Curious Expedition 2 Review: Around The World In Eighty Deaths
Curiosity killed the cat. Now we got that out of the way, let’s fuel your curiosity, a.k.a. your taste for adventure, with a Curious Expedition 2 review and give a few pointers whether it’s any good.
Have you played Curious Expedition from Maschinen-Mensch and Thunderful Publishing? It’s like that, but dare I say… better. The story is a bit more prominent with Victoria Malin being the catalyst for adventure.
In the light tutorial, you play as Malin as she explores an uncharted island. Upon discovering an alien artefact, she inspects and activates it, which releases a purple fog that wipes out all life. The best thing to do is to return to France. Let someone else sort it out.
Curious Expedition 2 Review
Interest piqued, she can’t leave it alone and needs to scratch that itch and find out more about this enigmatic device. Unfortunately, she’s pretty busy running an explorer’s club, so sends someone in her steed; you.
From here, you can choose from a handful of characters with a few benefits. When you frequent the club, it’s possible to recruit specialists for your expedition that help you survive. Let’s not kid ourselves, if you’re familiar with the predecessor it’s more survive than explore!
So, you pick your crew and then affiliate yourself with a sponsor. You aren’t tied-in to one throughout, but the more you use them, you’ll level up and receive exclusive perks from them that you can purchase as you progress.
There are three sponsors: Lux Labs, The Royal Avalon Society and the Taishi Academy. I opted for the latter, being awarded twin blades after a couple of successful missions, but thought I’d stick with them – not loyalty as such, but as mentioned, the more assignments you complete for them, the faster you’ll level up and earn more goodies.
See The World
You have the option to conduct your own expeditions, funded by the above, and can choose from a couple of arcs. There’s three to complete at a time, then you’ll unlock the main story thread featuring Malin. Curious Expedition 2 is a bit more linear in that sense, and from my perspective, it’s a good thing.
The more you bring back, the bigger you become, unlocking new abilities, perks with your sponsors, a black market dealer, and essentially, notoriety.
Once you’ve configured all of the above, your ship will land on a procedurally generated map, and you will have the primary objective – whether it be research such as collecting samples, taking measurements or discovering the unknown.
The underlying motivation though is fame and money. The more you bring back, the bigger you become, unlocking new abilities, perks with your sponsors, a black market dealer, and essentially, notoriety. But it’s hard!
One With The Locals
Starting each expedition has the same pattern of equipping a balanced inventory of survival items and those you can barter. You’ll encounter natives and traders to haggle with. Sometimes it’s mandatory to have a standing with them to obtain information, rest your team or travel to a new location.
But you need to keep rations to replenish your health and sanity. Curious Expedition 2 is a brutal rogue-like at times, so forward-thinking is essential. By the way, sanity is more or less action points as each time you move over tiles on the map; it will remove your sanity. Note that it can be affected by the terrain and conditions. Bring tools!
What happens when you lose your sanity? Really? Insanity. Your team will lose their wits, as will you. This can be anything from hallucinations, triggering traps through carelessness and even suicide. Restore it through rest, chocolate and whisky.
People Are People Too
It’s not uncommon to lose your crew, and it’s hard-hitting when you’ve levelled them up, or you have to eat them. Yep. Ms Jackson, my giant tortoise, was a saint. But without food, we had to eat her, and she doesn’t respawn.
XP received can be invested in your crew which includes hunters, translators, priests, merchants – you name it. With each level, they gain new and improved skills, HP and loyalty. However, even with maxed out loyalty, you can still pull off a move they don’t like then they abandon you. Eating a crew member isn’t the most popular of decisions.
Ms Jackson, my giant tortoise, was a saint. But without food, we had to eat her, and she doesn’t respawn.
Combat in Curious Expedition 2 is significantly better. It’s still turn-based, and you roll dice to attack, defend and buff. You can also equip weapons and accessories such as a rifle that will destroy attackers pretty darn quick.
A Solo Adventure
But the recurring theme for this Curious Expedition 2 review is survival, and even with a battle won, you may have a poisoned or bleeding character with zero health kits or anything to barter with.
This happened when Malin accompanied me on a mission and poisoned by a rival adventurer. Without health kits, I held my breath to the end goal with deteriorating health, but it managed to complete the mission. Just.
The next expedition was the same. I’d started with four crew and finished with me and a fresh recruit, some amphibious thing. There are three difficulty levels here, and I have to admit I tweaked my settings so I wouldn’t lose everything on death. For review purposes, of course.
Curious Expedition 2 is a step up from the last adventure. The graphics are sharper and colourful. They won’t blow you away, but that’s not the intention. Instead, it’s the storytelling as if you’re playing a game developed by Jules Verne. The risks are massive, but the rewards even better, and I have to say that it’s much more accessible than the first and not as harsh. There are a plethora of online challenges too, so plenty of longevity for hardened explorers.
Curious Expedition 2 Review Summary
An adventure that changes every time as if you were rewriting a classic tale. Stories of your journeys will be told until the end of time, or until the next adventurer arrives after your premature death. Challenging, but very engaging, Curious Expedition 2 is even better than the first expedition.
