Bulb Boy 2: Jar of Despair

[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/31067175///] If you enjoy this review please consider following my Curator page here. [/url] What an unlikely sequel! A few days shy of a decade between releases, Bulb Boy 2: Jar of Despair was a pleasant surprise to see pop up. Much like the first, Bulb Boy 2 is a breezy point-and-click adventure with minimal inventory management and puzzles that shouldn’t make you rack your brain too much save one or two that I found a bit odd. Given the nearly 10 years between releases, it’s no surprise that this sequel is better looking with a much more vibrant color palette and some more inventive one off gags. I personally enjoy the artistic direction as well, but I can see some people being adverse to some of the grosser imagery. I found it to be a good bit shorter than its predecessor - not a bad thing, but worth noting. There were some moments when the game asks quick movements or reactions by you which I think flies in the face of its slower-paced controls. Luckily, there are not many of these asks. Overall, I enjoyed my single-session time with Bulb Boy 2 and I do love a game that does not overstay its welcome. Hopefully the wait is much …

Not as good as the first one, for sure. The puzzles could do with clearer goals at some points. I also think there were many moments where a single mistake would undo some puzzle progress, somewhat punishing experimentation, especially since, when redoing things, you really notice how slow the game is. The final boss did break for me, where eventually I could not control the dog and finish the fight. The art is still amazing!

Not as fun as the first game. I stopped having fun after trying to solve a very unintuitive puzzle involving a cinco de mayo skeleton and some bugs....

Quite a unique point and click game, both the vibes and the art style. Loved the first one, loved this one. It has character. Well thought achievements and interactions.

Bulb Boy 2: Jar of Despair is the sequel to the 2015 point-and-click horror adventure, sending the bulb-headed hero to the basement for a jar of jam. The errand spirals into a fight against sticky jelly creatures, with sections controlling the dog and briefly the grandfather. The art style has clearly improved over the first game, and the sequel adds controller support and colour beyond the original's green palette. The gross-out horror is toned down, giving the adventure a lighter feel. The sausage-body transformation is the standout mechanic, letting Bulb Boy stretch and shrink to solve platforming puzzles. Absurdist logic shines through solutions such as a sock fetching water, celebrated with genuine surprise. A shooting mini-game in the mould of House of the Dead is fun once the mouse takes over, though the cursor moves slowly and cannot be adjusted. The two-character finale demands split attention, with an enemy attack lacking any cooldown between strikes. Obtuse point-and-click logic is the main friction, with very few interactable objects making answers harder to find. The dog-and-flea section is the big stumper, requiring a solution the game never hints at. The pronoun…

It has the same great sureal grotesque horror but I think the plot and general atmosphere was better in the previous title. The artstyle is still as good but I felt the lighting in particular was much better in the first game. The puzzle design is still engaging; again similar to the first title its mostly a traditional point and click with inventory based puzzles but it does have moments where it feels like those amanita style games where you just need to click everything in the right sequence. There is also a boss battle which was tricky enough if your reaction speeds aren't what they used to be but thankfully the game saves after each bit of progression so you can brute force it eventually. Arguably maybe a bit on the short side but then again doesn't over stay its welcome. Overall on its own its a very decent game but I don't think it quite reaches the mantle of the previous title.