Dusk Diver 2 is the sequel to WANIN Games’ 2019 anime action brawler that followed Yang Yumo’s battle with the Chaos Beasts.
Set a year after the events of the first game, Yumo is now a full-time student but is still suffering the effects of her previous battle.
With the help of Megrez, Yumo manages to regain control of her power once again.
Soon after this Chaos Beast begins to reappear in Youshanding, thrusting Yumo and the other Kunlunian Guardians into battle once again.
Dusk Diver 2 is an action-packed follow-up that not only introduces a new cast of characters but massively expands the lore and world.
The new additions are great, but where Dusk Diver 2 really shines is in how it explores the game's core characters by delving more into their backgrounds.
Fans of the first game will really appreciate the number of extra details that the developers have included in this sequel.
However, newcomers to the series will find it hard to jump in and play Dusk Diver 2 as there are major callbacks to jokes, events or characters from the first game.
Dusk Diver 2 utilises the same punchy anime aesthetic from the previous game, filled with brazen attacks and flashy particle effects.
Character models are very much identical to the ones in the first game, bar some costume changes.
It may have only been a year in the game's timeline but I would’ve loved to have seen some updated designs. However, players will be able to heavily customise the appearance of members in their party which makes up for it.
It is also great to see characters like Leo, Bahet and Le Viada join the action and have been well designed to fit the game's colour aesthetic, especially during combat.
However, the locations don’t fully reach the same standard featuring several repetitive elements, a lot of what we had seen in the previous game.
The enemies also suffer from the same issue as the majority of Chaos beast feature the same designs that make their encounters very repetitive.
Dusk Diver 2 is a dazzling game but there are a lot of reused models from the previous game that leaves a lot to be desired.
Dusk Diver 2 is available on a few different consoles, and there are noticeable performance differences. The Playstation 5 version targets 60FPS and looks like a thing of beauty with the slick flashy combat flowing smoothly on the screen.
I generally think this is the best way to enjoy the game as I never experienced any issues with loading or frame drops.
The Nintendo Switch version is an obvious choice for those who want to take it on the go, but the console does struggle to maintain its target 30FPS.
Combat ran smoothly for the most part but everything began to stutter during the exploration segments of the game.
It was a constant issue that kept occurring, making traversing Ximending more of a chore than it needed to be.
Dusk Diver 2’s gaming loop is split between exploration and combat. The majority of the game's main missions will revolve around Yumo going to a certain location and jumping into the interdimensional rip to do battle.
There is some backtracking where players can access new areas and complete certain newly accessible missions.
The game also throws in a slew of side quests that will let players not only gain great stat bonuses but learn more about each of the characters.
There are many more locations this time around but exploration is still a little limited with only a few puzzles and hidden secrets.
Dusk Diver 2 truly shines in combat and the developers have really fleshed the game out granting a plethora of new strategic options.
The first major addition is the ability to switch between four playable characters at any given time during battle.
Each of these characters has vastly different combos and abilities. Leo is slow but has strong attacks whilst Bahet can execute quick combos with his scythe.
Each character is extremely different and caters to various playstyles. Members of your party will still back the main character up during battle and players will be able to dictate their attack style.
Dusk Diver 2 has greatly improved the strategic option available to players by including four distinct characters.
Combat has also been streamlined giving each character access to several attacks and skills that can be easily chained into each other.
The game also gives the four heroes access to a Burst transformation and an ultimate attack.
These are the core elements of combat, however, there’s so much more to master which includes cooldowns, break strikes, critical strikes, counters and more.
This emphasis on combat grants Dusk Diver 2 a very high skill ceiling with several strategic options if players are willing to master it.
Each stage will be filled with hordes of monsters, but there isn't a huge variation of them and other than the bosses, the game constantly reuses the Chaos Beast.
The enemies have lacklustre attack patterns with their element affinity being the only standout feature.
Battles can also feel drawn out as each opponent has a huge life bar that takes longer than it should to defeat certain enemies.
Even in the latter stages of the game they still take some time to kill, which wouldn’t be a massive issue if they had fun attack patterns to strategise against.
Dusk Diver 2 features RPG-level customisation allowing players to create distinctive builds of each character.
This extends to the look of each character with the game featuring a lot of collectable gear to equip.
Customising characters is one of the best features in the game. Players have full authority over so many different elements that make up their character.
Verdict 3/ 5
Dusk Diver 2 is a nice follow-up to its predecessor, with the enhanced combat and detailed customisation elevating the original experience.
But at the same time, the game does struggle in areas that fans would’ve expected to have been improved upon from the original.
But Dusk Diver 2 serves as a great expansion on the series’ world and lore that fans will simply adore.
Dusk Diver 2 is out on 30 August for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Windows
