The Caligula Effect 2

The Caligula effect 2 is an incredibly stylish and lighthearted dungeon crawling JRPG with a heavy focus on social connections and a truly unique and vastly in-depth battle system unlike any other. Team up, make friends, build connections and level up as you try to break free from your virtual shackles in hopes of returning to the real world in this wonderfully polished and greatly improved sequel. This might just be the best hidden gem of 2021.

Developer: historia Inc

Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch

Reviewed on the Nintendo Switch

Review Code Provided

Written by: Gabriel Sewell

The original Caligula Effect was developed and released for the Playstation Vita, and although the title was later revised and released for home consoles under the name: The Caligula Effect Overdose. The game never managed to shake off its portable console roots, making the transition from handheld to console release is never an easy task but it’s one that this sequel has done gracefully by improving on and refining almost every aspect of the original.

The virtual world of Redo is one that fans of the original should be familiar with, but those new to the series will be introduced to the world within the games first hour as it briefly explains the main plot points of the original, so although having knowledge of the prior events will obviously enrich your experience, overall it won’t be needed if you just want to jump right in.

I really respect when a game tries to break former genre traditions and try something new, and the predictive turn based battle system is definitely where this game shows off its individuality. Although it’s an incredibly complex and well thought out battle system, the game does a good job of introducing the player to the many rules and systems. As a brief overview, you have the ability to view your chosen actions and how/when they'll play out, allowing you to plan accordingly. Sending the enemy into the air to then carry out a barrage of attacks to keep them airborne is very satisfying, especially when you become more comfortable with the various different types of attacks. Working as a team will be needed for the more intense boss fights so learning to balance the entire party early on is very important, the auto-battle feature is only really good to carry you through dungeons and won’t be much use when things get serious. With such seamless and stylish transitions into battle you're never pulled out of the immersion by boring loading screens, battles are touch initiated and take place in the immediate area by enclosing the player in a circular arena with some of the best visual effects I’ve ever seen in a JRPG. The borders are seriously gorgeous and just describing them doesn’t do them the justice they deserve, not only are they thematically fitting but just visually and aesthetically pleasing to look at.

Redo; the aptly named virtual world that the game takes place within is a gorgeous and well designed world that just “pops” on the Nintendo Switch with bright, vibrant colours and sharp HD textures. And although the game might look slightly flat at times the near perfect performance well and truly makes up for any visual shortcomings. The only real issue to note are the random people that will just pop in and out of display when exploring the over-world/anywhere outside of dungeons. The world itself is split into several large exploreable environments where you’ll have the chance to talk to and recruit new party members through the game's intricate social link system. But be warned, the many side quests and speech bubbles can start to feel very bland and tedious as you hear the same sentences uttered by different people or help with the many incredibly mundane issues. That being said, it really does encapsulate the more mundane aspect of life as you help people with such trivial issues and make small talk with random NPC’s. To elaborate, there’s a large slice of life aspect which might seem familiar to most. You’ll traverse normal day to day areas like schools, gardens and even ride a train as your base of operations. The previously mentioned social links lean heavily into the “slice of life” experience, not only is everyone connected but getting to know all the different people can actually be rewarding. If you don’t stop to smell the proverbial roses you might just miss out on something special.

While the story didn’t initially engross me, the incredibly fun and lighthearted dialog between the characters did, with lots of witty banter, references to pop culture media and plenty of fourth wall breaks. Enough to keep me invested until the story started to expand and evolve into something more. It's a shame that there aren’t any darker tones throughout because even the more emotionally intense scenes aren't very impactful and don’t feel too serious when contrasted against the banter filled, comical writing. That’s not to say the story doesn't touch upon serious subjects or topics, the brief moments that are serious just don't hold enough of an emotional impact to really matter. I think some more time or focus for certain characters to develop might have helped but overall the story is still enjoyable and helps to keep the player invested throughout. The main characters themselves are all very well written, learning more about each of their distinct personalities and bonding with them is an enjoyable experience and really adds depth to not only the gameplay but the narrative as a whole.

Dungeon crawling got an upgrade, each dungeon feels uniquely crafted with some very interesting ideas. In one area I found myself running through (or should I say getting lost in) a hedge maze to reach a switch, which at the time I thought to be an ingenious design choice when considering the dungeons theme. It’s clear that more care has gone into creating more varied and enjoyable dungeons to explore, while not perfect it’s still a huge improvement from the original. Not only are the dungeons vastly unique from one another they also help to convey a sense of artificial design, further cementing the idea that you’re not in reality. Dungeons aren't the only thing that got an upgrade though, the character designs themselves got a much needed face lift. Each character now feels distinctly individual and charismatically designed, so learning more about them only furthers your attachment to the characters and the journey they’re on.

Without a doubt, the game's soundtrack is by far its best feature. I would genuinely consider listening to most of the tracks outside of the game, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the many well written and quite frankly, addictive songs. With such upbeat and catchy electronic music playing even the more tedious parts of grinding can feel fun, often losing yourself in a happy trance of pure musical brilliance. Seriously, what a bop.

With so many interesting mechanics and design choices to unpack and explain it’s hard to actually condense that much information down into an easily digestible review, there’s so much more worth noting but to keep things concise I'll leave that up to you to discover for yourself.

Conclusion

The Caligula Effect 2 is a wonderfully unique JRPG that isn’t afraid to stand out, it confidently triumphs over its predecessor with better dungeons, a loveable cast of characters and refined combat. Not only is there a beautiful world to explore, but an enjoyable story to lose yourself in. The impressive performance is just another example of how talented the team behind this title are, delivering clean visuals with a near perfect frame rate. While not perfect, it’s without a doubt a brilliant JRPG and an easy suggestion to make.

2/3

Very Good Game, Worth Your Time And Money!

Pros

Unique battle system

Clean visuals

Near perfect Performance

Strong World Building

Amazing Soundtrack

Cons

Tedious Side Quests

Lots of Grinding

Serviceable but still enjoyable story

Author: Gabriel Sewell