La-Mulana 2

If you believe you're ready to take the plunge on a journey that just might end you, La-Mulana 2 is highly recommended. Just be sure to look out for false tablets…and don't stand still too often…oh, definitely listen when the game tells you to stop reading.

The original La-Mulana was a masterpiece in its own right, but we’d contend that it’s been edged out by the sequel.

La-Mulana 2 is an excellent sequel to the original masterpiece. The combat is still just as satisfying as before, the puzzles aren’t nearly as cryptic but are still fun to solve, and the adventure is a fun one overall! My only real gripe is that it does have a slow start, unlike the first game, since it tries to ease the player in before opening up to the same sort of glorious open-ended exploration that made the first game magnificent, yet it’s still a great adventure with lots of different ways to replay it.

La-Mulana 2 ranks as one of the greatest metroidvanias ever made.

La-Mulana 2 builds on its predecessor's legacy and improves on nearly every aspect, the result being a Metroidvania-type of game with a very demanding difficulty level but also a very rewarding experience. With a visual environment that brings back memories of the 16-bit era, a marvelous soundtrack and a more detailed plot, La-Mulana 2 may not appeal to those who did not enjoy the original but anyone else will easily be all over it quickly enough.

Overall, La Mulana 2 is a great successor to La Mulana, much to both my joy and chagrin. With gameplay improvements that don't make me still want to throw something out the window and more reasonable puzzles, to harder platforming, enemies, and enough instant death traps to make me flip a table, La Mulana 2 really didn't trade out any of the difficulty, just shifted it. I can't express just how great this game is to play, especially for those looking for a bit of nostalgia for those tough as nails old-school games.

With La – Mulana 2 its simple: if you liked the first game buy this one. La – Mulana 2 will challenge you in many ways across an adventure which will take you easily over 30 hours. You will laugh, and probably cry (on boss fights). You’ll get lost, but that feeling when everything just falls into place and you manage to progress just a little further is a great feeling. The developers clearly put a lot of effort into crafting La – Mulana 2. I say take on the challenge if you dare.

I still enjoyed this game for the way it offered some youthful nostalgia. It delivers a definite challenge. But LA-MULANA 2 is cut from the same cloth and does very little that's different from the first. While that doesn't make the game bad, it does make it frustrating.

For players who enjoy complexity and depth, there’s an ocean of possibility here which makes any other Metroidvania look like a puddle by comparison.

But let me serve as a cautionary tale for those who want other things out of video games. If this game is for you, then it is absolutely incredible. Sadly, with its high difficulty and demandingly complex puzzles, it is most certainly not for me.