For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Postknight 2 on my iPhone 14 Pro. i haven't played the original Postknight game, but it is available on the iOS App store. i was a little concerned whether this game would assume i had played the original and not give much context for what's happening.
In a way, i think i was right. But it could also be a result of the game's tutorial being lacking and the difficulty being so much higher than you'd expect for the start of the game. My character died a few times in this first hour! If this was the first game or a standalone game, my instinct would be that the game is a little unbalanced at the start and the tutorial isn't thorough enough. But as this is a sequel, i do have to wonder if the game makes some assumptions about the players knowledge about the world and how things work.
The game makes a great first impression. graphically everything's nice and colorful and clear. the character creator is also simple and every change appears on your character instantly. then, after some introductions, the game asks if i'm familiar with Postknights. i thought this was the game checking if i had played the first game or not. so i said i wasn't familiar. But i don't think it made much difference. i never felt that the game did extra world building or that the tutorial more in-depth. it almost felt like that option wasn't working as intended, or what my interpretation of such a question must be different to those of the developers.
There were quite a few little things like that throughout the first hour with Postknight 2 that added up enough to outweigh the positives of the game. it is charmingly cute, with a good soundtrack, and a combat mechanic that's great for mobile phones. the screen is used well and buttons are often nice and big. it's clear a lot of thought has gone into this game and it is noticed. But for me, someone who hasn't played the first game, the contrast between the good parts and where it's lacking was stark and frustrating. a classic example, for this series, is how i was able to get into menus for things that the game hadn't introduced, hadn't tutorialized, and that i couldn't actually use.
There are enough positives where i can recommend people try it. if you watch the video, understand the shortcomings, but really want to try it, i'd say go and download it. But, on the other hand, if you watch the video and think the shortcomings would be an issue then i'd say you're probably right and should try something else.
(Version 1.9.3 Played)