Reus 2 Review (PC)

Imagine being god for a day. Having the divine power to conjure hills and mountains or sprout trees and life from barren land. Well, that’s the idea Abbey Games initially had when the studio released Reus in 2013. The indie didn’t exactly exceed our expectations then, but furnished a new thought that made the gameplay incredibly fun. You play as a spirit of barren land, where you work with four elemental giants to craft life and guide civilizations to greatness. It sounds like something right out of the Holy Book, but with a modern twist. 

Now, you can become a god again in Reus 2 with the same concept and challenges but with more giants at your disposal. Will civilization outdo its master, or will you create a balanced world that every human dearly desires to have? Stick with us as we unpack all the new features in our Reus 2 review.

Great Power, Great Responsibility

Reus 2 builds on the foundation laid by its predecessor while adding a refreshingly modern twist. You start by creating a new planet for your civilization. But before then, you must select a human spirit for your planet. The spirit you choose will shape your civilization’s destiny. For instance, The Inventor Spirit rubs off a creative and ingenious way of life on the living. The Goddess seems to think everything revolves around her, so probably the humans will be doing plenty of sacrificing and whatnot. The Sage Spirit is more laid-back and wants nothing more than to care for its people. The three spirits are available at the start of the game. Naturally, more gods will be unlocked as you progress. 

The spirits have particular interest or traits that naturally guide your civilization’s way of life. Think of them as the game’s way of introducing builds. The Inventor, for instance, is interested in science and will have humans dabbling in various inventions to improve their lives The Goddess has a knack for Gold, so the humans will be working to improve their economy. The sage cares about food and nourishing the people. So expect plenty of planting and harvesting. The idea here is to give the humans what they want but not so much that they overpower you or possibly doubt your existence, sound familiar?

You also get to pick which giants to start with. The colossal titans are a neat upgrade from the previous title, with a few extra additions. The forest giant certainly got a whole makeover.

Like in the previous title, each giant corresponds to a particular biome. You have the Forest Giant, ocean, and rock as your starting options. But you can swap out one of the giants for the swamp giant.  

Mother of Earth

With your selected giant and chosen spirit, you can now transform the empty Ferris wheel of life into a thriving planet. The game’s map is a rotating 2D view of the world, where you can see the different layers of the earth. So naturally, all life forms go on the outer circular layer—this must be a big blow to flat earthers! 

The giants terraform different biomes based on your choice. For example, if you wish for the rainforest, the Swamp Giants will place these down with a magical touch. Then you have your first humans, who will need a place to settle along with other demands. Each biome you create comes with empty slots or nodes. The nodes are for placing plants, animals, and minerals. The game has specific rules for how you should place the resources.  As an example, a pear tree will thrive next to an herbivore biotica. This forces your hands into adding a herbivore biome.

Also, some nodes have boosts. When you place biotica on these nodes, it grants you more resources and sparks creativity within your civilizations, leading to the creation of new technology and tools.  But perhaps the greatest use of these nodes is to expand your colony. By rule of thumb, placing resources outside of the civilization’s territory will pique their interest, which naturally calls for expansion. Once these resources are within your reach, you can enjoy their bountiful yield. 

Like Clockwork

Evidently, Reus 2 is an ingenious game that pushes you to think outside the box. At first glance, you can be forgiven for thinking this is a point-and-click adventure where you simply pick and place as you go. I’m afraid not. Every bit is connected like cogs in a well-oiled machine that keeps the virtual world rotating. 

Symbiosis is at the core of the gameplay, where the different biotica interact, unleashing greater rewards. The game has a ludicrous amount of resources, but you can only maximize its output with certain combinations For instance, placing a red stone gives you 5 more coins or wealth if you place it next to a plant biotica. Leveraging these combinations is a unique way to maximize your planet’s resources with minimal effort. But sometimes it is annoying, given the cramped space of the map you are working with. 

Unfortunately, the game doesn’t offer an upgrade chart or tree that highlights the best placement for each resource. Instead, you have to toggle between the different resources or use an external wiki to figure out the best combinations. While it is rather unintuitive, it could be a possible incentive for a gathering of Reus enthusiasts. 

Eureka!

Achieving success on your planet comes with a real sense of humans and villages evolving. Visually, you start with a few groups of people, and soon boom! A whole population is making more demands. Essentially, you progress to new levels by meeting the city’s requests. This is shown on the left side of the screen. The requests range from adding new biotica to having a certain number of people or technology on your planet. Meeting all the requests gives you access to drafts, which are ideally templates for new bioticas, where you get to customize your biomes. You can add new animals and plants to boost your planet’s diversity.

Moreover, the game advances you to different eras after completing all quests. You only gain access to eras once you meet the targets or conditions for unlocking them. In this case, the Iron Age era needs a city to have at least 3 technologies and 2 minerals within its borders. Ideally, this information would have been useful at the start of the game, as it could have guided my choices. But it also makes for a neat discovery to know you’re witnessing an entire revolution. 

The Good

Reus 2 is a standard upgrade from its predecessor while sticking to the gameplay core. Its entire progression mechanic hinges on experimentation, which makes every experience unique and refreshing. The game offers plenty of replayability value, where you can try out new combinations or swap out the giants for different outcomes. Plus, you also have different human spirits to experiment with.

Visually speaking, the game looks good with meticulous character designs that speak to each personality. The different biomes are well-detailed, and you can easily spot a sand viper making its way through the hot sands. At certain points, it felt like an engaging geography and biology lesson, as the game expects you to balance resources and ensure life forms live harmoniously with each other. 

Plus, the giant animations are a major upgrade from the previous title. The devs have adapted the game for modern consoles, making every scene a breathtaking episode. The introduction of eras also adds to the overall gameplay experience. It certainly piques your interest, as you want to see what more civilization will be up to in a new period. 

The game wraps this all up with a calm and melodious soundtrack that really evokes the feeling of being God. 

The Bad

Reus 2 can be overwhelming due to its vast amount of content. The gameplay feels like you need to go through hundreds of encyclopedias before nabbing the right concept. But the game introduces each feature at an easy pace. Plus, you can always go back and start things over. 

Verdict

Whether you are familiar with Reus 2’s gameplay or not, its intricate gameplay is certainly one for the books. At the start, it might take a while to learn the ropes, but seeing everything fall into place with every decision you make feels like dozens of gratification-made confetti flying down your screen. The game hinges on strategy and careful play, and it rewards players for taking time to learn the system. You might have to go through a different planet before you can fully spread your wings, but it is certainly worth it.

Reus 2 is available on Steam for $25, which I say is an absolute steal. The game is teeming with content and has insane replayability. It is one game that drives purpose in your adventure. While some runs take a few minutes to complete, it’s no surprise if you find yourself immersed in them for hours on end. Reus 2 is a game worth recommending to fans of simple and laid-back adventure games.