Last year I played through the narrative horror game Distraint, and was impressed enough with the unique experience that I was eager to give the sequel, Distraint 2, a go. While hardly a power house of a game (quite the opposite really), it still took the purchase of a brand new PC for me to give the sequel a whirl. I expected more of the same, perhaps with a different protagonist, due to the final nature of the end of the first game. Instead, this intelligently continues Price's story, in a way that at first felt like DLC rather than a fully fledged sequel, until I came to appreciate what this was going for. This really is a sequel, with unavoidable spoilers to follow for those who haven't played Distraint.
After having apparently committed suicide via shotgun at the conclusion of the first game, Price is surprised to find himself not dead, but transported to a strange dream realm that appears to be made out of his own memories. He is instructed by the personification of Reason to search through his psyche, on a quest to discover the personification of Hope. By confronting his past actions and decisions, it is hoped Price will grow enough as a person to find Hope and be able to escape this unnatural dream.
Much like the first game, this is a 2D adventure game that has a macabre and grotesque artstyle to it. Price can waddle to the left and right of areas, entering doors, talking to various characters, and solving simple puzzles to help him progress. A knowledge of Distraint is essential to be able to enjoy this, it simply wouldn't make much sense otherwise. The first game was the downward spiral of Price, this sequel is the 'bounce-back', with the various locations and characters met being dreamlike alternate versions of people and places Price has already encountered. Controls are simple, with Price able to walk and run, and able to examine key background items. The three tenants that Price had previously caused to lose their homes reappear here, albeit as personifications of Price's various aspects. The old woman from before, is re-imagined here as the personification of Forgiveness for instance. Not everyone you meet have the best intentions for you, as these are aspects both positive and negative, Greed and Wrath for instance are both kind of antagonists here.
The dreamworld meant that the flow is more acceptably swirly, with Price able to jump around from memory to memory. The usual flow is that Price will be transported to some kind of nightmare realm where the meat of the puzzles will be, before he is transported to somewhere happier, before the process begins again. Locations such as the retirement home re-occur, but are twisted. The retirement home here is a place where the residents are trapped, having to win a game of cards each day for the opportunity to leave for example. Your childhood is explored a lot more, with your childhood home featuring as one of the game's larger areas, requiring you to switch out light bulbs to explore various rooms. There is slight danger with the reappearance of wandering nightmares, but these all just require Price to hide in a conveniently placed wardrobe to wait out the passing terror. Being a path of redemption for the protagonist, this did get a bit wholesome towards the end, some nice revelations as to the nature of characters, and the end of Price's goal. Maybe it ended on too sweet and optimistic a note, but it was good to see Price's adventure come full circle.
At around three or four hours long, Distraint 2 felt like the perfect length for the story it was telling. Hardly needs saying, but I would play the first one if you are planning to play this sequel, as it doesn't really give much backstory for how Price came to be in the dreamworld. Slightly easier than the original, this may not break the mold, but it was a clever way to take the game in.
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