Forgive Me Father 2 Review (Phranc)
Forgive Me Father, For I Will Sin
Forgive Me Father 2 is a stark contrast to the first game. The sequel improves upon the art style and offers a much different tone story-wise, but the core arena-shooter remains strong. Think of this game as the likes of DOOM and Quake with an eldritch flavor. While it is easy to pick up this modern boomer shooter and start blasting, the level design seems to stay too faithful to the old-school style.
Things I Like About Forgive Me Father 2:
1. Gunplay
The bread and butter of all old school boomer shooters.
Shooting, running, and picking up ammo on the go are the nature of boomer shooter. Easy to pick up, fun to blast off.
The feedback of blasting an eldritch horror is satisfying. The sound effects, the visual, even the recoil of the gun feel finely tuned.
Weapons are definitely the highlight of the game. Each unlockable function as a side-grade instead of a direct upgrade.
You can use a revolver for consistency, or you can turn the same revolver into a demon fish which spits a ton of needles in a cone shape.
The gun animation is nothing short of amazement, especially the more otherworldly one. Seeing them reload is without a doubt one of highlights of this game.
Dark Tome offers a variety of passive and active ability pages. You can fit three pages at a time.
Finding the right combination for your play style is essential. My favorite combo is the damaging gaze and life-stealing. Whenever I am in a pinch, I can just open the dark tome and heals by dealing damage to the enemies.
2. Other Compliments
Boss fights are definitely better than the ones in the first game.
Soundtracks are a mix of metal and a haunting melody.
Main menu changes as you progress is a nice touch.
Things I Like And Dislike About Forgive Me Father 2:
1. Visuals
Great art style with some hiccups.
Like
The dark comic art style is more detailed. Levels are aesthetically refined instead of the bare-bone structures of the first game.
The atmosphere also receives some improvements, mainly the subtle lighting and the suspending sound effects.
Dislike
Some level really goes too far in terms of color, to the point that it is hard to navigate.
The most notorious example is the mushroom forest level. Even though the whole level comprises individual fungal islands, the multiple bold colors work against visual clarity. It is hard to tell where to go during playthrough.
Pickups need some slight change as well. The icon is way too small to tell which type of ammo it is.
2. Level Design
I get the tradition, but I want more than that.
Like
To give the game credit, it tries to shake up the old and simple formula by adding some interesting segments. And I appreciate that.
Some levels play the trick of light, some require you to perform light platforming.
One particular segment stands out the most. It is a dark corridor full of explosive barrels. One shot is all it takes to blow you into smithereens. This part plays out vastly different from the rest of the level. It's a nice change of pace.
Dislike
However, the overall level design is still the same old finding keys and pulling x amount of levers.
To be fair, I know boomer shooter is all about shooting and killing things, less about walking through levels.
Yet, I still wish the mechanics could evolve beyond finding keys and levers, something like killing things in a specific manner or simple physics puzzles.
Things I Dislike About Forgive Me Father 2:
Other Complaints
A shooting range in the asylum would be lovely, so players can immediately test out the gun they just purchased(What a horrible sentence if it were out of context).
I wish secrets could be more secret-like, not just another supplies in a really secluded area of the level.
中文小簡評
→類毀滅戰士的高速第一人稱射擊遊戲，克蘇魯style！
→比起前作，二代不只畫風細膩度提升，整體遊玩體驗也一代好很多。
→無論是手感、音效以及回饋都有明顯進步，爽快度自然不在話下。
→當然遊戲最大的亮點莫過於槍枝，各式克蘇魯風的造型讓人嘖嘖稱奇，換彈動畫更是讓人著迷，搞得我每次開槍就想趕快換彈看動畫。
→槍枝衍生比起升級更像是另一種選擇。你可以選穩定性高的左輪手槍，也可以將它變成用念珠綁著的詭異魚類(基本上是射速高的散彈手槍)。
→玩家可以依照玩法隨意搭配三個主被動技能。
→Boss戰比一代更好玩，其中一隻還融合了跑酷跟走位，打起來十分有趣。
→音樂除了傳統的金屬外，還搭配一絲詭譎的旋律，聽來有股莫名的敬畏感。
→雖然畫風和氛圍有大幅進步，少數關卡反而因用色過度變得難以辨識。
→地上的子彈補給也需要重新設計，即使在中距離也很難看出子彈類型。
→關卡設計依舊是老套的撿鑰匙拉拉桿，雖然各個關卡中也有不少有趣的小插曲，但我仍希望能看到更大幅度的改變。
→病院裡沒有靶場可以試試新換的槍。
→希望隱藏區域能放一些特別的東西，而不是子彈補給。