The first title on Saw came as a bolt from the blue and was received warmly enough despite some of its obvious flaws, primarily the unwieldy combat system. Now, Zombie Studios and Konami bring us the sequel to the video game based on the LionsGate film saga. We are talking about Saw II: Flesh & Blood! After the all in all sufficient and enjoyable adventure of the first episode nWe do not expect anything but improvements for this sequel which, with such a setting, could really become an icon of survival horror!
Let's get to the point and let's analyze everything this title has to offer: with the hope that it is not a mere transposition film-video game for commercial purposes, but something much more inspired !!
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
Saw II: Flesh & Blood catapults us from the first seconds of the game into the claustrophobic and terrifying atmospheres of the tremendous instruments of death (some would say redemption) to which the Saw saga has now accustomed us. Those who expected a sequel to the nightmare experienced by agent Tapp in the first video game, will find themselves in front of an new character: Campbell, a drug addict who has fallen victim to the path of enlightenment studied to perfection by our Jigsaw! However, after the first few minutes of the game we will realize that the real protagonist of the game is none other than Michael Tapp, the now disappeared son David. Unfortunately, Michael also falls victim to the perverse game of the Riddler, and once imprisoned, he is assigned a very specific task: to investigate the disappearance and past work of his father David, eventually discovering the truth!
All this obviously immersed in the claustrophobic and dark game environments, filled with ex convicts thrown in prison by Tapp senior in search of revenge and prisoners of the Riddler victims of infernal machinery that Michael will have to deactivate in time by solving complicated puzzles.
Michael's choices and behavior during his captivity / investigation will be relevant as the game features multiple endings: our choices during the game phases can lead to two different endings, which will then be linked to the now forgotten Campbell of the very first minutes of the game !!
As for the plot department, Saw II manages to create intriguing and quite engaging situations and events, but we cannot fail to point out the predominance of archives, documents and audio recordings as the main tools that allow the advancement of the narrative. The cutscenes are there but they are reduced to a minimum: quite bloody torture scenes, some dialogue and obviously the two endings.
Certainly these are not the well-thought-out plots that the movie version of Saw has always had to offer, even if we appreciated the careful parallelism that the developers have kept, trying to match the plot details of the movie series to the plot of the video game, which takes place between the second and third films. We do not deny that playing Saw 2: Flesh & Blood there will be some quite impressive narrative moments, it is certain that we are not in front of a masterpiece, an extra effort would have been appreciated!
THE GAME CONTINUES
One of the most criticized points of the first chapter was certainly the gameplay. In Saw II it will be clear from the very first minutes of the game that the guys at Zombie Studios have done a lot to revolutionize and give more sense of entertainment to the gameplay of this sequel, adapting controls, puzzles and fights to a much more studied game system and I look forward to the player's feedback.
Let's proceed in order: technically we are talking about a third-person survival horror, but no one will escape that in Saw II more than survival will be the puzzles to master. The Riddler's complicated machinery will be everywhere and there is no room that does not have at least one puzzle to solve to go on with the adventure or complete some secondary objective.
To say that Saw II is a puzzle game with horror atmospheres would seem more appropriate, given the amount of puzzles and puzzles that we will have to solve, much higher than a normal survival horror average.. In the role of Michael we will find ourselves in front of a series of increasingly complicated puzzles and solutions that will push us to use everything we have at our disposal: plays of light and hidden writings are just the tip of the iceberg for the puzzles that are genuinely funny, even if we all know the destructive potential of a puzzle that is too difficult.
The vast majority of the satisfaction will come from solving the puzzles, but however, we cannot underestimate a constant action component that will be encountered during the adventure. Sudden traps to avoid and saggy floors are just some of the components that will add some action to the game context, albeit it should be noted that all these components are reduced to Quick Time Events which in the long run are very repetitive and which leave little room for the real skill of the player.
Speaking of Quick Time Events also the remodeled ccombat ompenente has been adapted to the QTE model! A clash with one of the many convicts who will roam around the game settings will be resolved with the correct combination of buttons suggested on the screen, once again minimizing the degree of difficulty and, in the long run, proving to be honestly not very interactive and quite boring !!
Fortunately in small doses, Boss Battles have been inserted that will have to be overcome using the surrounding environment and some good dose of speed and reflexes, but these are small brackets between one session and another of compound gameplay mainly from QTEs and puzzles to solve.
After Puzzle and Quick Time Events, the last component present, albeit in small doses, is that of minigames. Forcing a door with a nail can be a visually enjoyable experience that adds an extra hint of flavor to the overall experience, even if a small minigame here and there fails to influence the final judgment of the game that much.
The thing that worries the most is the lack of interactivity that is felt playing Saw II. More or less all the game action focuses on established paths and going outside the box is not allowed except in rare exceptions. Surely a playthrough of Saw II is a very enjoyable thing thanks to a skilful mixture of plot and well-designed puzzles, but we have not found any reason that would push us to continue the adventure more than once, if it were not for the alternative ending, which somehow forces the most precise players to repeat the adventure, willy-nilly.
Definitely, as far as gameplay is concerned, Saw II has undergone a lot of improvements and has given way to a series of really fun puzzles for those who love the genre. Honestly in our opinion, the predominance of Quick Time Events for action scenes leaves something to be desired, as it takes away a lot of the interactivity and survival horror atmosphere that should predominate in a title like this.; on the other hand puzzles alone cannot create replayable gameplay, which in this case, we must admit, is nothing. A slightly more action approach and a streamlining of the QTEs present in a vigorous way would certainly have made this title something much more interesting !!
BLOOD TRAPS AND DARKNESS!
And now we come to the flagship of any survival horror. Experience has taught us (see Silent Hill) that a little interactive gameplay can still take a back seat if supported by a design worthy of the masters of horror. Settings and music chosen to perfection can make hearts jump in the throat and alone can deeply affect the final judgment of the game. If reading so far you are convinced of the mediocrity enough that Saw II has to offer, we finally have something really cool to talk about.
Everything, starting from the soundtrack, and ending with the settings, follows the model that the Saw series has exploited with undeniable success. From this point of view, the resulting effect is definitely full of suspense and suitable for the type of game we expect.. However, the negative notes are not lacking: if on the one hand the settings reflect the atmosphere of the film well, it will not be uncommon to encounter a play area that is blandly detailed and summarily bare. This mediocrity takes a back seat when you take into consideration the actual star the game has to offer: the Riddler, his presence is indisputably well-received and sure-fire to anyone who knows what to expect from a giggling puppet, a flickering screen and an abandoned audio recorder. The same settings in particular situations are enriched by cutscenes in which we will witness the tremendous games of the Riddler and the frequent appearances of Hog's Head can only refer to the legendary Silent Hill 2 and its timeless Pyramid Head.
In general, Saw II looks good, but unfortunately we are not faced with a design that manages to overshadow the poorly maintained gameplay. Moreover, we are not even faced with a horror title that is really worth its definition: the horror sequences are few and a more suitable definition would be that of a thriller with a high content of violence !!
Rest assured though, playing Saw II there will be sequences able to make you widen your eyes, but certainly it will not be these singular episodes to raise the final judgment on the title.
A STEP FORWARD FOR THE RIDER
Reading the review you will surely understand that Saw II: Flesh & Blood is a title that proceeds between constant ups and downs: If on one hand the puzzles, the plot and the design sector contribute to an enjoyable experience that stimulates the player to continue with the adventure, the action side of the gameplay is the big boulder that weighs on the quality of this title. true is che we are dealing with a concept like that of Saw which, stylistically speaking, does not lend itself well to an action-oriented interpretation, but it would have been opportune to be able to create a balance between the intensity of the design and the puzzles, the QTEs and the action scenes that in the long run are only useless interludes between one part of the plot and the other. Saw II: Flesh & Blood is by no means a title to fail; we cannot deny the degree of involvement that is felt by playing from the first minutes, but it is not possible to turn a blind eye to the obvious limitations that gameplay implies to a title of this invoice.
If you are a fan of the Saw characters, you will not be disappointed by the plot and the design, but for all those who expected the new survival horror that Konami would have liked to add to the Silent Hill series, we are certainly not on the right path at all.
Saw II: Flesh & Blood is still a title with high potential, which, if well exploited, could represent a good springboard for a new survival horror series with all the trimmings. On the other hand, the preponderant defects of the first episode have been summarily resolved, we just have to wait for Zombie Studios and Konami to understand the defects of this sequel and develop a third chapter capable of meeting the expectations that automatically generates such a title.
In the meantime, you may find this Saw II: Fleash & Blood really enjoyable but it is a title more inclined to rent than to buy.. If you love Saw and you lack a bit of horror atmospheres, give us a thought, but given the offers that the market offers for this Christmas, We do not feel like suggesting you spend your money on a title with poor replayability and obvious problems like Saw 2: Flesh & Blood!
FINAL VOTE: 6.8 / 10
