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The Book of Unwritten Tales 2

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I finished the game. I felt the ending might have been a bit rushed but the game was really large (22h according to Steam) so not really a big problem.

Last big zone was gorgeous with some good puzzles, game strikes a good balance of medium difficulty puzzles, not obstuse nor presenting the aswer immediately. One of the best traditional comedy/adventure I remember playing.
I hope it does well for King Arts, game deserves it with its ambition and what it manages to achieve.

About the humour tone, I think its definitely Discworld-like, not satire but fantasy with references and self-awareness and also with some serious moments.

     

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Iznogood - 20 February 2015 08:38 AM

[
Because of a bug I actually heard the original German voice acting for Ivo in one of the dialogues, and it actually surprised me a bit because I thought that it was nowhere near as good as the English voice for her, so that could also explain why the most positive reviews are for the English release.


Speaking of which, aren’t the digital releases multi-language? Mine has been ever since the Steam Early Access, and the English voices sound really pleasant, agreed. I think in an interview with one of the devs prior to the release of the original game he admitted the voice work of the English translation to be actually superior to the original German one (the game originally was released in Germany two years earlier), though I’m not familiar with the English-speaking cast. What strikes a chord with many Germans is that the cast is a very prominent one down to the smallest roles. Germany has a professional dubbing industry, and such Germans get to hear voices they’re familiar with often from an early age, with many dubbing, audio book and drama legends having signed up to the project. Naturally, this is advertised as such typically, in this case too. For Germans Wilbur sounds like Ben Stiller, Ivo like Angelina Jolie, and Marlon Brando, Steve Buscemi, George Clooney, Sheldon Cooper, Roseanne Barr, SpongeBob SquarePants and Steve Urkel are all aboard the Mary as well. Quite a cast for such a game, no? Grin

In a game as dialogue heavy as this voice over quality is naturally very imporant. And naturally none of this would matter much if the game and script would be totally drag in either localization. Luckily this one’s rather good. :-)

 

     
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samIamsad - 20 February 2015 09:46 PM

Speaking of which, aren’t the digital releases multi-language?

You are right, it is, I hadn’t actually noticed that before.

I have just finished the last chapter, clocking in a total of 30 hours, which makes it one of the largest Adventure games in a long time.

I will perhaps write a bit more about it later, all I will say for now is that it is a brilliant game and my final verdict is 4.5/5 stars.

     

You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ

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Wow, it’s nice to see The Adventure Company logo again! And the fact that the sequel in modern gaming days is worthy of a successful original is an astonishing one - the game is getting an unanimous praise!

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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I’m honestly a little disappointed none of the “big” sites have put out a review yet. None of the English-language ones any way.

There’ll be one coming, right?

     

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I think reviewing this may take some time for some—by adventure gaming standards this is an enormous game. Grin Overall there’s lots of reviews out there though.

Iznogood - 22 February 2015 12:53 PM

I have just finished the last chapter, clocking in a total of 30 hours, which makes it one of the largest Adventure games in a long time.

I will perhaps write a bit more about it later, all I will say for now is that it is a brilliant game and my final verdict is 4.5/5 stars.


I’m way over the 20 hours mark too and have just arrived at the last chapter. It’s already been mentioned on the last page by wilco I see, but my my my, that’s a pretty good way to set up the final part of a game. Grin I think in an interview it was argued that originally BouT was conceptualized as a pretty straightforward WOW parody, but it’s obvious it’s outgrown that luckily—the game would work without all the self-awareness and cross-referencing. Whilst the characters may not be overly complex and are obviously linked to Fantasy and SciFi archetypes themselves, it’s nice to see such a game that cares about the characters as much as the jokes. Smile

Iznogood - 13 November 2014 02:51 PM

And I have to say this game is just getting funnier and funnier, especially the whole Small Gods part had me laughing out loud.

Doh, I haven’t read the novel, thus completely missed this (shame on me!) and thought it was all about an underlying message or two hidden concerning the state of (comedy) adventure gaming actually. It’s not that far-fetched though is it? The God’s of story, humor and riddles all left to rot, their temples being deserted—and God of story getting into an argument with God of riddles about the value of just progressing the damn plot rather than getting Wilbur stumped on another damn riddle before he’s being granted the right to advance, which was the more obvious one anyway. Grin

 

 

     

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Just got my Kickstarter box, and it just left the biggest smile on my face. Still grinning now. No, it’s not exactly the sturdiest of boxes, but it sure is pretty. And big. Really, really big. Absolutely love it.

Full marks to KingArt on the timeliness of it too. They’ve done an outstanding job with this project all round. I am reading quite a few problems with bugs, but I’ve yet to replay much of it (just the start, up to Ivo) so not sure on this matter. Otherwise, though, it’s been just the best Kickstarter ever.

And I’m still disappointed it hasn’t gotten more coverage from bigger outlets. Frown

     
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samIamsad - 22 February 2015 06:31 PM

Doh, I haven’t read the novel, thus completely missed this (shame on me!) and thought it was all about an underlying message or two hidden concerning the state of (comedy) adventure gaming actually. It’s not that far-fetched though is it? The God’s of story, humor and riddles all left to rot, their temples being deserted—and God of story getting into an argument with God of riddles about the value of just progressing the damn plot rather than getting Wilbur stumped on another damn riddle before he’s being granted the right to advance, which was the more obvious one anyway. Grin

He he, I never thought of that myself, but you are right, it is not far-fetched at all. though you forgot to mention the god of art, also left to rot with the rest.

Another thing I also liked about this part, is that there are 4 gods and 4 quests, but he only has to complete 3 of them, and we get to chose which ones ourself. Not something you see that often.

A.A - 25 February 2015 03:48 AM

I am reading quite a few problems with bugs, but I’ve yet to replay much of it (just the start, up to Ivo) so not sure on this matter.

The individual chapters on Steam-early-access had quite a few bugs, but they should all have been fixed now, and I didn’t encounter any major bugs myself in the last chapter.

     

You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ

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Iznogood - 25 February 2015 04:53 AM
A.A - 25 February 2015 03:48 AM

I am reading quite a few problems with bugs, but I’ve yet to replay much of it (just the start, up to Ivo) so not sure on this matter.

The individual chapters on Steam-early-access had quite a few bugs, but they should all have been fixed now, and I didn’t encounter any major bugs myself in the last chapter.

I had some problems with the audio in the final chapter, nothing special and they are already pushing some updates. Chapter 4 waas the most problematic for me during early access but I think they already corrected the major bugs for the final release.

     

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hm so… i dont know if im going crazy or what, but pre-final-patch i dont remember having any issues, and now im having some frequent mouse unresponsiveness.. like i randomly have to click a couple of times to get a reaction. Hm.

     

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hmm performance issues seem to have to gone away, weird.
Anyway!
This game deserves piles of awards, if for no other reason than: its a kickstarter that delivered almost exactly when it stated it would during the funding campaign (ok, they delayed by less than a month). But this is still a rare feat that most devs are incapable of actually laying out accurate good estimates.
And i know they had outside funding, and its not without some bugs, but it looks fantastic and the amount of quality content is huuuge.
Three cheers for BoUT2!!

     

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In fairness, as pointed out, this wasn’t really a Kickstarter game. The game was already publisher funded and ready to roll when the Kickstarter kicked off. The additional kickstarter money was all about extras, such as better graphics tech, optional sidequests and the score being performed by a professional orchestra rather than synthesizers (as mostly the case due to budget reasons).

That said, arguably the worst thing about for instance the Broken Age story as the most prominent of Kickstarters is that it went so over-budget that there’s a possibilty you won’t get to see anything like it from them again (little doubt that not few agreed to sign up to the project in the hopes to convince Tim that adventure games were still viable—the entire first pitch video’s message was about that in parts). It’s obviously still viable, but whether it is viable at such budgets remains be seen. Even accounting for the fact that game making is more expensive in the US: we’re talking 3.3 million dollars for half of Broken Age vs. maybe 500.000 Euros for the entirety of Book Of Unwritten Tales 2 (according to the devs, back during the first game, the average budget of an adventure game was about 350.000 Euros). Naturally, Broken Age went over-budget to ensure it’s quality was as good as can, and the game’s not finished yet. On the plus-side, Broken Sword 5 was a success, but it also was a sequel to a classic in its own ways, seeing nostalgia support by a range of people who have memories of playing this on their original PSX for which it sold well (despite playing clunky on controllers) as well as hardcore point&click; aficionados.

Iznogood - 25 February 2015 04:53 AM

Another thing I also liked about this part, is that there are 4 gods and 4 quests, but he only has to complete 3 of them, and we get to chose which ones ourself. Not something you see that often.

And completing them all regardless the game gives you a bonus item. Smile Speaking about references, Chapter 5.

Did you understand what the picture of the man on the right in the Sleepy Hollow meets Stephen King’s IT shapeshifter cavern underneath the evil and vile looking tree was refering to?! There was also the man’s first name attached to it, Claus, but I couldn’t figure that one out. The other drawings refer to IT and jaws, certainly, but the man?

 

     
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Didn’t like the first one too much, but I checked out some (a lot of) gameplay footage from BoUT2, especially because that projection mapping is really intriguing in a good way. My thoughts, without having played it: awesome graphics, good voice acting! On the less stelar side of things, it’s weird how some actions that should really have sound effects to feel truly cinematic…don’t. That sticks out especially since the music is so amazingly good.

The one part my opinion really seems to clash with the majority’s is the humor. Now, granted, that’s all very subjective, but I see BoUT2 coming nowhere close to the best in the genre. I think I watched 3 hours of gameplay today (stuck at work with no computer, just a tablet) and didn’t crack a smile once. I could be the odd duck though Smile

     

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I laughed plenty, but I’m not sure when you didn’t care for the first game, why you would then bother with its sequel? Pretty as it may be, it shares the same comic sensibility as its predecessor and if that one didn’t do it for you, I’m surprised you would bother with this one. Anyway, a pity, as personally I rank these games right alongside the Discworld’s and Monkey Island in terms of humour.

But nice to see I’m not the one in the minority for a change.Wink

Also, question- when is the AG review coming for this? Hope its not too far away…

     
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Well, I mainly checked it out because I’m a game artist and it’s my job and sworn duty to check out anything that’s pretty and moves on screens and is point-and-clicky Laughing Visually, at least, it’s a huge, huge step up from its predecessor. I still say the characters could’ve been a little more cartoony (especially the elf chick) - they tread that fine line between realistic and cartoon that’s a close cousin to the uncanny valley stuff.

     

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