Kona II: Brume

Review

Kona II: Brume is the horror/mystery adventure game that follows the investigations of private detective Carl Faubert who is exploring the cold lands of Manastan, in the province of Québec (Canada), to solve the mystery surrounding his original client and the deadly snowstorm known as “Brume”. Kona II starts soon after the ending of the first game, so it’s highly recommended to play that one since everything is well-connected (and it’s also a fantastic, underrated game). In some ways, the story plays similarly to Kholat, The Long Dark and Amnesia: Rebirth, except for a few horror and survival mechanics that unfortunately are not present in Kona II. The focus here is more on the investigation, and despite the semi-open world environments, this is mostly a story-driven adventure, with locked doors and paths being unlocked progressively. There is also a great voiced narrator (available with both English/French audio), who constantly comments on each scene and gives the story a crime novel feeling. It is indeed a true detective story and despite being a silent protagonist, you can get an idea of Carl by reading his diary, which is constantly updated with his picture, thoughts and observations. While in Amnesia Rebirth you can get sunburned, here you will freeze to death if you stay out in the cold for too long. This is, sadly, the only survival aspect of the game and it’s not even that effective. The “cold” meter lowers very slowly and most of the time you will barely notice it. There are plenty of consumables and campfires with which you can replenish the meter, so I really don’t understand the choice of adding such a limited and ineffective status that doesn’t turn the game into a real survival adventure. 

The world building feels great though, with many interesting environments to explore filled with hidden collectables, letters, items, ammo and more. The map makes sure that you don’t miss anything with the addition of markers, but some areas are locked behind incredibly easy puzzles that don’t offer any moral satisfaction for their completion. Kona II also dedicates more time to combat, with enemies often being wildlife animals and paranormal entities. Shooting feels like something that was added at the last minute, after thinking that the game could be labeled as a boring walking simulator. It’s one of those sad cases in which the shooting parts actually make the game worse, rather than more appealing. Despite the variety of weapons, shooting feels a bit weak, but I appreciated the fact that in some cases you can avoid engaging with the wildlife (just like in the first one). You can find plenty of ammo too if you explore enough, so you will not be counting your bullets like in Amnesia The Bunker.

Graphically speaking, the game looks quite good, both the interiors and exteriors. Exploration feels immersive and it’s probably the best aspect of Kona II, but one technical thing that I didn’t really like is the implementation of the depth of field, which looks wrong and unnatural even at Ultra settings. It basically consists in walking with the background always blurred and the game unable to decide which object to focus on. That’s not how DoF works, so I turned it off and had a better result, despite losing the effect. Performance was generally okay for me, but not as great as it should be. The frame rate suddenly dropped in some sections despite being basically inside an empty hallway, with nothing happening around me, so I think the game probably needs a few more performance patches.

Honestly, I had high expectations for Kona II and they were only partially met. The more story-driven approach and the detective drama are enjoyable for the most part, but the lack of challenge, weak combat and inefficient survival mechanics make the game less immersive than it appears to be during the first hours. If you’ve never played the first Kona, you could give it a try since it does some things better than this sequel, and it’s basically required if you want to understand the whole story. The Kona II narrative is equally interesting, especially if you enjoy solving supernatural mysteries, but the whole investigation feels less personal this time. Still, I think this sequel is a must-play for those who enjoyed the first one, and with a good discount you probably won’t regret it.

Review written by Sonic Punk for Zeepond.com

Kona II: Brume Steam Store Page