Overview – developed by GalaxyTrail, with publishing handled by Xseed Games and Marvelous Europe, Freedom Planet 2 is fast paced action platformer, featuring vibrant sci-fi worlds, challenging bosses and an engaging storyline. Set three years after the events of the previous game, a new threat appears that threatens the peace that the hero Lilac and her friends fought for. This title is available on all console platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Decibel PR who provided the copy of Freedom Planet 2 that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story for Freedom Planet 2 (taken from official sources). I will only be discussing the core mechanics of this game, as I do not want to spoil any of the surprises that this game has in store for players.
Story – Join the heroes of Avalice as they face their greatest challenge yet! An ancient terror has emerged from the depths of the ocean. Merga, a water dragon from Avalice’s oldest and deadliest war, has been freed from her crystal prison as a consequence of the Kingdom Stone’s destruction. War is imminent once again, but this time, the heroes are split between sides. As friendships are tested, will the girls stand united when Bakunawa rises?
Gameplay – Freedom Planet 2 is a fast paced action platformer, where players must traverse 24 vibrant stages, fighting armies of robotic enemies and imposing bosses. The main game mode in this title is adventure mode, where players will make their way through the story for Freedom Planet 2. During adventure mode, players traverse the overworld map, moving between locations as they progress through the story with cutscenes that relay the narrative of the game.
Before starting the game, the player gets to select one of four playable characters. The four characters are Sash Lilac: the Dragon, Carol Tea: the Wildcat, Milla Basset: the Hound and Neera Li: the Frost Knight. Each of the playable characters have their own unique skills and abilities, separated into four distinct gameplay styles. For example, Lilac is a speed type character and Carol is a brawler type. Neera is a new addition to this game, making her debut as a playable character.
During adventure mode, stages in this game function in two ways, with the first being the action stages. These stages play out in a manner similar to traditional platformers, where the goal is to reach the end of the stage, battling enemies and collecting loot as they go. In these stages players will collect crystals, which will fill the meter at the top of the screen, giving an extra life when full. Then there are the element gems, which will give the player a temporary shield that will protect them from damage.
As players make their way through the stages, they will encounter enemies that will deal damage to the player. When these foes are defeated, some of them will drop robot cores, which can be collected and used by the player as a special resource. There will also be life flowers, which will heal the player with petals when opened, if the player is already at full health, excess petals will be converted into crystals and added to the players total.
If all of the life petals have been depleted, the player will have one last hit in them, but the player will lose a life if they are hit again. When this happens, the player will be given two options, continue from a checkpoint with full health or continue where they fell, at the cost of a severely reduced health bar. Players can continue if they run out of lives, the player can restart the stage or pay gems for a checkpoint, there is a mini game to earn gems on the continue screen.
At set points during the stages, usually at the end of the stage, the player will encounter boss battles where a large scale foe will appear. These battles can be challenging, with the player needing to hit a weak point to deal damage to them. Encounters with these sizable opponents can have multiple phases, which will happen when a set amount of damage is dealt to them. When a boss is defeated, they will usually drop a star card, signaling the end of a stage.
Once a stage has been cleared, the player will be given bonuses based on their performance. These bonuses are affected by a range of factors, with the most common one being the number of lives left. Once all of the rewards are given, the player will be given a ranking that is tied to their final bonus score. The bonus and ranking can be improved and manipulated by equipping items, boosters and more items that can obtained from the in game shops (discussed further below).
Away from the main action stages, we have the hub areas where players will be able to interact with different NPC characters, accessing a variety of services from them. Inside of all of hub areas, there will be NPC characters that the player will be able to talk to, learning information about them, the world and other characters. There are also special facilities that players can interact with, providing uses for the resources and loot collected in action stages.
There are shops that can be accessed by talking to vendors in the areas, providing the player with several options to spend their currency on. Players can also exchange items they have collected, trading crystals and robotic cores for special Golden gems, a special currency that can be used to buy very powerful items. The items can be equipped to the player character, powering them up and making them stronger and giving them special effects.
Then we have potions which can be mixed and matched with five total slots, giving players the ability to come up with their own special mixture to tackle the stages. The potions aren’t single use and can be added multiple times to the mix, so players can use one or more effect in varying strengths. These power-ups can give players a whole new way to approach stages, adding more depth to the gameplay throughout the challenging action stages.
Last to discuss are the special features that can be unlocked when playing the game. In adventure mode, the player will unlock the Battlesphere during play, which features special challenge stages and a boss attack mode where all unlocked bosses can be fought. Some of the challenges are required to progress the story. Then there is the gallery and jukebox features, letting players listen to music and unlock exhibits in the museum.
There are many more secrets, unlockables and features for players to discover during play, but I don’t want to spoil too much as I feel players should experience these for themselves. Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – this title uses a 4 button input system, with all of the essential inputs on the face buttons but some are repeated on the triggers/shoulder buttons. To help players get to grips with the characters, there are on screen button prompts that can be used as reference for all inputs. In general the game is a lot of fun to control, with snappy and responsive inputs which are a must for any high speed platformer. I recommend a good controller with a solid D-Pad for this game.
Difficulty – there is a fairly balanced difficulty curve to this game, offering three options for players made up of Beginner (with support items), Normal and Hard. These different options give all players the opportunity to get into this adventure, providing an approachable and enjoyable adventure suitable for all skill levels. There is also an in-depth tutorial for all playable characters, which provides the ins and outs of each character in a way that everyone can get behind.
Presentation – visually this game is very pleasing to the eye, featuring vibrant sprite work which is complimented by the gorgeous environments for the different areas. The action on screen flows well, with no issues when it comes to frame rate or lag, but there is a little hiccup with the screen size at times for the switch. Due to the size of the Nintendo Switch screen, there are times where the sprites can be tough to see due to zoom, which can be frustrating.
The sound for this release features a soundtrack that makes the game pop that much more, giving all of the set pieces and stages more impact during play. There is an excellent mix of instruments that make the experience a real joy to play, with my favorite being the Dragon Valley with its amazing saxophone section. There is voice acting throughout the game, featuring the talents of Morgan Berry (Kakegurui Twin), Dawn M. Bennet (Persona 3 Reload) and Alejandro Saab (Disgaea 7).
Final Thoughts – having played the first Freedom Planet some time ago, there was a lot of interest in seeing what this game has to offer. I can safely say that this is a fantastic sequel to an already excellent game, taking all of the elements that made the first a fun time and knocking it up a notch. There were some hiccups here and there with this release, but they don’t sour the experience too much to make it not worth playing.
I spent a lot of time playing this title over and over, looking for secrets, getting faster times in stages/challenges and having a blast doing it. The changes in experience between the four characters during play are something that really makes this game shine. Each of the characters has different storyline beats, character interactions and much more, making for a fresh experience each time through. I have no issue recommending this to anyone that enjoys a good platformer.
In the end, I give Freedom Planet 2 a final score of 4/5. This is an excellent platforming adventure, with a story that is entertaining, a charming cast of characters and fast paced action that will satisfy any fan of the platforming genre. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE) – NA / (HERE) – EU
Link to PlayStation version (HERE) – NA / (HERE) – EU
Link to Xbox version (HERE) – Worldwide
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