The Soul Stone War 2

I liked this sequel better than the original game. In that one, you were a frail weakling protected by four big powerful love interests. I enjoyed it, and enjoyed the romance aspect (which was the majority of the game).

This game builds on those strengths and adds more. After obtaining a soul stone in the first game, you now are quite a bit stronger, able to directly steer events and take charge.

I liked the interactivity. Rather than focusing on success and failure of skills (which did exist in some form, especially when choosing how to attack), the game features more strategizing, especially 'who do you spend time with' and 'who do you trust'. There are several strangers, friends and foes who have propositions that you can accept or decline. There are definitely 'failure states' but the game did a good job (to me) of making a failing, struggling story just as interesting as a winning one.

Plotwise, we spend a lot of this game gathering the other soul stones and preparing for a raid on the evil Vampire Lord to rescue our friend (I only played one path, so there may be more variations). Like the first game, there are so many options that pace feels a bit slow when it comes to the plot, but big when it comes to people and characterization.

I'd say this game/series is best for people that want the experience of camaraderie/ a large group, and the feeling of becoming more powerful over time.