Hylics 2
A surreal turn-based RPG with claymation visuals and psychedelic funk score.
Hylics 2 is a role-playing game released in 2020, created by Mason Lindroth as a follow-up to his 2015 title Hylics. The story takes place across a series of bizarre and deliberately absurd islands, where the main character, Wayne, works to prevent the minions of the former tyrant king Gibby from bringing him back to life. Combat follows a turn-based system similar to the first game, but the overworld now includes expanded gameplay features such as 3D platforming, along with sections of 2D platforming and first-person dungeon crawling. The game received acclaim for its distinctive claymation visuals and its psychedelic funk soundtrack, which was composed by Lindroth and Chuck Salamone.
- developer
- Mason Lindroth
- release_year
- 2020
- genre
- Role-playing video game
- platforms
- Steam, Itch.io for Microsoft Windows and MacOS
- engine
- Unity
- composers
- Mason Lindroth, Chuck Salamone
Lore & Background
Hylics 2 is a turn-based RPG with similarities to traditional JRPGs, taking place in a surreal and absurd world with some horror elements. The player character Wayne assembles a party, fights enemies, explores a 3D world, and finds hidden treasure. Exploration across each island is done in an airship, which has been compared to Final Fantasy. Unlike the first game, the sequel contains 3D platforming elements and a segment of first-person dungeon-crawling. The player can dodge enemies with a variety of moves, and 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 dissolves.
Reader's Guide
Hylics 2 was developed by Mason Lindroth as a sequel to his 2015 RPG Hylics. While the first game was developed in RPG Maker VX Ace, the sequel was built in the Unity engine, allowing for expanded visuals and gameplay. The game uses a psychedelic claymation visual style, a relatively rare animation technique in games; behind-the-scenes photos of the process were released in 2023. Lindroth supported development with a public fundraising campaign on GoFundMe. The game was announced with a trailer in January 2018, with a planned release for later that year; after delays, it was released on June 22, 2020. The game was acclaimed upon release, with significant praise for its visual style. Rock Paper Shotgun writer Alice O'Connor claimed the game had some of the best visuals and music in gaming. The visuals were compared to Clayfighter, Bruce Bickford's works, and Fantastic Planet, while the score was compared to Frank Zappa's music. In 2021, PC Gamer named Hylics 2 as having one of their favorite title screens in gaming. Early user reviews criticized elements of the platforming as clunky and the length of battles as poorly paced.
Did You Know?
- The game's psychedelic funk score was composed by Mason Lindroth and Chuck Salamone.
- The sequel was developed in the Unity engine, unlike the first game which used RPG Maker VX Ace.
- The game was released on June 22, 2020 on Steam and Itch.io for Microsoft Windows and MacOS.
- The plot reveals that there are many versions of Wayne in the world of various shapes and designs.
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