Review: Dusk Diver 2

destructoid.com:

Sometimes I just pick games on sight. It worked out for Metal Max Xeno Reborn, but it’s probably not the best policy to live by. So, Dusk Diver 2 sold me with its glowing hair. Why would you even want to play as one of the characters whose hair doesn’t glow? A radiant mane is always the superior choice.

Its aesthetic is striking in general, and its combat seemed entertaining in that Musou sort of way. Plus, it touts some RPG character-building to top it off. But looks aren’t everything, I realize. Sometimes you bite into a delicious-looking eclair and find out it’s filled with nothing. What you thought was going to be a delicious treat is just an empty promise.

Dusk Diver 2 (PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4 [reviewed])Developer: Wanin InternationalPublisher: Idea FactoryReleased: August 30, 2022 (Console), February 24, 2022 (PC)MSRP: $49.99

Dusk Diver 2 is the direct sequel to Dusk Diver. You get a primer at the beginning of the narrative, but it’s rather brief and doesn’t introduce who any of these characters are. The developers claim that you can dive straight into the sequel, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it. A lot of the world concepts aren’t explained, and the characters don’t present any compelling new reasons to care about them.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: you’re a college freshman, and you fight demons from another dimension. With your friends, don’t forget those. It also takes place in a real-world location: the Ximending district of Taipei.

The whole thing is so adjacent to Akiba’s Trip that they’re in a dispute over whose property the hedge is on. The combat is different, and Dusk Diver 2 doesn’t let you peel the clothes off your foes, but between running around a shopping district, beating up possessed