Everhood 2 Review
I took a weird, wonderful journey through the world of musical RPG Everhood 2.
Everhood 2. Credit: Foreign Gnomes
Earthbound and Undertale have, in turn, inspired a bounty of RPGs, and Everhood 2 is one of them. This one was a weird, hallucinatory musical experience set in a (mostly) pixel-art world. At first, I didn’t enjoy it, but soon, the rhythm game battle system, with its killer music, quickly grew on me, and I felt compelled to keep playing because I always needed to see what crazy thing would happen next.
I couldn’t really describe this game’s story in detail. It goes all over the place as it questions weighty topics such as the meaning of existence through the voices of its goofy cast of characters, and the plot itself is just a rickety scaffold for that. You are a voiceless soul who has woken up in the surreal plane of Everhood. You soon meet a mysterious raven who sends you on a mission to defeat the Mind Dragon, the source of all evil. Things get wild after the game takes off from there. There are multiple points where you make decisions that will change your path, so it’s impossible to see everything in a single playthrough.
Everhood 2. Credit: Foreign Gnomes
While the story was inscrutable, much of the dialogue and many of the characters were funny. The game may broach some deeper topics, but conversations tended to be light; I never felt like reading through the dialogue was a slog. There was the potential for it to become insufferable. Thankfully, it never did.
Everhood 2 is a top-down 2D RPG, except in a few areas where it shifts to 3D. You can walk around and interact with characters, all run-of-the-mill gameplay. The game differentiates itself from similar RPGs through its real-time battle system.
When you enter combat, your character drops onto a five-lane board similar to what you might see in rhythm games like Guitar Hero. The enemy at the top of the screen flings obstacles and notes of different colors at you, and you must time your hits to catch the notes, dodge to the side, or jump. Once you’ve caught at least three notes of one color, you can fight back; the more you catch, the higher your combo and the more damage you’ll do. Getting hit or catching a note of a different color zeroes out your combo meter. Weapons augment combat by giving you strengths and weaknesses against specific colors. I never really paid attention to this and quickly decided to stick to upgrading and using one. All of this is done to the beat of one of the 100+ songs featured in the game.
Everhood 2. Credit: Foreign Gnomes
The game’s graphics are pixel art with styles that shift depending on where you are. Some areas are neon-infused flashing nightmares, while others are in a more traditional 16-bit style. In areas presented in 3D, the graphics are similar to what you might see on a PS1. Everhood 2 often features flashing lights; this will be dangerous to those prone to seizures and irritating to those playing on a bright TV in a dark room.
Everhood 2. Credit: Foreign Gnomes
I loved the varied, colorful, and creative character designs in Everhood 2. I particularly liked the portraits that appear during their dialogue. The developers took pains to create several to switch through during a conversation, making the characters look animated as they speak, even if it’s just text on the screen. Every character oozes personality through their looks alone.
Overall, I enjoyed the game’s trippy visuals—with one exception. Often, usually in battle, the game creates hallucinogenic distortion or fractures and otherwise distorts what you see. This might look cool, but it’s endlessly irritating when you can’t see what’s going on in the middle of a battle. It’s sometimes as bad as having someone waving their hands in front of the screen, blocking your view.
Everhood 2. Credit: Foreign Gnomes
The game’s soundtrack, featuring tracks from several composers, is spectacular. Not a single one made me want to avoid battles. I hope the developer Foreign Gnomes releases it on Spotify because if they do, I’ll be listening to those playlists for a long while.
Everhood 2 isn’t a perfect experience, but it’s certainly memorable. Its great music and humor make it stand out, and it dips into philosophy without too much navel-gazing. If you enjoy games similar to Undertale or quirky RPGs, I recommend it.
Everhood 2 will be available on March 4, 2025 for PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch.
Overall Score: 7/10
Played on: Steam Deck
