The first chapter had left us with a particular feeling, with a lighter heart and at the same time swollen with a unique melancholy. Unravel Two was revealed and published on the same evening during the conference of Electronic Arts at E3 2018, and just as we were surprised by his sudden arrival, just as much surprise came when we realized that the Swedish team of Cooldwood Interactive managed to give birth to another jewel. Yarny's platform adventure also in this case maintains a layered structure, all linked to a single "central" place from which to start them. The old family home full of evocative memories is replaced by an old lighthouse, “the place from which we choose our way”. Biggest and most welcome addition from the first images, the possibility of play in two-player cooperative.
Once upon a time there were two boys
However, it would be a big mistake to reduce the differences between the two games only to this one: Unravel Two not only presents itself with a touching new story to live, but sees the game philosophy and the modus operandi totally renewed. Although the action patterns of the single woolen man are kept intact and firm, the gameplay is totally transformed thanks to the presence of a second little man: this companion, which we will have available from the tutorial, will be indispensable to solve practically all of the environmental puzzles that the game confronts us. Li where the red thread of the first game had a symbolic meaning, in the case of Unravel Two it becomes synonymous with bond, of how only united can we face all adversities. The two puppets will be indissolubly joined by a single thread, and if necessary we can even make them become one. Parallel to what we will experience with pad, on screen we will accompany the story of two boys, told with scenes as usual in the form of vaporous holograms (this time dynamic). We will live an adventure that this time has a chronological order, in which the two boys will find themselves faced with more particular situations. Each new level is a new story, a new story, a part of their life.
Skill and wit
The presence of a second character then goes on to be the key to everything: many of the puzzles will in fact require a double action for the solution, such as one of the two men holding the thread while the second is swinging, or their simultaneous presence in two different places to activate an event, or so on. The real essence, without the need to explain it, is released in all its genuineness playing in multiplayer, with the request for a certain synergy and synergy with our playmate. Don't worry, even alone the experience that the Coldwood Interactive title gives us is very respectable.
The difficulty of the puzzles that Unravel Two offers us is slightly higher than those proposed during the first chapter, even if the average challenge of the title is not prohibitive at all. To make you increase the level of expletives, however, there are some secondary activities available both to increase the longevity of the game, and to test you: these are medals and achievements to be achieved in the levels of the story (for example by finishing the level within certain limits of time) and the evergreen collection of collectibles. The length of the title is unfortunately not exaggerated, and in this he inherits one of the biggest flaws of his predecessor. The developers have partially remedied this with additional activities.
Whenever we unlock an additional area of the lighthouse, the game will also offer us some alternative areas where to deal with optional challenges: it is about the structure of the biggest novelty, with the possibility of playing them when we want without affecting the continuation of the main plot. In short, the classic "secondary missions" consist of very small scenarios where you can solve environmental riddles, but also where our reflexes and our skills will be put to the test. Yes, the difficulty of these challenges is in some cases higher, and much, compared to what we are served in history. What is our reward if we face them? New friends! At the end of each scenario we will free other stuffed puppets like us, but different in features, which will make us earn new ones elements of personalization.
A love letter
Exact. Another addition that the Swedish team has made to the brand is the customization of the cute characters of the game, of which we will be able change the color, but also the shape of the head and dress, giving the appearances we like best. With them, even the in-game knots, threads and everything else will resume the pigmentation we have chosen for our protagonists, giving that little bit of extra involvement that never hurts. The outline of colors and settings are as we remembered them, underlining the purity of the landscapes that the Swedish territory is able to offer, alternating it with gray and dark atmospheres based on the narrated moments. Even the inclusion of these undefined dark figures as enemies, it emphasizes how unknown dangers are always around the corner. The various scenes and places, combined with the soundtrack that incorporates the style of the one we already knew, highlight all the best feelings that the team tries to convey with their video game, paradoxically risking falling into the cliché of the "already seen". Don't worry, it is only a comma that the very good technical realization, combined with everything else, will overshadow.
