Return to Mysterious Island 2 Review
09.21.2022
Who said the adventure genre was dead? The PC industry is certainly enjoying a great influx of titles in that department, one of the latest ones being Return to Mysterious Island 2. The game leaves off where the previous left, adding some twists to the story, and presents the player with some even more challenging and deep puzzles to go through, while at the same time unveiling an intriguing story moving the whole plot.
Gameplay
RTMI 2 doesn't play much differently from other adventure games – its mechanics revolve mostly around a point and click system, where you have to explore various parts of the levels, find items, and figure out where those items go and which ones can be combined, etc.
At the beginning of the game, you're presented with a short cutscene which explains what happened after the first one finished – those of you who've played the original Return to Mysterious Island probably remember that in the end, the main protagonist left off in a helicopter.
Well, it turns out that the helicopter was shot down shortly after, and not by any actual enemies but rather by the island's volcano – so you inadvertently find yourself at the same place, trying to escape from it yet again. Another twist to the story is related to the volcano's eruption – you'll now be tasked with trying to save the island's residents as well as freeing yourself from it.
Graphics and System Requirements
The graphics are executed well, though in some places you may spot a noticeable lack of detail, be it in a lower-resolution texture or poorly-detailed model. The main characters are modeled nicely on the other hand, each having its own unique charm and looks, and the monkey may look especially attractive to the younger players of the game. The island is designed very meticulously, with small pieces of details revealing the odd bit of information about it little by little.
It's an adventure game, so you shouldn't expect any slowdowns or framerate-related problems – quite the contrary, it handles its graphics nicely, from rendering the more massive scenes in the outside areas of the island, to drawing the indoor areas with great realism. It doesn't require a modern-day computer to handle it well – you should actually be able to run it on a medium-class notebook and still get satisfying results.
Other
Some of the puzzles may come off as a bit hard, and you won't be alone in that impression – many players have shared frustration over how difficult it is to get past certain areas, and you'll probably be forced to resort to a walkthrough every now and then, especially if you're not familiar with the adventure genre in general. We didn't have problems finishing the game to the end though, so rest assured that it's not impossible.
Conclusion
The good old days of pixelated 2D adventure games are over for sure – so we should enjoy what we have left. And Return to Mysterious Island 2 is a decent continuation of the adventure genre, despite its slight bugs and flaws.