Defender's Quest 2: Mists of Ruin

This was the long-awaited sequel to a beloved tower-defense classic... that was basically nothing like the original. First of all, the look changed a lot, especially for the characters in the cutscenes, and I would say it was for the worse. Sure they looked different and more diverse, but art style and design also made them somewhat ugly. In the game itself, the characters looked fine. The story had no link whatsoever to the previous game, not even the same world, but it was good, and I liked the idea of the two different rival crews. However, it did split the focus and probably hurt character attachment. There was also a lot of in-world lore with weird terms so points for originality despite the confusion, but the last part also became a bit too obtuse for my taste. They removed the ability to have more than one unit of the same type with customized colors and names. We were now limited to party members, so from two to three usually. That's very few "towers" to place on the map and much less strategic possibilities, which is a shame even though it made more sense story wise. However, the characters could be levelled up in different ways, outside the tower-defense action, and that…

I quite liked it. Bit weaker then the predecessor tho.

Pretty much in all aspects, this game is of lesser quality then the first. It's an "ok" game, and is interesting enough for a single playthrough, but just do casual for most the battles, and change the accessibility to 300% experience.

I enjoyed this a lot! I liked being able to turn up or down xp to adjust difficulty, I like the writing and characters and the gameplay was a lot of fun! I had enjoyed the first game and was shocked and happy to find a second one had come out!

[b]Great art. Memorable characters. Fun story. Fun game. Totally worth buying for an enjoyable ~15 hour journey.[/b] I am a huge fan of the original Defender's Quest. I have logged more than 200 hours into that game and unlocked 198 of 201 gold stars in NewGame+, playing with only one of each character class. Defender's Quest 2 is also good. The art is gorgeous. I really love the character designs. The music is fantastic. I bought the soundtrack. The characters are unique, interesting, and memorable. I love having a cyberpunk shooter. Cordellia is hilarious. Each of the characters felt distinct and there are many memorable lines. The writing was surprisingly touching. I laughed a lot. I also cried! It is very skillfully done. It really feels like a worthwhile, spiritual successor very much in the alignment and style of the first game. I imagine that's not easy to do, but it was well done. [h2]Character details[/h2] Mechanically several of the new character abilities felt good. [spoiler]Ketter's[/spoiler] ability to teleport between two squares that you choose is a really cool mechanic, and gives you lots of opportunity to think and plan. Having [spoiler]Ultimate…

Just finished this earlier - Ignore the playtime, steamdeck doesn't properly track it. To anyone reading the other reviews here, yes, there are valid criticisms. The story doesn't hook quite like DQ1 did. There are less equipment options, more of a straight train of upgrades. There aren't any sidequests - the progression is a straight line through the stages and the story. The art isn't quite as charming as the first entry. And yet... The gameplay is still top-notch if you love TD - if you're playing on normal difficulty, there are stages you almost certainly won't get through without retrying a few times, tweaking your talent builds and changing up your layouts. The characters are fun in their own ways (except the last four, the parasites, felt a bit placeholder-y) and have their various niches, and combine really well with some others. The story is....good, honestly. It's not deeply fleshed out with detail at points, but the dialogue between characters is fun, and sweet, and sad, and uplifting. The game is a work of dedication, and love and sacrifice, and it shows. If you're wanting a step up from the first, maybe manage your expectations a bit, but overall this w…