LifeisXbox’s Re:Turn 2 – Runaway review |
Camping. Just grab a tent, some food, survival tools, maybe a handful of friends and set off into the wilderness. A good time should be had by all, right! Right? Well, not exactly if you’re a videogame protagonist. And even less so if you’re a supporting character. Then your odds of survival might be equivalent to a redshirt about to be beamed off a Starfleet ship. Well, it’s exactly what got Saki and her friends in the pickle they find themselves in right now. The camping, not the sci-fi teleportation. After an already long night, our protagonist Saki was about to make like a tree and leave these haunted woods and broken down train behind. Sadly, the evils that be seem to have other plans for tonight. This is why I hate camping.
Re:Turn 2 – Runaway was developed and published by Red Ego Games. We have also reviewed the original Re:Turn, which you can read by clicking here.
Most Memorable Moment
This isn’t really a moment, rather it’s something that would occur anytime I got chased by something wanting to permanently add me to the past tense. There are certain areas you will not be chased to, but your pursuer will be waiting close by outside. So ensued the game of cat and mouse of repeatedly popping in and out of my hidey-hole to see if it was still nearby. I was streaming it to some friends who proposed adding the Yakety sax to whenever such a sequence happened. It took a while to regain my composure after that comment, to say the least.
ℹ️ Reviewed on PC | Review code provided by PR/publisher, this review is the personal opinion from the writer.
What we Liked!
- Gameplay and Story | In Re:Turn 2 – Runaway you play as Saki, the young woman who went camping with her fiancĂ© and friends but ended up getting very little camping done. Right as she thinks she managed to escape from the abandoned train in the woods with her fiancĂ© Sen, he starts acting really weird and violent. He seemingly would rather stay on the train with the dark forces that be than get out with his and his beloveds life. The night is still far from over if Saki wants to leave there alive. In Re:Turn 2 you’ll follow largely the same kind of gameplay as its predecessor. You’ll explore a 2D environment, gathering notes; clues and items all the while you either hide from or confront the evil lurking in the shadows head on. Items you gather and combine will open up new areas of the train and surrounding areas and progress the psychological horror story that unfolds before Saki’s eyes. With your trusty flashlight you can see a little further ahead, but be careful to not attract the monster’s attention. Not too far in you will get a special lens that will help you see hidden messages and items. This got me to do a thorough sweep of any area it was usable in for hidden clues. And you should find as many as you can, since it will most certainly help you reach a better outcome than what I originally thought was the solution to escaping alive.
- Graphics | Just like its predecessor, Re:Turn 2 – Runaway uses a pixel art style for their characters and world, with hand-drawn portraits for conversations. A large chunk of the time you’ll hardly get to see a lot of it since you spend most of it in the dark. You can use your trusty flashlight to illuminate a small distance in front of you or you can move in darkness and adjust your eyes to the darkness. There are some better lit chapters of Re:turn 2 where you’re treated to some more vibrant colours. Animations are smooth and full of life. Doesn’t matter whether you’re watching Saki run for her life or the monster that despawns after losing her when she managed to avoid it. The portraits also manage to convey the right emotions and body language within their limited amount of variations. I also want to mention that some of the faces get some good use out of certain, comic book-like, effects. A small example of this are the dark rings around Sen’s eyes, which pretty much immediately told me he’s under some dark influence.
- Audio | While a creepy or mysterious monster and dark, forlorn settings are important, equally essential to a good horror experience is good sound design. Re:Turn 2 knows this and makes sure to accompany you with eerie instrumental sections, howling winds, pounding rain and lots of heightened audible tension when you’re spotted by an unfriendly character. There are also a good amount of ambient sounds that can make you second guess yourself. One of the things I got quite adept at rather quickly was whether something else was moving in the room. If you listen closely you should be able to make out if you’re alone in a room or not. One thing I did miss a bit was that there were no real moments where there was silence. This is really only a minor point of improvement, but I’m sure there are a handful of times it could have made things just that bit scarier.
- Voice acting | The people over at Red Ego made the decision to have Re:Turn 2 fully voice acted, and it’s a very welcome one which paid off massively in my opinion. It is said that 55% of communicating is body language, 38% is vocal and 7% are the words you utter. The voice actors all did a tremendous job of breathing life into the game that’s very much about dead things. You can really hear that everyone involved had a lot of fun recording, letting their emotions run wild. This really conveyed Saki’s fear and disgust and gave you goosebumps when wrong or uncanny things were said. Sometimes they might’ve gone slightly over the top, which got me to laugh a couple of times during this grim game.
- Good Kitty | There’s a cat in Re:Turn 2 – Runaway, and you interact with it a lot more than just giving it some scritches. Obviously, you can also give it plenty of scritches in return for some very content purrs. It will even actively be part of the story at one point. Good kitty.
Mixed Feelings
- Just a small hint | It’s no secret that horror games often bring a healthy amount of puzzles and looking around for clues to solve them. Hidden away in object descriptions, environmental clues or sometimes even told to you through dialogue they can make you feel like a real detective. Re: Turn 2 – Runaway is no different in this regard. However, there were times during my run when I went through dialogue a bit too quickly or had to brute force my way through certain puzzles due to missing a clue. So while this is just a small gripe, a system to give players a clue when they don’t progress for a while or die repeatedly might be a nice addition for future games.
- Out before dawn | Much to the benefit of Saki, Re:Turn 2 is over rather quickly, probably lasting most players somewhere around the 4 to 5 hours. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, but seeing as I only played the second half of the story which begins with Re:Turn One Way Trip it left me wanting for more. I am convinced however that this issue will disappear if you play both games in order.
What we Disliked
I had no strong dislikes playing Re:Turn 2 – Runaway.
How long to beat the story | 4-5 hours.
How long to unlock all achievements | 5 hours.
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Hey there. Thomas is the name, Sci-fi, action and (J)RPG’s are the game. I strongly prefer co-op over PVP games. Whenever possible, you may find me run wild at a convention in western Europe. Certified anime enjoyer.
