Death end re;Quest 2

Mai's journey is similar to my own

Seeing so many bad reviews I had to post a positive one to try and balance the scales a bit, because I genuinely enjoyed my time with this game. Also, first time writing a review of any kind, so please bear with me.
On a technical level, the game is a slight improvement to the first one. The game ran smoothly in general unlike the first, which constantly stuttered during exploration and had weird laggy pauses in between the visual novel bits. They tried to rectify my biggest issue with the first game by actually giving us granular volume settings, but in the process messed up volume as a whole. The character voices will always feel ten times louder than everything else, no matter how low you put the volume, while sound effects and music are strangely low (except for the intro song, which is always blasting at 100% no matter the settings).
Storywise, I actually enjoyed it a lot more than the original. The first game was an incredibly fun ride with unexpected plot twists, references to weird occult events and conspiracy theories, and some seriously sickening death scenes (which sometimes dragged on a bit too long). I think it was a bit of a misplay to have so many characters in the game, because outside of Arata and Shina the story didn't really get to explore any of them in a meaningful way.
DerQ2 has a smaller cast of main characters, focusing more on Mai, Rottie and Liliana and doing a great job of actually developing them. The supporting cast of characters are very one-dimensional but they actually get enough screen time that you kind of start to care for them. I've seen people say that Mai is an unlikable protagonist and I feel like these people are missing the point. She is coarse and rude to everyone she meets because she cannot trust people. Everything in her past has taught her to be a loner. Despite this, throughout the story there are some moments of genuine warmth and care for the well-being of others, which make Mai a lot more human.
The characterization even extends to the "buggies" the girls have. Mai's buggy is a snail because she is literally retreating into a hard exterior shell and needs others to tease out her soft interior. Rottie's buggy is a mosquito because she is loud and irritating, but she manages to pierce that hard exterior front that Mai put up. Liliana is a whip-spider... I have no clue what this is supposed to mean.
The story itself is focused on a small, remote town where mysterious things happen. The scope is much smaller than the first game, as there are no world-shattering events or illuminati-esque shadow organizations wanting to rule the world. And personally, I prefer the smaller scope because it made the story feel that much more personal for everyone involved. If you wanted a continuation of the first game's story, you will be sorely disappointed. The few threads that tie the game together make sense, but honestly DerQ2 could have been completely standalone, just set in the same universe.
As a result of the smaller scope, you will be mostly exploring the town and its surroundings, which again I find a welcome change from the original. The map design is much more coherent this time around and the areas you explore make sense within the context of the setting. But I do agree that it gets a bit same-y mostly running around through town streets at night. The forest, lake and rural area are a welcome break from the streets, but maybe they could have thrown in a cave or something, just for added variety.

I liked the game by the end when the plot starts to click (similar to how the first game went). That said, compared to the first game, the self-contained plot of this game is kind of lacking in comparison. There's a handful of quality of life changes made to the game systems that you'll either appreciate or hate.
This game leans less on the technology aspect and more onto the occult, and while it is an interesting change, this seems to clash with the battle system and Glitch Mode established in DERQ1 as part of the bugginess of that game's world. I'll give it a pass but they definitely could have explained it better in-universe.
It's worth a play if you went through the first, though that might end up a double-edged sword if you're expecting more of the same. I liked Arata's character as well as most of the Enigma cast from DERQ1, and while some do show up I wish they were more present in the game. Mai's character is great as well and I don't have an issue with the main 3 but the rest of the characters in the academy are hit and miss and make it hard to get invested in their stories.
All in all, this game left me more excited for a third game if they decide to pick up where it left off.

Ah, Compile Heart games, where do I even start with you? So let me get this out of the way. This game is NOT the typical funny hahaha kind of Compile Heart game. This game is dark from a storyline perspective, with some very adult themes. So let's get into this review. This game was played entirely on the Steam Deck as a verified title, I will say that the game would be fantastic if it were better optimized. The performance on the Deck ranged around a solid 35-40fps with high settings.
Pros
- Dark story - (This is the draw of the game, the exact opposite of what Compile Heart games typically are.)
- Battle System - (Glitch Mode, Knockback attacks, and customization of attack combos, so there is a bit of strategy.)
- Graphics - (The VN parts ,character portraits, are superbly done. The Boss monster design is unique, and a horror atmosphere are also well done.)
- Sound - (The voice acting is all solid, the soundtrack is great, and the opening song is one of the best I have heard in a Compile Heart game.)
- Short - ( About 15-20 hours a quick game by most JRPG standards.)
- Fan Service ( Enough said there.)
Cons
- Performance - (This is a general issue with Compile Heart games across the board. A beefer machines can brute force better performance, but given what the game is pushing from a graphically POV, the game needs better optimizations.)
- Fan Service - ( Not that so much that there is fan service, but most some of it does not fit thematically with the dark story)
- Characters - ( There are four main characters that the story focuses on, but there are other playable characters, that don't have much beyond just being party members. 1 or 2 of those main characters will either love them or hate them kind of characters as well.)
- Difficulty ( Easy is just blow through the game kind of easy not a challenge, so good if you like the story, but bad if you want to get into the gameplay.)
Overall, I enjoyed the time that I put into Death End Re; Quest 2. It was nice to have kind of a shorter JRPG to play. I also enjoyed the very dark and much more adult-oriented themes this game presented, it is a nice break from the usual Compile Heart formula of games. So I would recommend this game if you are looking for a shorter JRPG with a dark story.

Hello, In this review i will try to explain my theory about the game story, and my speculation regarding the general reason as to why this game is not well received by the player base
(Overall review is "Mixed" as of the time im writing this review with some of the reasons being confusing story, general lack of engaging plotline, bad optimization, and the seemingly lack of connection to the first game)
This will be a pretty long essay so, i hope you're okay with reading long blocks of text. But don't worry! i'll put a TL:DR and i hope you'll forgive any grammatical error and such since i will inevitably make some.
-First impression review- (Written 3 hours into the game)
Since everyone is talking about the performance already, im going to talk about the story instead.
Like the first installation of the series, the story is great. The atmosphere, the tension, the thriller, the setting, the mystery, are all woven together beautifully.
It managed to keep me glued to my screen throughout the whole intro, with the creepy atmosphere and the seemingly haunted town.
Im still in the very beginning of the game but i can tell that im probably going to enjoy this game very much.
If i have to point out the negative though, is that the English dub isnt complete. Some scenes are dubbed while some are dont, even though it is fully voiced in Japanese. But luckily you can change the voice language at any point of the game so, i'll just use the Jp voice for any scenes that the En dub didnt cover.
Oh and, Most of the reviews seem to complain about the games performance, but as far as my experience goes, it runs very well. It stayed at a stable 60fps throughout the exploration part of the game. Not to mention im using a very outdated system (Xeon X3450 with RX 570) and im playing at 1080p. So if my rig can run it smoothly, i dont really get why people would say they had a rough time running the game. Probably an old review of the game when it was still problematic. But as for me, i'll say its very well optimized.
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-Post game review- (After achieving "Bad" and "True" end. 1 hours into the NG+)
Here, i shall try to explain my reasoning as to why people doesn't like this sequel as much as its predecessor
! SPOILERS AHEAD !
Okay, so after finishing the game once, i can see why people seems to be not too interested with the story of this game.
You see, there's a lot of unanswered question in the ending(s) of the first game, and a lot of people expecting the sequel to answer those questions like who is Lydia actually?, what happened after the world fused together? Why is Shina a Luden now? And general "WTF Is going on!?" with the ending.
And with people expecting the sequel to answer those myriads of questions (Because honestly the ending for DERQ1 gives off more question than answers) but after playing DERQ 2 people find out that this game has so little to nothing to do with the first DERQ.
And the big change for the games theme might also be a factor.
DERQ1's conflicts revolves around Cyber Terrorism, Conscious AI, and general future tech stuff.
Whilst DERQ2's conflict is about Religious cult kidnapping childrens. And the place that the story takes place on has no technology at all (Takes place roughly on 1980s rural Europe)
In fact, i think DERQ2 has more in common with Resident Evil 4 than DERQ1.
Religious cult, Kidnapping, Strange 'lil village in the middle of nowhere in Europe, and an Agent from abroad coming to investigate about the strange happenings (Arata's reason for coming to Le Choara)
El Strain? More like El Illuminados >,>
Like what are they trying to do here? Make a brand new story with the only common thing of the series being violent deaths? (Well i think that would be a pretty cool idea.)
Its as if its a standalone story. Not having anything to do with the first game at all! Although they do explain some of the things that going on in DERQ1 in the NG+, but i really doubt people would want to play the game twice just to make a connection with the first one. Keep in mind, finishing this game takes roughly 20 hours, and just to see the connection to the first game would require you to replay through the game again. Which i understand why some people might not like the idea.
Granted that after you've beat the game once, you will be rewarded with an alternate opening featuring Lydia and the rest of the gang from DERQ 1.
Its as if the NG+ is DERQ 2 v.2.0
But this too feels like a scrapped project that they just recycle, because they probably initially planned DERQ 2 to be about Lydia, but maybe some creative clash happen in the discussion room or something, so they just go with a brand new story, But at the same time they don't think that the new cast could carry on the series so they make some lame excuse so the OG cast can have an appearance in this installment.
And in the process makes the appearance of the DERQ1 characters seems unreasonable to the point it might be better just not include them in the first place. Shina's and Arata's role could easily be played by an entirely new character. Since most of the dorm mates are just... Existing
Anyway, in the NG+ you'll get some tid bits of info that people actually want for the sequel. They actually explain stuff about Lydia's back story (And probably more. I haven't finished NG+ yet, but i expect more info about what happened in DERQ 1 to be explained in NG+)
But honestly, i wonder why they put these new scenes on the NG+ instead on NG. Because these extra stories don't really change anything about the base story. It feels as if they're putting these extra scenes as an excuse so theres something new in NG+ instead of expanding upon the ending.
Had they just add these scenes in NG, i believe players that are seeking answers for DERQ 1 would be far more willing to play the game.
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Now that i've explained my theory regarding peoples "Less than warm" reception towards the game, Now i shall point out the difference and the improvements they make...
There's a lot less Death Ends here (Only 6) but those Ends feels more terrifying than DERQ1.
Instead of just reading about the characters death which some honestly feels rather forced in DERQ1
Here those 6 Ends feels much more natural. And whilst theres only 6 Ends for the playable character, Your choices still dictates the fate of your friends. Some choices you make will result in your Dorm mates death thus locking you out of their interaction in the subsequent days.
Now then, lets talk about the new gameplay.
They removed Arata's Hacking skills like changing the games genre and summoning bosses.
Though this change makes sense since there's no tech wizard to modify the game.
Although they have Iris. She can make those modifications with some excuse since Mai can unexplainably summon the characters from DERQ1 anyway. I don't see why Iris couldn't "Hack" the battle arena at all, since she seems to be aware of whats happening even when Mai isn't actively fiddling with the laptop.
I think Iris is quite a wasted character here. Only there as a convenience rather as a plot device.
If you like the story of the first game, This isn't for you
If you want answers for the first game, Play the NG+
If you like the battle system for the first game, This one is simplified
I think they're trying to tie every mystery this series had in the finale, where players would be like "Ooh so thats what happened". That's why there's seems to be quite an abundance of "Unanswered mysteries" in the series, such as how did Mai summon the DERQ1 characters? Why is there's a field bugs? Doesn't this take place on reality? Why is there's even corruption and glitch mode?
I can honestly understand people's frustration with the game. By the time im writing this review, They already confirmed a spin off and the next numbered entry. I guess all that's left to do is to wait and see what happens next... Anyway thanks for reading.