Teslagrad 2 Review (PS5) – It’s time again to fling the body electric across strange environments as Rain Games returns to the world of Teslagrad with Teslagrad 2. Find out if this sequel has even more spark than the original in PlayStation Universe’s PS5 review.
Teslagrad 2 Review (PS5) – Dazzling Metroidvania Sequel Doesn’t Have The Original Electricity
The jump small developers can make between iterations of their hit games is one of the few places left in gaming where you really notice the shift from Game 1 to Game 2.
The ever-changing technology, consistently getting more accessible for a broader range of developers and with that comes greater heights to be reached. Mechanically and visually.
Rain Games’ Teslagrad 2 is a fine example of that in one sense. You’d barely believe this game and its predecessor were the same series if not for the distinctive Tesla-tech in it.
On just a visual level alone it’s a remarkable upgrade, one that still manages to keep charm and artistic merit at the heart of its design.
In this sequel, a young Teslamancer named Lumina finds herself stranded in a dangerous remote place after her airship crashes. This Scandinavian isle may hold the key to getting home for Lumina.
And she will have to embark on a daring journey up the gargantuan tower that looms large over the land to get there.
The opening scene where Lumina’s airship is dropped from the sky does a fantastic job of showcasing Teslagrad 2’s gorgeous hand-drawn visuals. The animation for character movement is exquisite.
The way clouds drift past the nosediving airship. The way the lightning in the sky crackles, and the way Lumina struggles to stay upright. It’s very effective at dropping the player into this brave new world both literally and figuratively.
Down To Earth
As with the original Teslagrad, what follows is a Metroidvania adventure full of puzzles tied to the manipulation of electricity. Teslagrad 2 stretches its legs a bit and dips its toes in some fresh waters puzzle-wise.
But this still feels like a Teslagrad sequel. A fact that is both a source of comfort and disappointment.
For all the technical improvements present upfront in Teslagrad 2, it’s somehow a step back as a game. Yes, it has new features and abilities, the scale is undeniably bigger.
Yet it has a fairly brief playtime, and it doesn’t exactly make the most of that time to stand out in a sub-genre that has evolved massively in the time since the first Teslagrad launched.
If it was just a prettier version of Teslagrad that wouldn’t be a terrible way to package it. Unfortunately it’s sloppier on a mechanical level. The game begins with a double dose of chase sequences that combine platforming, puzzling, and the use of emerging abilities.
It tries to fit too much into the first 30 minutes and ends up stunting the pacing as the game’s ambiguous nature trips you up repeatedly. The little information it does give you, both in terms of puzzle solving and unfurling the story, is anemic.
Perhaps Rain Games struggled to marry what worked before with a larger scope? That may be the case, but it’s not just competing with its own original creation. It’s up against the standouts of recent times. Games such as Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, and Metroid Dread.
Quick As Lightning
I did like that the game was attempting to create an urgency to the story and the playing of it. When it works, the speed of Teslagrad 2 makes the original seem almost like a turn-based game.
It may take an annoying amount of time to get to grips with certain mechanics, but once you crack that and see Lumina in full flow there’s a glimpse at the game Teslagrad 2 could have been.
Juggling the use of abilities is where the game falls down most of all. This is largely down to how loose control of Lumina can be in certain instances. Trying to hit a ‘sweet spot’ whilst being pursued or getting through time-sensitive segments results in plenty of unnecessary death.
I don’t believe it’s actually the case, but there are moments of ambiguity to Teslagrad 2 that are so unnecessarily vague you’d swear Rain Games was purposefully padding the already light playtime.
Needs A Charge
At the heart of Teslagrad 2 is a game conflicted. It may have been a braver decision to eschew a lot more of what the original Teslagrad was in order to rectify the pace and urgency Rain Games is clearly going for in the sequel.
I can see how that might have put off fans of the original and made Teslagrad 2 seem lesser somehow. Yet by compromising, it has arguably become lesser in this way instead.
Teslagrad 2 is now available on PS5 and PS4.
Review code kindly provided by the publisher.