Brume, Quebec as if you were there – XboxSquad

After a successful first episode, Kona returns for a new investigation in Northern Quebec. Well, new, not so much, Kona II: Mist picking up exactly at the end of the previous one. But don't leave just yet, even if you haven't played the first game. A quick summary at the beginning of the game reminds us of the main points of the scenario, and it's more than enough to be able to enjoy this new opus. Still surrounded by mystery, does this new opus manage to do as well as its predecessor? Answer below.

A recipe that always works

Kona II: Mist is presented, like its predecessor, in the form of a first-person game. You travel through a rather hostile environment, in the North of Canada, where temperatures are therefore largely negative. Here, a heavenly point of view or a large illuminated city. We are in the cold and almost desert countryside of the far North.. What's more, the title's fog is very present and the game takes place in the middle of an unexplained permanent snowstorm. Whitish and grey tones are therefore the norm, and visibility is limited.

All of this reinforces this heavy and mostly solitary atmosphere, and this without making the game unpleasant to the eye. On the contrary, the game does well in this regard. Especially since we won't (fortunately) only visit snowy expanses. Without saying too much, we will visit the (large) home of your employer or his mines… but also some slightly more unexpected places. All are well rendered and often have somewhat hidden or optional passages, with their own stories to tell. It is possible to miss them without losing the thread of the story, but this allows us to learn a little more about the events and characters.

A chilling atmosphere

With such a playground, you can imagine that the overall atmosphere of the game is not festive. Quickly, you will come across frozen corpses or beasts that seem to come straight out of your mind. Are you losing your mind? Either way, you will have to defend yourself. And for that, different weapons are at our disposal, to be found throughout the adventure. This “shooting” part is not the game’s greatest strength, but the challenge being practically non-existent, they mainly allow to bring a touch of variety. A downside for me, however: their ease causes a strong drop in tension for me with regard to my “fear” of dying. The atmosphere therefore takes a little hit, but it is not prohibitive given that the game ultimately plays quite little with these combat phases. The goal is not to offer a game where you fight fiercely for your survival, but rather to keep the player attentive. So it is with the mechanics of cold management: while it is possible to freeze to death, “heat spots” are common enough that this is not a problem.

Where the game makes the most effort in terms of atmosphere is through environmental storytelling. This one is very successful, with corpses, traces of blood, wrecks and other joys, which allow us to imagine a past scene. This is also helped via a narrator present during key discoverieswith a Quebec accent to great effect. But no untimely mumbling herehis interventions have always seemed justified to me to add body to the game. Note also that there are 2 modes to choose from at the beginning of the game, and that I chose the one where the narrator is the least present. The second is perhaps much more intrusive, but just offering this choice is an excellent idea. Still on the side of the atmosphere of the game and its sound environment, The music and sound effects are successful, completely in the expected tone.. I hope you're not afraid of wolves!

A quiet corner

As for the gameplay itself, it's mostly a mix of exploring open areas of decent size, peppered with puzzles. All of this is enhanced by a few encounters, both friendly and hostile. The discovery of areas and their mysteries is at the heart of the game.and we will therefore spend time exploring these snowy expanses in search of clues. All our discoveries are recorded in a journal that is up to us to fill out. Given the relative openness of the game, we can miss certain events, and this will be visible via areas left blank in the said journal. In addition to its role in the narration since it describes the impressions of our character, it therefore allows us to add a rather original collecting aspect to the title. We therefore find ourselves, if we wish, looking for where to take the photos to enhance the texts. Simpler – but also more enjoyable – than looking for hundreds of collectibles hidden in improbable places.

We will also find a few non-player characters in places, again with a Quebecois speech and accent that keeps us perfectly immersed.. These will give us some side quests that aren't necessarily exciting, but few and fast enough that it's not really a flaw. These encounters and quests mainly allow us to bring an additional touch of variety and a different way to enrich the lore.

Please don't take us for idiots!

I also talked about puzzles, and they are used to good effect.. They are enjoyable to solve because they are doable and heavily observation-based. And, in a video game world where everything is given to us without requiring thought, this is not the case here. The clues needed to solve them are there, but you have to pay attention to your surroundings and make the deductions yourself, without a little voice coming to spoil the answer for you.At most, we can complain a little about some solutions that are not always obvious, but nothing that a little observation cannot resolve.

For the rest, the pace of the game is slow, and we are sometimes not so far from the walking simulator. We like it or not, but Just for its mysterious atmosphere, this Kona II kept me in suspense throughout its adventure.. What's more, the game doesn't get lost in an endless and unnecessarily lengthy scenario. I won't say more about this aspect, since it is in this progressive discovery of the stakes that the main interest of the title lies. The scenario itself is not particularly incredible, but the plot is conducted in such a way that the interest and the desire to know the rest continues.

Conclusion

Kona II: Brume is a perfectly mastered game. Whether it's the storyline, the direction or the gameplay, everything is successful.. Sure, it's not going to reach the heights of a very big budget AAA, but it never tries to do more than its budget allows. It's a quality that is sometimes hard to find these days, with games always wanting to do more, with ambitions far exceeding the studio's capabilities. Whether or not you're a fan of the first part, If the idea of ​​exploring the Canadian North and unraveling a mysterious plot interests you, you will not be disappointed..

Test conditions

Our friends at Plaion also very kindly sent me a presskit of the game, of which I share with you some pictures (with my legendary talent for photography… sorry about that). Obviously, as a result, I also added 3 points to the game's rating. Just in case: it's ironic, the site doesn't offer a rating!