Evoland 2
A time-traveling RPG that shifts genres and graphical styles.
Evoland 2: A Slight Case of Spacetime Continuum Disorder is a role-playing game from 2015, made and published by Shiro Games. It follows up on the 2013 title Evoland, and similarly borrows from many different video games, often switching to other genres and play styles during its story. The game first came out for Microsoft Windows in August 2015. (The two games were later bundled as Evoland: Legendary Edition, which launched on home consoles and Linux in February 2019.)
In gameplay, this sequel changes its visual style as the player moves through time, and reveals different ways to play as the story progresses. The plot revolves around time travel, with various gameplay styles tied to the narrative and the player’s choices, paying homage to older games that inspired the developers. The story is more central here than in the first game.
You control Kuro, a boy with amnesia found by a girl named Fina. Together they travel, meeting characters like the demon prince Menos and researcher Velvet, with the aim of stopping the world’s destruction and the end of time. Using relics called Magiliths, Kuro’s party can jump between four time periods: the present day, a past war, a dystopian future, and the era of an ancient civilization. Each period has its own graphical style, such as Game Boy, 8-bit, 16-bit, or 3D graphics. By altering events in the past, players can change history and affect the future.
Combat is mostly real-time and top-down, similar to The Legend of Zelda. Defeating enemies gives Kuro experience points to level up and increase stats, plus Glis currency for buying items and equipment. Kuro’s basic attack is a sword swing, but he can charge it to summon a party member for a special ability: Fina creates a strong wind blast, Menos does a flaming ground slam, and Velvet fires ice shards. These abilities work in combat and for solving puzzles. Later, the player gets a boat and an airship to reach more areas of the overworld.
At set story points, the game shifts to other genres, including a side-scrolling platformer, a match-three puzzle game, a turn-based RPG, a vertical-scrolling shooter, and a fighting game. Players can also find hidden items like Orikon Ore to forge better equipment for Kuro, Maana to upgrade other party members, and stars as bonus collectibles.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Evoland 2
- Developer
- Shiro Games · Playdigious (iOS, Android)
- Publisher
- Shiro Games
- Director
- Nicolas Cannasse
- Programmer
- Nicolas Cannasse · Bernard Stouls · Philippe Renouil
- Composer
- Camille Schoell
- Artist
- Jeremy Vitry · Etienne Makowski · Anais Maamar · Lucile Lacoste
- Writer
- Nicolas Cannasse · Sébastien Vidal
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux
- Genre
- Action Adventure, RPG
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Evoland 2 is the sequel to the original Evoland, with its graphics style similarly changing as the player travels through time and its varied gameplay styles being revealed as the player moves along the storyline. The scenario is based on time travel and different gameplay styles that are linked to the story and the player's actions. These gameplay styles pay homage to older games that inspired the developers. The game also features a stronger emphasis on narrative than the first. The player controls Kuro, an amnesiac boy who is found by a girl named Fina. The two travel together and meet different characters, including the demon prince Menos and researcher Velvet, with the ultimate goal of preventing the world's destruction and the end of time itself. Using relics known as Magiliths, Kuro and his party can travel between four different time periods, including the present day, a past war, a dystopian future, and the era of an ancient civilization. Each historical setting is rendered in its own graphical art style, including Game Boy graphics, 8-bit graphics, 16-bit graphics and 3D graphics. By jumping through time, players can change events in the past to alter history and affect the world in the future.
Reader's Guide
Evoland 2 is significant as a sequel that expanded on the concept of its predecessor by integrating graphical and genre shifts into a time-travel narrative. The game received generally positive critical reception, with aggregate site Metacritic giving the game an average rating of 74 out of 100 for Microsoft Windows and 76 out of 100 for iOS. Reviewers praised the game for its extended campaign compared to its predecessor, and for its use of references to other video games. RPGamer stated 'Evoland 2 came up with a good way of integrating its graphical changes into the narrative, and succeeds at being a full-fledged game that shifts between the eras of RPGs.' However, some have also criticized the game for relying too heavily on nostalgia. Evoland 2 was awarded the Innovation Award at 2015's European Indie Game Days. The game and its predecessor were later packaged together as Evoland: Legendary Edition and released for home consoles and Linux in February 2019.
Did You Know?
- The game features four distinct graphical art styles: Game Boy, 8-bit, 16-bit, and 3D.
- The protagonist Kuro is an amnesiac boy found by a girl named Fina.
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