Discolored 2 Review

What makes a great puzzle game? At a basic level, it isn’t that complicated: you want an interesting variety of puzzles and a constant sense of progression. However, the other question is how a puzzle game separates itself from the rest of the pack. This can either be through humour like we saw in the Monkey Island Special Edition series, or a captivating world. That is where we find Discolored 2 from Godbey Games, the question is if this will bring some colour to your life, or if it should have remained black and white. 

The plot of Discolored 2 is suitably weird, essentially all the colour has been removed from the world and you want to bring it back. However, you are being hunted by a strange group of figures who want to see the world remain black and white. Your only chance is the woman in red, who might just hold the key to saving the world. The plot is revealed as you progress and it does get pretty intriguing, and creepy at the same time. However, you can find it hard to care when you just spent thirty minutes trying to figure out where the damn green triangle goes. 

So, how does this story fit into the puzzles and gameplay? Essentially, many of the puzzles in Discolored 2 revolve around reintroducing colour into the level and using that to reveal the solutions. So, for instance, let’s say you have a door that you need to get through. There is a power box, but in the grey world, you can’t see what you need to see to get it running. As such, you need to explore and discover the level while completing puzzles to get to the end result. 

Now, in my mind, a good puzzle game is one where you never feel like the puzzles are completely beyond you. Ideally, you want to hit brief moments of being stuck followed by realising the solution in one place and that realisation makes a lot more fall into place. Discolored 2 kind of has this, but some of the puzzles have answers that are just a bit too abstract. There is a hint system, and it can help if you are really stuck, but it isn’t the clearest at times. 

However, there’s more to Discolored 2 than just the puzzles, there’s also the horror elements. Essentially, you are being hunted by the organisation and at times you will be pursued by them. This takes the form of scripted “action” sections, which are also the only point where you can actually die. Now, to be fair, these are essentially puzzling in their own right. Now, while you can die, the checkpoint system is pretty fair, so you never really feel like you’re losing progress. You can play the game in a safe mode that completely removes these, so it’s really down to personal preference. 

If I am honest, this is where I feel the game falters to a degree. Now, to be clear, Discolored 2 is mechanically fine. However, once you get past the basic mechanics, you realise that this is a pretty standard puzzle game. In reality, the game needs the action sequences to help it stand out, otherwise it simply feels like more of the same. 

Discolored 2’s visuals are where the game shines for me. The graphics and frame rate are solid, and the introduction of the colours makes the world really pop. The look of the game is particularly noticeable when you have a mix of colour and black and white sections. The members of the organization are also suitably creepy to look at, and the music mix builds the world. 

Overall, Discolored 2 manages to make a name for itself by looks alone. It helps that the puzzles are fun, but at times they can be just a bit too obtuse. The campaign is longer than the prior game, but it still isn’t massively long. This works in the game's favour, as even the most annoying puzzle doesn’t loiter for long. If you like a good puzzle in an interesting world then this might be the one for you, but don’t go in expecting it to completely change how you feel about puzzle games.