Developed by Urchin Games and originally released in 2015, Greed 2: Forbidden Experiments is yet another title brough from the not-so-distant past by HH-Games.
Contrary to what the main plot depicts at the store page, this is not the second part of the previous Greed game (which we reviewed), in fact, it’s a completely different story, that shares nothing in common with its original.
Julia doesn’t remember much about her sister Sophia, her memories are somewhat blurry, and after the kidnapping, things were never the same. Her parents never stop looking for Sophia, but there weren’t any clues, and time took a toll on everyone. The nightmares still hunt Julia, but not as much as a strange call from someone begging her to save her sister Sophia. Unrelentingly, but filled with hope, she embarks on a trip to save her Sister, not entirely sure of what awaits at her destiny!
We play as Julia, as she reaches a laboratory facility, ready to save her sister, but reality is a lot worse than she anticipated. A small group called the Oracles of Doom are responsible for kidnapping Sophia, and kept her alive to perform experiments, with the intent of achieving the perfect DNA. Julia will have to find a way to bring her sister's memories back, while stopping the infamous group from reaching their goals.
Although the story is not related to the first game, it’s still enjoyable and pleasant. The narrative could have been better developed, in order to emphasize on the characters, or at least the main one. The storyline feels slightly rushed, but overall it’s good enough, with well placed events and a solid main mystery!
The most noticeable aspect regarding Greed 2: Forbidden Experiments, is the short play time, with just 2 hours. The reason behind this, is probably due to the improvements made from the first game. Gameplay has more variety, but the difficulty has been greatly reduced making the whole flow of the game faster.
Hidden Object Scenes are presented in two different sets, one classic and another one where instead of the names, players gather objects by looking at their shapes in the menu. Each scene has a second phase, but for these, objects are reset, which means that objects gathered previously will still be present when you go back for a second search. The presentation is good, and items are well placed and deliver a simple and casual hunt.
Alongside this adventure, Julia will be able to discover collectibles, that do not unlock any special feature, but are just cool to collect! The puzzles are also a part of the game, and this time they are definitely easier. Mini-Games are partially just simplistic and traditional puzzles that we’ve seen dozens of times, but are still enjoyable for a casual time, or, perfect for newcomers to the genre.
As visuals go, we have a complete new wave of art direction. Greed 2: Forbidden Experiments replaces 3D render inspiration used in the first chapter, for a 2D handmade artwork. Objects are distinct, good looking and with a nice style. Each location is well drawn, and pleasant to look at. The first scene is still rendered, but after that, it’s entirely hand drawn. Cutscenes are scarce, but fully 3D in CGI, with a simplistic approach, but taking in consideration the amount of characters, it’s more than enough.
Performance wise, it’s been a jump in the right way, with a base resolution of 1366x768, and when using Widescreen Adjuster, it fixes the resolution for 16:9 screens, with a perfect upscale for 1920x1080. Higher resolutions will decrease the whole quality since the game uses PNG files as backgrounds. There aren’t many in-game options available, but Vsync is enabled which is convenient.
Greed 2: Forbidden Experiments isn’t the sequel we all were expecting, but it’s still an interesting adventure that may or may not serve as a conceptual plot device for the third, and last game, Greed 3: Old Enemies Returning. Perfect for newcomers of beginners that are yet learning their ways into the genre, this game is highly recommended for anyone looking for a casual adventure, with a simple but interesting story.