Giving the original the cold shoulder.
Kona II: Brume is not only a sequel to 2017's Kona, it is a direct continuation of the events following that title. Kona was a game built around exploration and putting the pieces together of a mystery. While it featured light combat mechanics, Kona II: Brume embraces them considerably more, even if it doesn't really present the need for such a change. While Kona II: Brume has a fairly engaging narrative, its additional elements sadly leave it out in the cold.
Kona II is the sophomore release from Parabole, a French-Canadian studio founded in 2012. The title sees the return of detective Carl Faubert, who attempts to escape a rural mining village in Northern Quebec after finding the body of his client William Hamilton, murdered by a local doctor. During this escape, Carl discovers more about the mystery surrounding this village and its connections to Hamilton, as well as what is causing a snowstorm, named the Brume, to encompass this area of Northern Canada.
Kona II makes a few changes from its predecessor. First, Carl is a bit less of a detective this time around and instead relies on his history of being a Vietnam Vet to add a reason for his greater reliance on firearms. 2017's Kona did have combat, but it was extremely limited and even then, was nowhere near as frequent as what Kona II asks of you. Both games share an aesthetic and tone to connect them, but Kona II feels a bit too ambitious and brings changes that I don't feel honor players who devoured the original. That said, those who possibly found Kona to be a bit too much of a slow burn might find Kona II to be a far more engaging experience.
Kona provided a greater open world to explore, diving into light survival mechanics to fend off the cold of taking in a Canadian wilderness. Those elements return, but Kona II's locations feel more reigned in despite their appearance of feeling bigger. You still have to ensure Carl is warm as well as various healing items to use, but you can bypass all these elements through its easier difficulty, which makes Carl pretty much invincible.
You also won't rely on Carl's Chevy truck this time around, but you'll trade that in for a dog sled featuring six good boys, even if you'll only come to use them a bit after the game’s midway point. While most of your time is exploring a vast wilderness, attempting to keep warm by locating firepits and wood stoves, two large areas present in Kona II take place indoors, with one of these locations being a snow-torn mansion that has long since been abandoned.
This area is also where the bulk of Kona II's puzzles take place. From spinning components of a globe around to solving a broken dumbwaiter to finding a set of replacement typewriter keys, which has its own puzzle of its own, even if the answer is drilled into your head, should you take in the notes and pay attention to the scenes that play out. I will say that a great deal of my time with Kona II was backtracking excessively and exploring locations that hid items that would further my progress, with a facility with batteries being the moment where I felt the most lost and tired of exploring its same hallways over and over again.
Each location you visit reopens the narrative of 2017’s Kona to the point where a simple murder mystery has evolved into something a bit more widespread and supernatural in nature. The reasoning is fine, with a few characters that help flesh it out, but it feels like a narrative thread that was packed onto the original's story rather than one that felt like this was always the plan. And while you'll interact with a small handful of characters, they never feel like more than static dummies there to provide you with your next objective marker.
While Carl is the central character, voiceless apart from calling for his dogsled to stop or the lines of voiceless dialogue he will engage with with the few people he will meet, you'll also have a narrator that will be along for the ride. The narrator does a fine job but can often feel like he is conveying information we are already aware of. That said, if you want more of the narrator stepping in, you can turn on a setting that has him more present across Carl’s journey.
The bulk of Kona II’s gameplay has you enduring the cold of a harsh Canadian winter as well as exploring a few interior locations, snooping around for notes, keys, bullets, as well as batteries to keep your flashlight lit. The notes will give context to the story, its characters, and their motivations, and while the story greatly moves away from the events surrounding Hamilton himself, the basis for what follows does stem from his involvement in moving into Cree territory, something that didn’t exactly go over well the locals.
Carl’s use of firearms will translate to wolves, bears, and the odd moose you’ll find, but these moments rarely happen apart from tracking down a type of crystalized substance that becomes the focus point of the story. The Brume itself is tied to this material and provides the reasoning behind the events of the first game, even if again, it feels tacked on.
Apart from the natural wildlife, despite how they approach you through the Brume, you are also stalked by something as bit more supernatural in nature. This force cannot be combatted, so you’ll initially have to run away, hoping to give enough distance from them to get to safety. Apart from moments before the finale, I encountered them twice, which is a shame since it added to the tension I felt the game lacked. I also found that this caused me to stockpile a lot of ammo as I really had nothing much to expend so much of it on.
You’ll also collect materials as you explore that you’ll be rather unsure of these use in the game’s early hours. It’s a shame that there wasn’t an initial tutorial of why you would need them as by the time I did require them, I was thankful I had scavenged so much, even if the result was really just to open up access to another area that had more for me to collect. It’s a system I wish more was done with as it never feels like a system that has much merit to it.
What is important to know about Kona II is that this is not a horror game whatsoever. It can have some eerie moments and contains some supernatural elements to give the appearance of one, but Kona II is a game that is more story-focused than one built with gameplay and atmosphere in mind. It can feel a bit of a slow burn at the start, but I found it more engaging than the first game due to its pacing and discovery to be more intent on pushing me through a few of the game’s opening moments.
I’m not sold on its entire adventure as the lack of some hand-holding caused me to backtrack to the point where a few locations in the game really soured my time with it. I think that it certainly can entertain those wanting this type of experience, but I do feel that some information could be conveyed to the player better while still giving the freedom to have that sense of personal discovery. While you do have a journal that attempts to convey this information, it doesn’t always make your objective clear.
Kona II’s tone and aesthetic can make for a solid experience here, but the overall package feels a bit too uneven in what it is attempting to be. Had it been a bit more linear and dropped combat entirely, then I personally would have felt more engaged as its combat never feels purposeful or that exciting. Kona II as a sum of its parts is certainly fine as it is, making for a game that is very similar and yet somewhat different than its predecessor but is never as exciting as I think it could have been.
Developer - Parabole, Ravenscourt. Publisher - Ravenscourt, Plaion. Released - October 18th. Available On - Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC. Rated - (T) Blood, Violence, Sexual Themes. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.