Full review of the spy caper sequel I Expect You To Die 2 from Schell Games on PSVR.
IEYTD 2 from Schell Games sees us returning to the spy-based, escape room antics of the first game but was creating a successful follow-up destined to be mission impossible? Let’s find out.
Firstly, thanks to the developer for providing me with a review key for the game but as always the opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
The first IEYTD game released back in 2016 is considered by many, including myself, to be a must-have title for PSVR. I remember it being among the first games I bought and it instantly became a favourite of mine back then, and remains so to this day. I was excited when a sequel was announced and couldn’t wait to give this a go. What I can say is that jumping into this sequel is immediately like meeting up with an old friend who you haven’t seen for ages, albeit an old friend who would slip poison into your drink or push you into a pit of spikes as soon as your back was turned.
Without wanting to give too much away, the story sees you reprising the role of Agent Phoenix from the first game, working for The Agency and trying to save the world from the evil Zoraxis organisation and their nefarious schemes.
Gameplay consists of completing a series of challenging missions, each of which has you entering fixed scenes/environments which are essentially self-contained escape rooms. You need to examine your surroundings and work out what needs to be done, with audible and visual clues along the way. Although you’re mostly glued to the spot, each mission tends to introduce new mechanics, puzzles and interactions to keep things interesting. As the title might lead you to expect, there are a multitude of ways to die on each level and lots of devious traps to watch out for. Trial and error is a big part of the game, and if you do die it’ll require you to start the stage from scratch, although there are minimal load times and in most cases it’s quite quick for you to repeat your steps to get back to where you were before you made your fatal mistake. Part of the fun is also experimenting with the different items and devices and you’ll occasionally be rewarded for thinking outside of the box. Each level also has a hidden award to be found and a series of optional side-tasks which add to the longer-term replayability. Occasionally you may run into moments where it’s not immediately clear what you need to do to proceed but usually a bit of lateral thinking or further exploration will get you back on the right path.
Graphics are great. Sitting somewhere between cartoony and realistic, each stage is vibrant and nicely stylized and everything looks sharp and easy on the eye. There are also some nice animations and effects throughout, the rain and lightning during a stormy flight, or dust falling from the rafters of a wine cellar as people walk overhead being just a couple of examples, and there’s some atmospheric use of light and shadow when you’re relying on torchlight.
The sound, music and voice acting is fantastic. The voice of your handler is played perfectly by the same person as in the first game who, as before, offers up mission briefings and advice along with little quips here and there. New to this instalment is the celebrity voice of Will Wheaton, playing the role of famous actor John Juniper, who suitably plays it up as the egotistical star of the piece. The general sound design is really good, with the various clicks and whirs as you interact with things and the background ambience really setting the scene for each level. Music is also on point whether it’s at the forefront or being subtly integrated in the background such as playing on a radio within the environment.
I have to give a special mention to the intro sequence. This was also a highlight of the first game, with its bombastic Bond-style opening, and the sequel doesn’t disappoint in this aspect. The intro once again has an incredibly catchy (and hilarious), crooner-style theme song, and propels you through a series of stylish credit sequence animations that really set the scene of starring in your very own spy action thriller.
Control requires the use of two Move controllers with an easy to learn control scheme that involves grabbing or interacting things close to you or using your telekinesis power to pick up and interact with things out of your immediate reach. The game is best played seated although on occasion you might benefit from standing up briefly to peer over the top of some items of scenery, but the game does a good job of highlighting objects that may have slipped out of direct view. There’s not much in the way of comfort options as the game doesn’t really need them due to its mostly static nature and seated gameplay.
My only real concern with the game would be that it’s possibly on the short side, featuring only six missions, although your first play through will certainly be padded out by the amount of trial and error and brainstorming that you’ll have to do. Most of the fun is in the first few plays as you discover how to beat the puzzles, but there is some replayability in trying out new things, trying to achieve special side-tasks in each mission or trying to achieve best times in the speed-run challenges.
You could also argue that it’s effectively just more of the same as the first game, although personally I’m more than happy for that to be the case and feel it does introduce enough new mechanics to keep things fresh.
Although nothing is yet confirmed, it’s worth remembering that the original game actually received some additional levels in the form of free DLC after launch, so Never Say Never Again, and maybe we’ll see more of Agent Phoenix sooner than we think.
I had a great time playing IEYTD 2 and it was everything I’d hoped for in a sequel. Its well-written characters and storyline really immerse you into a shadowy spy caper, and it presents a fun, polished experience with some great puzzle solving along the way. I’ll be adding this straight on to my list of recommended games for new PSVR owners, along with the original, and it’s absolutely worth the £20 asking price. Although some may say You Only Live Twice, I really hope we can look forward to more entries in the series in future so we get the chance to Die Another Day.
