Blackguards 2 starts with a moment of confusion as gamers find themselves in control of a woman thrown in a dungeon, with apparently no chance of escaping, as forces hostile to her conquer the world and then drop a basilisk in the same underground location as her.
This serves as a sort of tutorial for the title, designed to make sure that players understand the core mechanics of the action role-playing game series and its turn-based battle system.
The old gang of Takate, Zurbaran and Naurim gets reunited, and with new member Cassia, they start a new adventure, which for the first actual full battle means running away from enemies rather than facing them head on.
Blackguards 2 seems more focused on making the battlefield into a puzzle, with players only able to be successful if they manage to understand how they need to use the environment in order to take out enemies or put themselves in a favorable position.
Each character needs to carefully plot his moves around the battlefield in order to make sure that he does not remain exposed, while also placing himself in a position on the hex grid where he can deliver a lot of damage to enemies.
Between battles, characters need to be equipped with better weapons, and the overland map also offers different paths to take, each of them with its own set of challenges and objectives.
Blackguards 2 delivers both positives and negatives
The complex levelling up system from the first title is still present, allowing gamers to choose exactly how they want their character to evolve as he gains experience, with a lot of potential options that might seem a little overwhelming at first.
The experience looks good and the levels are bigger than before and with plenty more avenues for exploration, but the story, despite having an interesting tonality, still feels murky and relies on knowledge of the previous game a little too much.
Blackguards 2 is not too different from the first experience created using the Dark Eye fantasy universe and it can offer some very cool tactical moments, but before launch the development team needs to deliver at least some new features that fans can fall in love with.
Take a look at the video and the gallery attached to this article in order to get a better idea of how Blackguards 2 presents itself and plays out, but keep in mind the fact that changes can still be made before the 1.0 version of the title is out.
