What happens when there is a conflict between what you are supposed to do and what needs to be done? Would you try to do the right thing knowing that there could be consequences or would you do what was in your heart knowing the results would affect the lives of the ones that you cared about most? The mystery of the situation is a conflicting one, but yet, a challenging one no matter the choices you make. But does the developer, MyDearest, continue with what works? Let’s find out with DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate – Episode 2 – The Eleventh Hour for PlayStation VR2.
DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate – Episode 2 – The Eleventh Hour is a continuation of the first episode, DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate – Episode 1 where the sci-fi murder mystery continues to bring the Professor’s murder to justice. So before you continue with your investigation, there are a few things that you should be aware of. First, I am not going to spoil anything for anyone. Second, find your favorite place to sit. You might as well be comfortable while unraveling this mystery. Third, make sure those Sense Controllers are charged. The puzzles get more challenging and you don’t want to have to turn off a good story because you forgot to charge them, do you? And finally, with all that said, let’s continue…
Episode 2 picks up right after Episode 1. However, in order to get to Episode 2, you must complete Episode 1. You are still playing as Hal Scion and trying to bring justice to the death of the professor. It’s an interesting concept that when you start the game, you are seeing things from the memory aspect. Seeing moments from Episode 1 as you go from memory to memory as you are trying to figure things out to the best of your ability.
But as your investigation continues, you will start to notice how Astrum Close is becoming a crushed shell of its former self. We also learn that the ones that we trusted the most possibly could be doing things for other reasons that we just don’t understand. Without trying to give away too much, one of your closes friends is not who they used to look like, but rather in another body. If you have where the subtitles are on, this person is referenced as one person, but you and Lily refer to them as someone else. This is still an interesting way to go with the characters as Hal and Lily are on a mission and you can tell at times that Hal is conflicted on what to do.
As I mentioned, the puzzles are more challenging, but not frustrating which is a good thing as you are trying to follow everything that is going on along with the character developments of the story. The first puzzle has you trying to get to point A to point B without being detected by robots. I like that when at certain points when you need some help, all you have to do is wave, and feels like the use of the controls is better implemented here. You just have to make sure you don’t get detected. Even if you die, you can turn back time and try again just like Episode 1.
In episode 2, the Augmented Dreaming (AD) element is still part of the story, but we find less troubled residents that need to be counseled as in Episode 1 where you have to follow a certain very easy pattern in order to make the residents feel better. But to keep things interesting for Episode 2, a new game where you will need to place your hands in certain positions.
But trying to piece together what is happening is probably one of my favorite parts of this series that helps progress the story along. Also, you are not left wandering around aimlessly, you do have indicators of where you need to go as you start to engage more in the conversations that are going on with the different characters as you start to have the answers to your questions all while asking even more questions to get the answers for.
Let’s talk about the graphics and sound. The graphics here are as good as they were for Episode 1. The anime style really works in Virtual Reality and is so pleasant on the eyes that it kept me engaged throughout. The characters still have their foundation, but you can tell have grown due to what has been going on and what is happening with the city. With the sound, if you experienced Episode 1, then you know that Lily is full of energy and that does carry over to her voice. Some will tolerate and some may have an issue with it, but either way, she is an essential part of your adventure. The music just fits perfectly where the music will start to get amped up at parts and then just start to ease down based on the scene.
If there is anything I would like to see it may be an additional mission or task added. Episode 2 is somewhat shorter than Episode 1, but that makes me hope that Episode 3 which will conclude this story, might be as long as Episode 1. Other than that, I can wait to see how this story is going to end.
DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate – Episode 2 – Eleventh Hour continues with works and continues to immerse you into the story that MyDearest has set. It shows how visual novels should be experienced. We try to do the right thing in life even if the choices we make may not make sense to others. Sometimes it takes being in that person’s shoes to understand the miles that they walk to truly appreciate the life we have.
DYSCHRONIA: Chronos Alternate – Episode 2- The Eleventh Hour is out now for the Quest/2 on the Oculus Store and for PlayStation VR2 digitally on the PlayStation Store and as a physical release with the partnership of Perp Games at a retailer near you or on the Perp Games Store. A review code was provided.
To learn more about MyDearest, please visit their site, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube Channel.
To learn more about Perp Games, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I need to see if I missed anything.
