Fear & Hunger 2: Termina 📽 Through the Lens

📢 WE ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON THE MOST DISTURBING GAME EVER MADE! 📢

Yes, we are in fact doing it again. 😂

I'm not sure if you folks expected the sequel to be less of a nightmare, but it's arguably an even bigger fever dream than the first one. Dark, grotesque, and disturbing. This sequel is a nice change of pace from the established formula of the first game while retaining all the elements that made it twisted.

THEREFORE❗️ In this edition of Through the Lens 🎞, we'll be taking a look at Miro Haverinen's (yup, still developed by one man) dark and twisted turn-based RPG from 2022: Fear & Hunger 2: Termina. ◀️

(did it really need a title? can't sequels just be numbered and that's it? I don't get it, but at least Termina is a nice sounding name for what its worth)

Roll it! 📽

🔷 UP TOP 🔶

Again, the same janky elements that accompanied the first game are present here. But I gotta say not as much. Furthermore, the OST fits the new time period the game is set in very well. I am constantly impressed with Mr. Haverinen's talents. When you're a one-man band a lot can be forgiven. And this isn't even bad enough to require forgiveness, it's just... uneven and a tad sloppy. 🤷‍♂️

_{Composed by the mad lad himself, Miro Haverinen}

Fear & Hunger 2 came out not too long ago. Seeing how mediocre to non-existent the first game sales were, I'm surprised it came out at all. 😅 Yes, the first game became super popular, but that would've happened at the end of this game's development. Regardless, I'm glad Miro managed.

🔷 JANK 🔶

This game is still jank AF. You would think that a sequel will have the quirks found from the first game fixed. But remember that this was a passion project more than anything else (hopefully, that changes with the third game, due to the recent spike in the game's popularity). It's still playable, but maybe at a lower resolution with some crashes here and there.

Another neat point is that the dev was putting up regular dev updates on his discord during development. This has since stopped, but I hope he does something for the third game as well. Maybe he wants a more traditional approach this time around. Which is fine. I just love it when creatives share their process with the world. It's such a selfless act. 👏

🔷 NEW SETTING 🔶

While the first game was a typical dungeon exploration RPG, this second game is kind of like a JRPG. I love that Miro could've just developed the same game essentially, but he managed to add a twist to the twisted game. And yes, this game is as dark and morbid as the first, if not more.

This is still the Fear & Hunger world. Same themes, same gods, same place. It's just advance in time in a parallel WW2 setting. Yup, there is even an equivalent to Hitler. And the Hitler in this universe is a character from the first game!

// I could say who it is, but why ruin the fun for the one person who decides to play this game because of this article?

So, the world has advanced past medieval times. This of course comes with the usual assortment of guns and whatnot. More humanoid enemies and modern elements as well. So aesthetically it's different while still being terrifying. 😱

But that's not all, the new setting comes with a new gameplay twist! That's right! It's a battle royale now! You, as the player, have a lot more characters to choose from. Each of these characters arrives at a sketchy town by train which crashes. The objective? Simple. Be the last one standing. i.e. unalive everyone on the train/all the other characters.

It is all because of the Moon God 🌛 who just wants to have a little bit of fun. So you are free to explore the town in whatever way you wish. Which is stark different than how the first game did things. This open nature suits the game much more I think than the linear nature of the first. But that's just a taste thing on my part.

🔷 LORE 🔶

For me, the lore in these games is what makes them compelling. Such a breath of (stale? but in this context, stale means fresh!) air. Fantastical, yet nigthmare-fuiled. The same Gods that overshadowed the player and their action in the first game are here as well. And there are many connections to make it fun for the observant player.

And yes, if you're aware of the inner workings of this game from the first game, you will have a leg up over the other single-player players. 😛 But the game was definitely designed in such a way that you don't have to have played the first game to enjoy it. 💯

🔷 LEGACY 🔶

It will be years until the third game arrives. But when it does, it will shape the direction of the legacy of this franchise(?) Is this a franchise now? 😅 On a personal note, I want the third game to be in the 90s. With hackers and stuff. That sounds fun.

I hope our wonderful one-man dev actually spends the money of his newfound fame to hire some decent programmers, as I think it's clear that coding is the weakest part of these games. I expect big things, but as such, it will take a lot of time.

But we can wait, right? When have people ever been impatient? Regardless, there is enough content in these games to keep people enthralled until the final installment of the trilogy releases.

Thank you for reading, you rock! (and maybe roll) 👏👏👏

🖼️ Image Sources: 01, 02, 03, 04 🖼️

Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙

This was a fun set of games to cover eh? It All depends on what you consider fun I guess. What's next? I dunno. I think we need a refresh on our pallet. Something completely different. I've had enough nightmares for one week. 😭

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I hope you are having an amazing week! 🙌