You and your sister (Reynold and Wren) must stop a future that has no Halloween – one in which candy and is ruled by the evil Dr. Orel White who wants to get rid of Halloween forever. Costume Quest 2 is an action/role playing title that is more on the light RPG (Role Playing Game) side.
General Gameplay
You play as up to three characters that are using the costumes that they get during the game. The costumes give them fighting abilities as you go through the story. It is a turn-based RPG that requires you to push the correct button to get more damage or other traits (no spoilers here) during encounters.
Audio
The game does not have any spoken dialogue for the characters except for the gibberish that is said during cut scenes. During the game, depending on where you are within the game world, the music will change to match the settings. There is also in-game encounter music, but to be honest, it was not that noticeable. If anything, that audio is mostly just background music. The game does support 5.1 surround sound, and sounds well when using a headset; parents, please monitor your gamer’s usage of a headset for extended gaming sessions.
Visuals
Costume Quest 2 has a more childlike style of graphics to the game. The game is meant to be more appealing to younger gamers and the graphic style is designed as such. Characters are detailed in their design and everything is very high-contrast and vibrant enough to be seen on screen. From the detail of the game’s background to details in the children’s costumes, it is easy to follow the game visually. The game does not have any type of mature visuals or anything that would be offensive to any younger gamers in your gaming family. Costume Quest 2 does not support any type of colorblind mode, but the game’s colors are done well enough so that there is no need for one.
Controls
With any type of RPG, the controls can be very simple – down to just one button stroke or very complicated in its design; the designers of this game went with more of a simple approach. With the left thumb stick to move the characters, and some basic buttons to control both the non-battle and battle action, Costume Quest 2 is very easy to pick up and play. As an action/RPG there are some OTE (Quick Time Events) in which you have to push the button at the right time to get an extra boost in an attack and for some other things, but they are very easy to do and are explained later in the game. Also, the menus are important. Costume Quest 2 does a great job of keeping the menus easy to navigate for the gamer. The game does not require any type of special of controller, so parents, you should be ok with the regular controller for the console on which you’re playing Costume Quest 2.
“If you have never played a RPG before, Costume Quest 2 is the game to get your RPG boots wet with.”
Delivery
Costume Quest 2 is a game that is great for people who are not familiar with the RPG-type of games, and for those who want a light RPG that they do not want to invest 40+ hours into. It is a great game for those who want to have all of the elements of a traditional RPG but without the time investments. It is a charming game that is funny and easy to pick up and play. The charming characters and story are easy to follow and understand when playing the game. We will cover more about whether it is a good fit for your digital library on our Family Friendly section.
Family Friendly
An interesting thing is that when it comes to RPG games, they are either very time consuming or they are too hard to follow for most; Costume Quest 2 it is a great way for you or someone in your gaming family to break into the RPG gaming genre. The game is more of a light RPG than anything else, but the best part of the game is that it is a fun game for anyone to play. The game is not too long (around 8-10 hours) and it’s very easy to follow the game’s story. Also, this is a great game for both children and adults alike as it is very light-hearted and funny. In our play testing we did not run into any issues with the game itself nor any problems with controls or difficulty whatsoever. Also, the game is very special needs-friendly as it’s very easy to pick up and play. During our special needs game testing, we found that Costume Quest 2 is one of the games that is very easy for people with special needs to play. One of our general complaints about the game is that we were hoping that the game was longer, but after playing the game, we found that the length of the game is fine for newer gamers who are not used to RPG type of games (or those who simply don’t want to commit to a 40 to 100-hour length of game). We highly recommend this game for parents and children alike to play as this is a very family-friendly, funny and all-around enjoyable game.
Closing
Costume Quest 2 is a fun, charming and sometimes-hilarious game to have in your digital library. It is fun for both seasoned and new RPG gamers with its easy pick-up-and-play approach.
