Mary Skelter 2

An enjoyable dungeon RPG with a deceptively morbid narrative and flexible gameplay.

Mary Skelter 2 is a welcome return to the horrible living Jail and anyone who is intrigued that missed the original Vita release is taken care of with the added bonus of the original game as a free download.

It should be abundantly clear by this point that the idea of risk versus reward is baked right in to the very structure of Mary Skelter 2, and this is entirely appropriate given the somewhat “Wonderland”-esque tendencies in parts of the game’s aesthetic. It’s a game that is designed to have a constant element of unpredictability and pressing your luck — and the result is one of the most compelling, consistently interesting dungeon crawlers in existence.

Although Mary Skelter 2 initially appears superior to its predecessor, a myriad of issues ultimately stop it from achieving the same magic as the original.

Overall, I absolutely love Mary Skelter as a series, and the second game, while a bit different in nature, doesn’t dissuade me from the franchise at all. The characters are interesting and unique, the battle system and exploration are well mapped out, the variety of job classes make any character viable to use. While the port loses a point here or there, it’s all for fairly minor concerns, or temporary issues that soon resolved themselves. If you weren’t able to pick Mary Skelter 2 up on Switch, or you’re looking for some good dungeon crawling fun, make sure to check this out!

Mary Skelter 2 is a dungeon crawling RPG with a somber and engaging plot that will make the players explore harrowing locations and have them face an onslaught of elements in a combat system that is quick and demanding. The game features a ton of mechanics and gameplay elements and on top of that, it even brings its predecessor for free. Nintendo Switch owners who are fans of dungeon crawling RPGs have plenty to look forward here.

Overall, notwithstanding nitpicks here and there, Mary Skelter 2 is wonderful. This game can take roughly forty to fifty hours to complete depending on work order completion and difficulty. That said, this game also has a remake of the first game that comes with the package, with a new scenario at that. At a price point of $39.99, this is an astounding value. With Mary Skelter Finale recently announced, there is perhaps no better time to jump in and play what both games have to other. Oprainfall’s review of the first game was already highly praised and I would be ashamed if I gave it any lower than that.

If you have the guts to play through some dark and intense story of a distopia, it's got some substantial value as a DRPG genre. If you're into the characters and voice actors of Kei Nanameda, it will be a bonus. The game doesn't really cater for convenience so if you can withstand some challenging mechanics, it's definitely worth a try.

Mary Skelter 2 is a fun game at its core, but it surrounds that with a lot of elements that detract from the experience and make it almost unplayable in public, at home, or anywhere you think your screen could be seen. Fanservice isn't an inherently bad thing, but the characters are all way too young to be used in this way, and it's just not great. The customisation is good, and the combat gets great the further you press on, but it's hard to ignore the random instances of undressed girls sprinkled throughout the game.

Mary Skelter 2 is a very solid dungeon crawler that will appeal to all fans of the genre, expecially for its quirky story and dark tones. Not suitable for all newcomers, though: it's long, difficult and sometimes even obscure in some of its puzzles.