Journey 2 the Shrekisland

Intro

Journey 2 the Shrekisland is among the worst fan games I've ever played, and I seriously question if this is a fan game seeing as how Shrek is the villain. Regardless, this is Spink's first game so I suppose I should try to be nice to an extent. Since, first games are almost always really bad, but I can't help but feel a bit vindictive seeing as how a lot of the issues I brought up in the past haven't been addressed. And, I originally played this game back when it was first released almost a year ago. As such I find it difficult not to be annoyed at the lack of overall improvement when it comes to the gameplay. Regardless, I suppose I should discuss the plot before I dive into discussing what a mess this game is from a gameplay perspective.

Story

On the story side of things the game starts out with a major misstep in that the game doesn't give the player any clear direction on what they should do or where they should go. Thankfully, the starting village is small enough that you'll probably just wander into the battle arena by accident, but that doesn't excuse the game for its lack of clear direction.

Sadly, the game's biggest issue isn't the lackluster start, but the lack of any presence of Shrek in the early parts of the game. While, I realize this game is short. It's extremely important in a game like this to establish that Shrek is the villain and one that must be stopped. Without that it just feels like the player is hunting down Shrek because he is an ogre which is rather racist. I suppose, a few people along the way mention how evil Shrek is, but we never see anything to indicate that they aren't lying about Shrek because he is an ogre.

I suppose, one could call this needless nitpicking and repetition at this point, but it really does hurt a simple a game like this when it doesn't take the time to establish it's villain. Seriously, the first time I spot Shrek's evil forces shouldn't be on his island. Especially when Shrek is described as being some sort of evil conqueror.

Gameplay

To start on a positive note the updated version of this game did address one gameplay issue. Which is that in the original release the female character couldn't equip axes which were the only type of weapon found throughout the game. As such the female character couldn't beat the game because she lacked the offensive power to hurt later enemies. Thankfully, the update does make it possible to beat the game with the female character if you really want to, but I seriously question how many people outside of myself would beat this game.

This is because much like Redwall10's games this game requires a ridiculous amount of grinding in order to beat. In fact, if you want to stand a chance against Shrek I'd recommend being level 10 at the bare minimum which takes about 45 minutes or so to reach if you mindlessly test your strength against Jack, one of the villagers in the starting village. Plus, you'll need to beat him senseless enough times to afford an elixir or two as well as several bags worth of basic healing potions. Otherwise you'll constantly find yourself in a near state of dying inside of the first dungeon because of a massive difficulty spike. Though, you'll need to save the elixirs fro Shrek in case you need to restore your MP so you can continue casting Heal II.

Though, you'll notice rather quickly that the prices in the store are rather outrageous. While the basic healing potion is probably a bit more expensive then it should be considering how many you'll need and how little gold that the enemies drop, but that seems like a bargain in comparison to the elixirs which cost 1,000 gold pieces. A price that seems even worse when you realize you'll largely be making your money 24 gold pieces at a time by defeating Jack. So, in order to pay for one elixir you'll need to defeat him 42 times!

Graphics

In terms of visuals this game is rather poor to be honest. This is because the game suffers from a lot of mapping that ranges from questionable to outright awful. While, I realize the art of mapping is a skill built over time and experience. A lot of the maps in this game feel like they were thrown together in a hurry. A prime example of this being in the first dungeon where it's possible to cross maps and end up behind a rock and if you try to go around the rock you'll simply get sent back to the previous map.

To make matters a bit worse the artwork for Shrek and Donkey is clearly lifted from elsewhere and clashes with the rest of the RTP enemies you encounter over the course of the game.

Sound

In terms of sound the game largely relies on default resources, but includes a few musical numbers that were used in the first two Shrek movies. Sadly, those selections often time clash with the mood of the game or feel completely out of place in my opinion.

Conclusion

Journey 2 the Shrekisland is a horrible fan game that suffers from a weak story, poorly balanced combat, bad mapping, and questionable choices in music selection. In many ways this game could be held up as an example of what not to do, but I'd rather point young developers towards positive examples rather then negatives ones. As such, I'd advise everyone to stay away from this game. It simply isn't worth the time investment to beat and if you really want to see how it ends then I'd suggest looking at my Let's Play.