Not Tonight 2 Review (Abaddon_CK)
This is a VERY mixed review that slanted to the negative side due to some quirks.
Positives:
-The creators really outdid themselves with the pixel art, it looks amazing honestly.
-Music in the areas are the same good quality as the last game.
-The areas are interesting, ESPECIALLY the extra stage (I absolutely adore the reference)
Negatives:
-I get the story and message of the game, but it leans too much into the goofy/overly evil for the clear evil side. The last game gradually made the evil group more evil over time (From simple racism to outright distopian nightmare). However, this game makes the evil group not only goofy, but starts with that intensity way up. Maybe you could of had it that the southern group starts out small, but gains influence over time, spreading more and more in the south. Maybe have a area you go to in roadtrip 1 be revisited in roadtrip 3, but you could see how that influence has done to the area. Speaking of the locations.
-The areas never get enough time to have you kind of settle in like the bars in the first game, only having 2 shifts in a million different locations get a little annoying. For example: you could be in a location that demands a special way of getting tickets, only to throw that technique away until the 2nd or 3rd road trip (Like the musical tickets)
-Why is there luck related ticket conditions? Its the worst! ESPECIALLY in GOD DAMN Las vegas (I know it fits with the gambling theme, but I don't want to have a loss because I decided that I would be higher than a Jack). I'll give a pass on the robots, they are cool.
-With visiting the locations being short, some of the friends you meet are really forgettable. You only see the wizard twice, but now he's a major ally to the heros? Didn't even recognise him in the finally. SPEAKING OFF PALS.
-WTF did you do to dave?! That isn't dave! Thats a local crackhead that has decided to help our heros! Honestly, Dave should of been one/or more of the locations you visit (Maybe doing a travelling bar that appears in all of the roadtrips). Shannon was good to see again, the role she did fit her well. Although, going on a musical tour might of been better, I dunno.
-Customisation is a little lackluster. You could have different combinations of costumes in the first game that provided buffs or made you look stupid. This game just gives each character their own costumes that you could wear, which are only for those characters. Wearing a hat is a full costume for gods sake! Sticking to the base outfit was fine, with Mari having the coolest look.
Small gripes
-The quests should tell you how to complete them (Maybe in a vague way)
-After A ranking all your first roadtrip's missions and doing one A rank in the second roadtrip, the A rank points become useless. Although it does leave some leeway in what missions you prefer to A rank, there still should of been an incentive to do them all. For example: BRINGING BACK THE HOTKEYS!!
-Why did the conversations devolve to basic big textbox dialogue? I loved when you enter a bar or location in the first game and see what the interior looks like, having a chat with your boss and leaving to see where your working at. My fav from the first game is the english boarder where you start in a small fishing troll, which makes you think your in a port of some kind, only to end up on a very makeshift boarder at the bottom of some cliff!
Conclusion
The creators definitely put a tonne of effort into this game. The art is cool, the locations are sick and it tried it's best to tell a tale of racism and politics. But it isn't a fun "not tonight" game. The creators tried to turn the long weeks of the first game, which made you appreciate each of the small locations as you tried to become their head bouncer, into a fast paced roadtrip with very little amounts of shifts you actually do with characters you will never really remember. I fondly remember the DJ priest from the first game more than I remember the whole toy subplot in the first roadtrip!
If the creators see this, which I highly doubt it, im not trying to be overly negative here (Which failed). I like the ideas the game brings to the table, it just needs refinement. Next time you do this, If another game is being considered (Please do more), I would say to keep the map (Because I love seeing all the locations on the map and you could show how much the evil influence spreads around the map) and the quality of the locations. Just make us stay in the locations longer, make the special mechanics more refined for them, and make the facism/evil slowly ramp up slower (keep it subtle at first, but then blatantly obvious at the end) and have them more evil than goofy.
Thanks for listening to my TED talk.