Lab2: Under Ground Review (Lapinoire)
LAB2-UndeR DevelopeD-
LAB2-UndeR GrounD is a Metroidvania-style game developed solely by Nekonomeme, and is sequel to "LAB-Still Alive-". The character you play as is Sae, and we have no idea what the heck is the purpose or story of this game. Just go in, and kill everything. That's literally it. There is no objective, and very little directive on where you have to go or what you have to do.
I don't know how it's possible to make a sequel that's worse than the original game, and this achieves that.
There is also less content, both gameplay-wise and H-wise, than LAB-Still Alive-, which is odd considering this is the sequel.
Moving right along, let's get into the rest of the review.
THE VISUALS
Decent sprite work, nothing too spectacular, but definitely not bad either. I think all of the visual assets might have been hand-made by Nekonomeme, which is quite a bonus. I'm also a sucker for pixel art, so the visuals were right to me. However, it is still inferior to LAB-Still Alive-.
SOUND EFFECTS/MUSIC
I think most of the sound effects are royalty-free stuff anyone can get. This also includes the music. Nothing new or memorable here.
GAMEPLAY/MECHANICS
Gameplay consists solely of doing 5 things in order:
1: Reach new area
2: Explore entire area for extra stuff
3: Kill every enemy
4: Kill Boss
5: Get new card key and move to new area(s).
#4 is not always applicable, however, this is the general flowchart for the game.
There is also a level up and SP distribution system. Every level up gives the player 10 skill points. It takes 5 skill points to increase either HP by 10, Attack by 1, or defense by 1. There is no need to invest in HP or Defense. Solely investing in attack allows the player to one-shot every single mob in the game, and kill bosses in 2-3 seconds. HP and Defense only matters if the player gets hit, but attacks can be seen from a mile away, so both are worthless to invest into. Even if the player wants to get grabbed and see the H-content, it is better to beat the game and unlock the gallery for that sole purpose.
Controls are a straightforward, if mapped weirdly by default. Apparently, a controller can be used, but I stuck with keyboard. The player can remap the controls if necessary. Controls are tight and responsive.
THE H-CONTENT
The section most of the players who get this game probably cares about. There's about half as much(or little) content as the original game, and they're mostly the same as the other animations, with boss animations being more unique than enemy animations. There is absolutely no CG art, and no necessity to get a game over. Just rush the game, beat it, and unlock the gallery to view the H content at no risk.
OVERALL
I bought this game solely because I loved the first game. The player can clear this game in about 2-5 hours, maybe longer, depending on how much the player rushes through it. It's not terribly difficult, and during bosses the player can just alternate between melee and gun at close range to do triple the DPS normally possible.
The game is short, exploration is a bit tedious, and overall the game just felt lacking.
I got this game on release day for $12 USD, which is 20% off its normal $15 price. Is it worth it? Probably not. Unless it goes on sale for 50% off or higher, skip this game. It probably isn't worth your time.
4/10