Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm Review

Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm

Release: January 1, 1970
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Genres, Indie, Nintendo Switch Categories, Role-playing, Switch Reviews
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Oceanhorn is a series that’s very Zelda inspired. The first game was like a combination of A Link to the Past and the Wind Waker. And now there’s a second game and it looks like Wind Waker meets Skyward Sword. The first game was good, but can the second build upon that and be even better? Let’s take a look at Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm for the Nintendo Switch!

Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm is a prequel to the original Oceanhorn game. You do not have to have played the other game in order to enjoy this one. Much like a Zelda title, Oceanhorn 2 stands on its own. Its story isn’t great but a lot of Zelda games don’t have great stories either.

By the way, if the word Zelda comes up from time-to-time, there is a reason for that. These experiences feel very familiar, but as our Editor-in-Chief said when reviewing some quality Pokémon clone titles, legally copying a concept and gameplay idea is never a bad thing if you are borrowing from something great.

Like a Zelda game, you’ll be entering dungeons, finding keys, solving puzzles, fighting enemies and bosses, and more. The combat in Oceanhorn 2 is sure to (mostly) please fans of Zelda. And there is so much to discover in the dungeons and in the field. Look around every corner! However, there are some good and bad things that set Oceanhorn 2 apart from a Zelda game. As we noted earlier, when you do things like a beloved popular franchise, and you do them well, it goes well for you. When you don’t do them as well, it does become a talking point.

Let’s start with the good, however.. Oceanhorn 2 has a really awesome tool that players start with right away. The Caster Gun starts off as just a gun that shoots bullets and then quickly because a gun that shoots magic too: fire, ice, and lightning! The player will find ammo, normal and magical, in the field and will be able to buy it. The Caster Gun rules!

It is versatile too, as you will use the gun to beat enemies and solve puzzles. The other tools that you get in the game are great too, especially that grappling hook! It can be used on enemies and to reach far off places. Very handy, very Zelda-y, and very, very good!

We could talk about the good in Oceanhorn 2 forever, but eventually the bad has to be discussed and there are some not so good things we need to explore for a moment.

For instance, Oceanhorn 2 does not have a lock-on system like a Zelda game. This is not good because it means that you’ll find yourself having to adjust the camera a lot during combat. Like I said earlier, fans of Zelda will mostly be happy with the combat in this game. It really needs that lock-on targeting though, which is something that could eventually come by way of a patch!

Also, the main character in Oceanhorn 2 does not travel alone for the most part. A lot of the adventure has you traveling with two A.I. controlled allies. The player can direct them to where they want them to go for puzzles but do not control them. This might come down as a personal preference thing, but for me, I prefer to run it alone. And that is becasue the A.I. is this game is so dumb. Your allies won’t always go where you tell them to go, will take their time getting to places, and will often die in battle. The game would be so much better without them.

There are also vehicle sections of Oceanhorn 2 which at first glance are neat but its too bad that most of the vehicles move too slowly. There is no button to increase their speed either. Hopefully we’ll get an update that makes them faster or gives us a boost button.

Despite these problems, Oceanhorn 2 is still a really fun game, and most of what we nit-picked on could be updated via simple patches. The player character controls great, the puzzles are not too hard and you can muddle through the AI help parts, the exploration is incredible, and there’s so much to do!

The game also has really great graphics!

Oceanhorn 2 is a really beautiful game. I think that it looks as good as, or maybe better, than Skyward Sword. That’s saying a lot because Skyward Sword is a pretty amazing game in my opinion. That said, there are a couple graphical issues that keep Oceanhorn 2 from perfection graphics wise. There is not a lot of graphical variety when its comes to the enemies or the non-playable characters in the game. I even saw the main character’s face on an NPC! Whew.

Also Oceanhorn 2 has some framerate issues here and there and the occasional graphical glitches. None of these issues are major but they are noticeable when they happen. Those issues aside, Oceanhorn 2 is still a wonderful looking game.

The audio, unfortunately, is just OK. The voice acting in the game isn’t great but its not too awful. Oceanhorn 2’s music is a little bit better. It has some nice calming music, and it’s fun to stop and just listen to it at times. Its not as memorable as Zelda music but it works for the game. The sound effects are fine too.

Oceanhorn 2, overall, is a really great game. Is it perfect? No. Is it a ton of fun? Yes!

Oceanhorn 2 is just as good as, if not better than, the previous game in the series. There’s so much to like about this game. While it does have its flaws, the good far out weighs the bad. If you are looking for a new action adventure to play, then you should check out Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm for Nintendo Switch!

Thanks to Plan of Attack for providing a digital code for this review. Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm will be available on the Nintendo Switch on October 28th, 2020. Hey, thats today!

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