My first review in a while, this is another review of a game published by Idea Factory International, the last game I reviewed was Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 (PC version), and now, it's time for a review of Death end re;Quest 2, PS4 version. This is another M-rated game, so, if someone is thinking about playing this game, you have been warned, Death end re;Quest 2 isn't tame...let's begin.

Story: At least on par with the original game, Death end re;Quest 2 is another game best played with knowing as little as possible, the story is an important part of the game. The story begins with Mai Toyama talking about her lifestyle (almost like a narrator), her dad is drunk again (yes, really) and he threatens Mai Toyama with killing her, Mai Toyama then kills her father in self defense, and after going through counseling for 3 months, she arrives at Le Choara, an old town in the mountains where she'll live, as a new member of Wordsworth. It becomes apparent that Le Choara isn't a normal town, at night monsters roam the streets and strange things begin to happen in Le Choara, Mai Toyama arrives at Le Choara because she's looking for her sister, Sanae, apparently she was in Le Choara and there are records of her living in the town, and so, Mai Toyama starts looking for her sister, while she uncovers mysteries about Le Choara in the process. Throughout the story strange things happen in the game (a student suddenly going out in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, for example), and overall, the story is very engaging, even if the story goes to a lot of places and isn't always pleasant, Death end re;Quest 2 is a violent game just like the original game, and to be honest, the game made me feel nauseous once or twice, when they say that the game contains ''grotesque scenes'', they aren't kidding. Still, it's an engaging story with some twists (I didn't saw 2 things coming, at least), sad or moving moments (the game made me shed some tears), and funny moments, because why not? Funny moments are appreciated in a game like Death end re;Quest 2. So, yeah, in my opinion, a great story.

Graphics: When it comes to graphics, the game is on par with the original game, something like that. Death end re;Quest 2 also uses Orochi 4 and Mizuchi, just like the original game (not to mention other games developed by Compile Heart), and...I think it looks the same compared to the original game? Obviously the environments are different (for the most part), but overall, Death end re;Quest 2 looks a lot like the original game, of course, that's not a bad thing. The 3D models look great, The environments are more or less beautiful at times (the lake in a specific area...what a beautiful scene), and the 2D art by Kei Nanameda looks great, even if it's far from being my favorite art style. I think it's a game that looks great without being impressive, even for an anime style game, there are games that look even better than this, but I can't say that the game looks bad, and without any doubt, it's something like an 8 for this category...maybe games that use not only Orochi 4 but also Mizuchi tend to look nice at least, maybe not beautiful, but at least good enough to say ''the game looks nice''.

Sound: Putting aside the recycled music...the game has an enjoyable soundtrack, ''Do Souls Dream?'' is a catchy normal battle theme (I love the part with dubstep), ''Running Out Of Miracles'' is a good final boss theme, ''for EVEr'' is a piano song that, more than anything else, sounds sad or melancholic (at least in my opinion)...and more. That said, it's not the best soundtrack in a game developed by Compile Heart, and at times, the music is okay to be honest. What steals the show here is the sound and the dub, the game uses graphic sound effects to complement the violent scenes (just like the original game), and the English dub is excellent, the voice acting in Death end re;Quest 2 is very convincing and real for the most part, and the game has a great cast. Mai Toyama is voiced by Ryan Bartley, Shina Ninomiya is voiced by Kayli Mills (she reprises her role), Rotten Dollhart is voiced by Deneen Melody. It's a great cast as always, most characters have their original voices and the characters have fitting voices with great acting, the dub is better than the soundtrack itself in my opinion, and if it wasn't for the dub, this category would probably be a 7...

Addictive: The game isn't very different from the first game when it comes to gameplay, but there are a few differences. There is a bigger emphasis on the combat that vaguely resembles billiards and that's partially because you can't change the genre unlike the first game, which is something I don't like, the combat definitely works and it's a little enjoyable, but I really don't have a lot to say, I think that overall, Death end re;Quest 2 is slightly less enjoyable than the first game not only because of the differences in the combat, but also because it's more repetitive than the first game when it comes to maps or environments to explore, and the game can be very repetitive...because you are going through the same maps over and over again, sure, the game is less repetitive than Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 when it comes to the maps or dungeons, but it's not saying much, the original game has a better variety of areas to explore (and it has less of ''you have to go through this area again''). In any case, it's not a bad game and it's enjoyable to play more or less.

Depth: You can beat this game in about 32 hours or less (at most), and if you want to do or see everything, I'd say that at most, something like 60 hours should be enough, Death end re;Quest 2 is shorter than other turn-based RPGs...

Difficulty: At most, this category should be a 7 or something like that, but that's only because of the ''Hard'' difficulty, if you play the game on ''Normal'' or ''Easy'', the game is for the most part an easy game, I lost several times throughout the game, but it wasn't something extreme or frustrating, and of course, 3 of the times I got a game over were due to a bad ending if I remember well, yes, I was trying to avoid the bad endings, and by the way, there is the possibility that to get the True Ending, you need to avoid the bad endings, if you get every bad ending, there is the possibility that you won't see the true ending. I can't say for sure but yeah, it can't be a coincidence that I got the True Ending on my first try, without having to play the game a second time...the optional missions aren't related with getting the True Ending, unlike the first game...

It's not the best game in the genre, and in my opinion, even the first game is slightly better, but I can't say that this isn't a fun game to play, Death end re;Quest 2 is a game with a great story and enjoyable gameplay, it's better than the first game in a few areas, and maybe it's also worse in other aspects, I can recommend Death end re;Quest 2 if you are a fan of turn-based RPGs, if you are a fan of horror games, and also if you are a Compile Heart fan. Overall, the gameplay, the story, and the good soundtrack, make the game worth playing at least once, the funny moments in the game are also appreciated, and the game also has some fan service, because of course the game has fan service or suggestive content, even if it's less suggestive than other games published by IFI. So, yeah, I enjoyed my time with Death end re;Quest 2, but it's definitely a game that I can only recommend if it's cheap, especially if those labels don't suit you (in other words, you aren't a fan of turn-based RPGs and/or horror games, for example), and if you aren't interested...maybe you should buy another game.