Costume Quest 2 is nearly upon us, and just in time for Halloween.
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The original Costume Quest was a wonderful surprise from Double Fine, a title spawned from one of their infamous Amnesia Fortnights where the team splits up into small groups to test out potential new games. This concept was greenlighted and worked beautifully with its simple yet ingenious concept- it’s an RPG that sees kids trying to save Halloween from a witch who’s trying to steal all the candy from the town. Think Earthbound, but revolving around kids going Trick or Treating.
It’s remarkably light-hearted but still has that wonderful sense of humor that you'd expect from Double Fine.
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Now it's back with a new publisher, the new indie label Midnight City. Last week we got our hands on a playable demo of the game and it's immediately clear that fans of the first will find a lot to love here.
Costume Quest 2 once again stars Wren and Reynold, the fraternal twins who saved the day in the last game. Here they’ll have to not only save the world, but Halloween’s past, present and future from an evil dentist named Dr. Orel who’s set on eliminating candy from the world.
Yes, the game involves time travel. Our demo started off as we were whisked away into the future by Time Wizards, the new minions for the game. You’re soon joined by Everett and Lucy- albeit future, adult versions of them. They’ve been awaiting your arrival for many years and it’s soon obvious that something horrible has happened. This is no happy, candy-filled landscape- the future is a dystopian one, where the dental police patrol the neighborhood, keeping an eye out for anyone eating candy or dressed in costumes, two very illegal and heinous crimes.
Just getting around the world is better, as well. Everyone knows how annoying it was to constantly switch to the robot in the last game so you could use its Boost ability and speed around the environment, and so they've wisely allowed you to do it at will, no costume swapping required. Each costume does have their own unique special ability, though. The game is set in Louisiana, and the present is positively crawling with alligators. To move them out of your way you'll have to find all the pieces to create the Clown costume, which comes with its own horn that scares them away.
You also of course do get to do some Trick or Treating, as usual, trying to make sure to pick houses that offer sweet, sweet candy rather than houses taken over by baddies that fight you. Just more of the same would have been enough, but the tweaks will certainly be well-received by fans.
A word of warning, though- you might want to play through the DLC expansion to the first game, Grubbins on Ice, because Costume Quest 2 takes place immediately after its events.
Costume Quest 2 hits PC/Mac/Linux next Tuedsay October 7, with Xbox 360, PS3, and mobile platforms coming soon. For five more bucks this weekend you can pre-order it on Steam in a bundle that includes the first game and DLC as well.
