Nocturnal 2, a second flame in the darkness - PC Preview

The first Nocturnal stood out from other metroidvanias due to the strong contrasts in its stylistic direction, generated by the protagonist's flaming powers against the dark environments, which also characterized the gameplay formula. The second chapter, Nocturnal 2, ups the ante with even more pyrotechnic effects and increasingly darker locations. We tried the demo, available on Steam; here are our impressions.

Nocturnal 2 takes us to the abandoned city of Ytash. Persian-inspired architecture, amorphous monsters hiding in the shadows, and arcane powers with a penchant for self-combustion—all elements already present in the 2023 original. Our goal will be to “re-ignite” the ancient ruins, literally. Light generated by candles, lanterns, and contraptions will banish darkness and open doors and passages. An on-screen indicator will show the percentage of illumination achieved, while on the map we can track lost lights. The level design also develops significantly vertically, with long climbs and chasms to jump into. However, the areas are as readable as they are well-interconnected, and we have several tools to move around comfortably, making traversals smooth.

Combat appears a bit rough. Using the double jump explosion to launch enemies and “juggle” them in the air is interesting, but it's impossible to complete a ground combo without taking a hit. Even the weakest creature ignores our slashes, and there's no way to disengage with a dash during attacks. It's also awkward to have to stop to perform a charged attack (complete with cooldown, hit or miss). Not ideal, especially against bosses, who don't budge from the ground. The game seems to have a lot of abilities and power-ups in store, so perhaps the situation will improve as the campaign progresses.

However, Nocturnal was quite short (we're talking 2-3 hours for the credits), and Nocturnal 2 doesn't seem to be much longer. If the demo truly represents the initial portion of the full product, in the 45 minutes it took to complete it, we ignited a good 30-35% of the map, according to the bottom bar. Are there more surprises awaiting us? Perhaps more levels or differently designed sections? Probably, as details regarding the story and infrastructure have been omitted, but who can say.

From an aesthetic point of view, the realization of moving flames is truly splendid, the environments are full of atmosphere, and the shroud covering the screen sells the idea of darkness very well, making the effects of the fire trails we leave behind even more spectacular. We just hope there's enough variety or some alternative solution to ward off monotony. The backdrops are rich in detail, but in the dim light, most of the time, you don't notice them. Performance is solid and requirements are modest, you won't have problems reaching at least 60fps. No bugs to report.

Nocturnal 2 needs to clarify a couple of doubts, but the premises are good, especially holding true to the quality of the first chapter. The controls are intuitive, the platforming sections challenging enough, and the graphics are inspired and captivating. The combat system, however, would need some smoothing out to make engagements more fun. We eagerly await the full adventure, expected in the coming months.