the player's perspective. If you could PM me or put it in a spoiler tag that would be greatly appreciated.
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