''Hylics 2'' is a 2020

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

developed by Mason Lindroth. It is the sequel to the 2015 game ''

Hylics ''Hylics'' is a role-playing video game developed and published by Mason Lindroth. It was released for Windows on August 4, 2015 through Itch.io and on October 2, 2015 through Steam. The game uses claymation graphics to depict a surreal world. ...

''. Set in a surreal and intentionally absurd world, the protagonist Wayne must stop the resurrection of the tyrant king Gibby by his minions. Battles take place in a

turn-based role-playing game A turn-based role-playing game (often abbreviated turn-based RPG or TBRPG) is a subgenre of role-playing video games that utilizes turn-based combat, in contrast to real-time action role-playing games. Definition The games emphasize turn-based ...

format, similarly to its predecessor, but gameplay in the overworld is expanded upon, prominently featuring platforming elements. The game was acclaimed for its unique

claymation Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine cl ...

visuals and

psychedelic funk Psychedelic funk (also called P-funk or funkadelia, and sometimes conflated with psychedelic soul) is a music genre that combines funk music with elements of psychedelic rock. It was pioneered in the late 1960s and early 1970s by American acts l ...

score composed by Lindroth and Chuck Salamone.

Gameplay

''Hylics 2'' is a turn-based RPG with similarities to traditional JRPGs. It takes place in a surreal and absurd world, with some

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

elements. The player character Wayne assembles a

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

of characters, fights enemies, and explore a 3D world, finding hidden treasure. Exploration is sometimes done in an

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

, which has been compared to ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...

''. Unlike the first game, the sequel contains 3D platforming elements, and contains a segment of dungeon-crawling in first-person. The player can dodge enemies with a variety of moves. The plot of the game involves Wayne attempting to stop the resurrection of the first game's antagonist, the tyrant king Gibby, by his minions. There are many versions of Wayne in the world, of various shapes and designs. The player characters gain more flesh (hit points) by putting the meat of dead enemies and Waynes in a

meat grinder A meat grinder (also called a "meat mincer" in the UK) is a kitchen appliance for mincing (fine chopping) and/or mixing of raw or cooked meat, Fish (food), fish, vegetables or similar food. It replaces tools like the Mezzaluna, mincing knife ...

. When all party members' flesh hits 0, the player and their reality dissolve.

Development

The game is a sequel to the 2015 RPG ''

'', both developed by Mason Lindroth. The sequel's plot contains motifs of the first game, but can be understood without playing the first game. While the first game was developed in

RPG Maker ''RPG Maker'', known in Japan as , is a series of programs for the development of role-playing video games (RPGs) with genre-driven varieties as well as machinima, originally created by the Japanese group ASCII. The Japanese name, ''Tsukūru'', ...

, the sequel was developed in the

Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...

engine, allowing for the visuals and gameplay to be further fleshed out. ''Hylics 2'' uses a

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

visual style, a relatively rare animation technique in games. Behind-the-scenes photos of the process were released in 2023. Lindroth supported the sequel's development with a public fundraising campaign. The game's

score was made by Mason Lindroth and Chuck Salamone. The game was announced with a trailer in January 2018, with a planned release date for later that year. Another trailer was released in November, and by then, the release date had shifted to summer 2019. The game was released on June 22, 2020 on the

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

and

Itch.io Itch.io (stylized in all lowercase) is a website for users to host, sell and download indie video games, indie role-playing games, game assets, comics, zines and music. Launched in March 2013 by Leaf Corcoran, the service hosts over 1,000,000 ...

platforms for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

and

MacOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

Reception

The game was acclaimed upon its release, with significant praise being given to its visual style. ''

Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...

'' writer Alice O'Connor claimed the game had some of the best visuals and music in gaming. The visuals were compared to the video game ''

Clayfighter ''ClayFighter'' is a fighting/beat 'em up series of video games. The series has character sprites rendered from clay-animated figures, and parodies of other fighting games such as ''Street Fighter'' and ''Mortal Kombat''. ''ClayFighter: Tour ...

'', artist Bruce Bickford's works, and the movie ''

Fantastic Planet ''Fantastic Planet'' (; , ) is a 1973 animated science fiction film directed by René Laloux. Its allegorical story, about humans living on a strange planet dominated by giant humanoid aliens who consider them animals, is based on the 1957 nov ...

'', while the score was compared to

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

's music. The in-game models, animations, and battles were considered improved from the first game. In 2021, ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' named ''Hylics 2'' as having one of their favorite title screens in gaming.{{Cite news , last=Macgregor , first=Jody , date=2021-01-06 , title=Our favorite title screens and main menus in PC gaming , url=https://www.pcgamer.com/our-favorite-title-screens-and-main-menus-in-pc-gaming/ , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415102411/https://www.pcgamer.com/our-favorite-title-screens-and-main-menus-in-pc-gaming/ , archive-date=2024-04-15 , access-date=2024-02-02 , work=

, language=en Early user reviews criticized elements of the platforming, and the length of battles.

References

2020 video games Art games Claymation video games Indie games MacOS games Platformers Role-playing video games Single-player video games Surrealist video games Video game sequels Video games developed in the United States Windows games Science fantasy video games