Enjoyable sequel that takes the bones of the original, expands on them in smart ways then sends them on a psychedelic acid trip that gives the game its own identity.
| Developer | |
| Publisher | |
| Franchise | Pandemonium |
| Genre | 2D Platformer |
| PSTV | Yes |
| PSN |
EU only (Delisted in NA)
|
World-building & Story
When the comet of infinite possibilities passes over Lyr, our duo of heroes from the original Pandemonium – Nikki and Fargus – decide to pursue it in the hopes that it will grant their every desires.
Much like the first game, Pandemonium 2 relegates its story to the opening and closing cutscenes, with little else in true narrative beyond this. With that said, it’s immediately apparent what has changed here – Nikki and Fargus are two almost completely different characters beyond their basic designs. Nikki is still a sorceress for example, but instead of being a fun tomboy she’s a sexy seductress concerned only with power for her own gain.
Fargus meanwhile is a completely bonkers pyromaniac possessed by voices inside his head and there’s no explanation why they both ended up like this. Fargus’ talking cane Sid seems about the only one who remains the same and while this does provide a comic edge, a lot of the charm from the original has evaporated here. It feels like edgy for the sake of it which doesn’t fit over the first game’s template.
The world-building done through the level design, on the other hand, is superb. Most areas are on the comet of infinite possibilities itself, which is like an acid field fever dream of neon landscapes, impossible physics and bizarre creatures. This works perfectly in the heightened reality of Pandemonium and some aspects, such as the final boss, were absolutely spectacular to behold.
Presentation & Sound
While it has received a touch up in terms of its 3D engine, Pandemonium looks largely the same as the first and while its pre-rendered backgrounds are downgraded, overall the fantastic art design and smart camera work make it memorable.
So this is the same 2.5D presentation that the first title had, except here there seems to be more 3D assets and less 2D backgrounds. Initially this feels cheap, but the more I played the more I preferred the approach in this second game purely due to the art direction here. Crystal Dynamics clearly thought that the title’s key words are “neon fever dream” and it truly embraces this throughout every aspect of the presentation.
So enemy models are weirder, like lava spitting blobs or attacking dragons, while backgrounds are more likely to be pulsating lava lamps or a bass thumping infinite tunnel. The camera angles continue to highlight the environments in a way that works so well and there’s been more effort put into the animations, such as Fargus now throwing Sid when he attacks or Nikki sticking her arms out like an acrobat while jumping. A few framerate dips during busy scenes do little to dull this.
The one trip up is sound. Music is good but undoubtedly less catchy than the first title (although a couple of the tracks are pretty good), while voice acting is significantly worse too. The annoying sound effects haven’t been fixed either and the coin pickup noise (there are significantly more coins here) is infuriating.
Soundtrack highlight – Hot Pants
Gameplay & Content
Acting as more of a trippy expansion pack to the original than a full sequel, the tweaks made in Pandemonium 2 actually turn it into the better game – at least for my tastes.
So for starters, it’s worth remembering that despite the graphics and flashy perspectives, this is very much a 2D platformer at heart. Once again there are two playable characters here and while Fargus has been given some buffs (he can now throw Sid and you can control Sid afterwards, which can hit certain levers from a distance or damage enemies), he’s still inferior to Nikki in nearly every way thanks to her ability to double jump – which almost always comes in handy.
In general, platforming feels more responsive and snappier than before, which makes landing those big jumps feel a bit easier and less punishing. You’re given new abilities to help on your journey such as shimmying up poles or climbing along zip wires and these are used to add new moments of spectacle as well as just make the platforming a little more varied, whether it be flinging yourself upwards with clothes lines or hovering above jets of air.
You’ll still pick up magical spells to give you ranged attack abilities, there’s still coins to collect (doing so grants lives and bonus levels, although only one – running from the giant orb of doom – is available, with pinball sadly removed) and the password system is still in tact (no memory cards). It feels like Pandemonium through and through but just tweaked a bit for the better, which is particularly noticeable in some of the level design.
Later levels have somewhat of a metroidvania aspect, having you go back and forth as doors unlock which works surprisingly well in this platforming template while bosses are much better this time around, including a fun encounter with a dragon and a psychedelic final boss that was nothing like I was expecting. The animal transformations from the previous games are gone, but are replaced by things like boots that increase your jump speed or a gliding section where you dodge incoming objects.
It also feels slightly easier than the first game, with a gold-silver-bronze hearts system that allows you to take plenty of hits before starting over. I still died plenty to bottomless pits and the like, but overall I made better progress of my own accord (even if I did revert to passwords in the end).
Conclusion
Conceived in what I’m convinced is a full on magic mushrooms-fuelled acid trip by the development team, Pandemonium 2 is a typical PS1-era sequel that brings more of what worked about its predecessor and improves what didn’t. Some will balk at the tonal changes and graphical tweaks here, but I actually ended up enjoying this one more – either way, both games are a tonne of fun.
7.5/10
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