Shadow Corridor 2 雨ノ四葩

The sequel brought a lot of new playstyles and features that the first game did not have, but suffers similar problems from the first game. The levels are much more diverse with each one having its signature monsters and others that carry over into the lower levels. The introduction of karuta cards is a great and welcome new feature to the franchize that adds new various effects, items, and abilties that can help your future corridor runs, or even change item effects to empower you. the pros of this game is that it excells at being a random generated labarynth survival horror, while the first game may have been random in level design, the specific rooms needed for secrets or magatamas were made with a tileset. This was generally fine flaw, as it provided level stability and detailed areas. The second game embraces the randomizer to the fullest, as each time I play the game, the level feels absolutely unrecognizable each time you play. The generation in the sequel feel smore polished than the first. the levels also tend to have windows that lead to a skybox, dont trust the windows. these are decievingly effective usage to confuse the player, as the window may have a hallway behind it. and fun fact, the deeper the levels you go and see those windows, the higher you are. Another feature that is impressive is that each level is unique in adding debuffs to hinder your exploration. From spawning enemies, to changing the dungeon's rules. Compared to the first game, it rewarded you for kokeshi completion and completing levels on progressively harder difficulty to unlock starting items, easter egg items, and level effects. in the sequel, the game remembers how many overall magatama you collect and can be traded for karuta cards which unlock new various playstyles that the first game restricted to items only and not statistics, passives, item buffs/combos. The first game was pure survival horror, what you find in the level is what you get. In the new game, interactable objects cacn give you souls, which can fuel items you obtain, or can be traded at hotaruya for new items. This place is a lifesaver on higher difficulties while the first game punished you for using items subpar. If you dont want to use hotaruya, you can turn off music in settings, which in turn makes the game even more scary. The cons are that despite the new monsters, some old too if you buy the dlc, they have audio-loops which can be really irritating after 40+ hours of gameplay, or being pinned in a location because there are too many apparitions around. The sound effects or much diverse than the first game, but are still repetitive. I greatly appreciate the concept of a 3rd release of shadow corridor, but the monsters really need to have various audio tracks to keep them unique. Compared to the first game, the crying woman was particularly irritating when moving or suspecting the player is near. Multiple monsters in the sequel have the same problem but have longer, more various noises that are an improvement. A couple of monsters in the new game are reskins of monsters from the last game, though not bad on itself, made it feel easy to avoid most of them from the start. I really would have liked more variance in apparitions the higher difficulty you play on, and instead of reskinned monsters, bring back the ones from the past with better graphics, and focus on new ones that are exclusive on higher difficulties or levels. I have unlocked the 100 coffee bean drink, but the perk explanation is bizzare and I've never managed to activate it, yet at least. To be fair, SpaceOnigiri games is an indie company, and I can only begin to comprehend the difficulty of making a game single handed, but considering the limitations, it is an impressive overhaul compared to the first and I would recommend this game more than the first for its variation and ease of access to new and old players. In closing, I absolutely reccomend this game if you are a fan of Japanese aesthetics, labarynth horror, and are looking for a spooky, but welcoming game. Shador corridor is one of the few horror games that feels equally comforting as it is scary. If you are willing to forgive its indie limitations and see the game for its essence rather than its looks, it is an experience that will make you keep playing. I plan to 100% the game and the first, but its not easy. If there was a shadow corridor 3, I hope they get a larger development team to really give it their all. I've loved this game franchize since it launched, and I plan to stay tuned if there is anymore dlc or sequels. I hope that if a third game is released, it combines what made the first and second game amazing; from items, monsters, level design, everything. Or maybe new monsters that have more distinct abilities and ways to get around them. I hope if there is dlc or a third game, they add even more levels, even if its legacy levels from the past games. I understand thats an overly-ambitious request but I think SpaceOnigiri games can do it. I have faith in them.