Hylics 2
Developer(s)	Mason Lindroth
Designer(s)	Mason Lindroth
Artist(s)	Mason Lindroth
Composer(s)	Mason Lindroth, Chuck Salamone
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, MacOS
Release	June 22, 2020
Genre(s)	Role-playing, platformer

Hylics 2 is a 2020 role-playing video game developed by Mason Lindroth for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to the 2015 game Hylics. Set in a surrealist and absurdist world, the protagonist Wayne must stop the resurrection of the tyrant king Gibby by his minions. The gameplay is a turn-based RPG, the same as its predecessor. The game was acclaimed for its unique claymation and stop-motion visuals and psychedelic funk score.

Gameplay

Hylics 2 is a turn-based RPG with similarities to traditional JRPGs. ^{[1] [2]} It takes place in a surrealist and absurdist world, ^{[2] [3]} with some horror elements. ^[4] The player character Wayne assembles a party of characters, fights enemies, and explore a 3D world, finding hidden treasure. Exploration is sometimes done in an airship, which has been compared to Final Fantasy. ^{[1] [2] [4] [5]} Unlike the first game, the sequel contains 3D platforming elements, ^[4] and contains a segment of dungeon-crawling in first-person. ^[5] The player can dodge enemies with a variety of moves. ^[5] The plot of the game involves Wayne attempting to stop the resurrection of the first game's antagonist, ^[4] the tyrant king Gibby, by his minions. ^{[1] [3]} There are many versions of Wayne in the world, of various shapes and designs. ^{[1] [4]} The player characters gain more flesh (hit points) by putting the meat of dead enemies and Waynes in a meat grinder. When all party members' flesh hits 0, the player and their reality dissolve. ^[1]

Development

The game is a sequel to the 2015 RPG Hylics, ^[2] both developed by Mason Lindroth. ^[6] The sequel's plot contains motifs of the first game, but can be understood without playing the first game. ^[5] While the first game was developed in RPG Maker, the sequel was developed in the Unity engine. ^[4] In Lindroth's games, he uses a psychedelic claymation and stop-motion visual style. ^{[2] [7]} He makes clay models and takes pictures of them in front of a green screen, putting the renders in the game. ^{[1] [7]} Behind-the-scenes photos of the process were released in 2023. ^[8] Lindroth supported the sequel's development with a public fundraising campaign. ^[9] The game's psychedelic funk score was made by Mason Lindroth and Chuck Salamone. ^[10]

The game was announced with a trailer in January 2018, with a planned release date for later that year. ^{[6] [11] [12]} Another trailer was released in November, and by then, the release date had shifted to summer 2019. ^[9] The game was released on June 22, 2020 on the Steam and Itch.io platforms for Microsoft Windows and MacOS. ^{[2] [13] [9]}

Reception

The game was acclaimed upon its release, ^{[1] [2]} with significant praise being given to its visual style. ^{[1] [6] [8] [12]} Rock Paper Shotgun writer Alice O'Connor claimed the game had some of the best visuals and music in gaming. ^{[2] [10]} The visuals were compared to the video game Clayfighter, artist Bruce Bickford's works, and the movie Fantastic Planet, ^{[1] [6]} while the score was compared to Frank Zappa's music. ^[1] The in-game models, animations, and battles were considered improved from the first game. ^[4] In 2021, PC Gamer named Hylics 2 as having one of their favorite title screens in gaming. ^{[5] [14]} It has a Metacritic aggregated score of 8.0. ^[13] Early user reviews criticized elements of the platforming, and the length of battles. ^[5]

References