Amanda The Adventurer 2 – Review
Only very recently we played Amanda The Adventurer, a creepy horror game about a set of cursed video tapes depicting a children’s cartoon. The story ends on a cliffhanger, with our brave protagonist only scratching the surface of why the tapes became the way they are. Amanda the Adventurer 2 came out recently, and thus the story continues. Once again we must find and watch tapes to uncover secrets while solving puzzles. But this time, Amanda might be a bit more aware of what’s going on, and she’s not exactly happy.
Story
Amanda The Adventurer 2 picks up exactly where the previous game left off. We once again play as Riley, a young woman who found a set of tapes in her aunt’s attic after inheriting the house when that aunt suddenly passed. At the end of the first game, a monster emerged from the TV and almost killed Riley, but she managed to escape and encountered a masked stranger who might have more info on what’s happening. At the start of this game, the stranger takes Riley to the public library of Kensdale, where more tapes showing the cursed cartoon can be found. Amanda, the main character who seems eager to break the fourth wall and ask Riley for help freeing her, is more aware now that she’s stuck in a show. And she’s not asking nicely anymore. Riley can discover the dark secrets behind this cartoon’s production and even her aunt’s death by making the right choices.
Graphics
Compared to the first game, which came out about a year ago now, the graphics only got a slight update. The stilted, uncanny nature of the animations is part of the charm, but the content of the videotapes does look a little more professional, with more profound attention to detail. Backgrounds are less flat and overall the game offers a smoother experience with less loading in the middle of tapes. Aside from that, little was changed and we still adore the glitchy effects this game throws at us without giving us a headache. The jumpscares are not overdone and work effectively. Compared to the attic from the first game, we now have an entire library to explore, so it was clear some of the increased budget went into designing a larger environment.
Sound
Once again the utmost compliments should be given to the voice cast, who really do an outstanding job. Combined with the sound design in terms of distortion and creepy sound effects, Amanda The Adventurer 2 is a huge step up from its predecessor. You do not want to be playing this game in a dark room alone with headphones on, because you certainly will start to think you’re hearing things. Or maybe those are the perfect circumstances under which to play this game? The soundtrack is pretty limited, aside from the creepy theme music for the cartoon there isn’t a lot of music.
Gameplay
Amanda The Adventurer 2 takes on a very similar formula as the first one since it is also a horror game with a focus on puzzles and various choices leading to different outcomes. When watching a tape, Amanda will directly engage with you, asking questions that you can answer by clicking on items on the screen or by directly typing in your response. While there are straightforward correct answers, there are also numerous occasions where giving different answers can lead to secrets or even new scares. To uncover new tapes, you need to solve puzzles around the library.
Since the library is a much bigger environment to explore, you have more options to stray off the beaten path and do your own thing, though you’ll always need to do the specific puzzle to progress into the next tape. For avid explorers, secrets are plentiful in this game, and Amanda The Adventurer 2 has a different ending depending on if you bother digging deeper for those secrets. The true ending, where all mysteries are uncovered, can only be acquired by those who find the secret tapes. While this means there are not as many routes as in the first game, this sequel is also significantly longer.
The puzzles themselves are tedious and sometimes we would have liked the clues to be a little clearer. We personally found that the puzzles later in the game were easier than those at the start, which is a bit of a strange development. However, looking for secrets was still fun enough and we realize this game tries to focus on the scary atmosphere and the story it’s telling, more than the gameplay.
Conclusion
Overall, we’d dare say that Amanda The Adventurer 2 is a notable improvement on the first Amanda The Adventurer game, while making proper use of the tropes, visual effects, and sound design that made the first game scary to begin with. While it’s sad that we didn’t enjoy the puzzles as much in this game, finding out what exactly happened to Amanda was more than worth it. So we’re looking forward to whatever this developer cooks up next.
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