3/5 ★ – WightnNerdy's review of Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm.

The original Oceanhorn—first released on the iPad way back in 2013, then re-released on other consoles throughout the next few years—isn't a particularly great game, but it was cool to see another developer's take on a Zelda-style action/adventure game on a smaller budget. Oceanhorn 2 on the other hand is a much more ambitious game. Not only is the game played entirely in 3rd-person, but the story and cutscenes are far more cinematic, featuring grand set-pieces and full voice acting. The question then becomes, does the increased production value and beautiful art equal a stronger overall experience? It's definitely commendable for what developer Cornfox & Bros. have managed to do here, but I can't say that Oceanhorn 2 is any better than the original despite its increased ambition. The first time I noticed something was off was with the combat, which is basically right at the start of the game. There's no real lock-on system, the roll/dodge is slow and laggy, and even once you unlock the shield later on it doesn't feel responsive enough. There's also a gun you can aim and shoot that was fairly fun to use but ammo is scarce most of the time. The general movement feels fine, but once you agro any type enemy it kind of just falls apart. Luckily the game isn't difficult enough for the lacklustre combat to become a huge issue, but it's just not very engaging. Oceanhorn 2's world is much more expansive than the original game, but the bigger environments never feel particularly justified. There are a few sections where you're literally just running from point A to point B with nothing in between you and your goal except a long swathe of empty land and a handful of foes. The game does feature tighter, more constrained areas that are much more fun to explore, but general lack of direction can be troublesome. This was especially annoying in some of the game's dungeon-like sections where I couldn't figure out what do until I found the solution completely by accident—it took me way too long to figure out you could set barrels on fire, for example. Oceanhorn 2 is a much more ambitious game than its predecessor, but the game's increased production value doesn't equal a better game. Like the original Oceanhorn, it's just fine.