Download Gobliins 2 - The Prince Buffoon

Sequels are a complicated issue. If they can’t stand up to the original titles, they’re as good as left alone to rot in the closet. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case with Gobliins 2, the second installment of Coktel Vision’s Gobliiins series, which kept its unique combination of puzzle and fantasy-style gameplay still alive and kicking.

In this game you control two characters, Fingus and Winkle: Fingus being the rather intelligent and sophisticated member of the duo, and Winkle being the dumb ’n rude, but ultimately brave, one. Their goal (and yours) is to rescue the King’s son, the Prince Buffoon, who has been kidnapped by the evil Amoniak.

What we have here (again) is an adventure/puzzle game, which means that most of the time you’ll have to use the right items in the right place in order to move on. Evil kidnappers, sad kings, and a pair of happy-go-lucky adventurers, so what’s the buzz? Gobliins 2 makes up for its typical fantasy-themed gameplay with hilarious characters and slapstick humour which, believe me, will send you laughing on the floor. Almost any interaction with the game world will have the goblins reacting in the most incredible (and painful) ways (and, luckily, there’s no 'game over' here)!

Keep in mind that you’re in a fantasy world where reality doesn’t fully apply; almost no puzzle solution is straight-forward in the truest sense, which means that you’ll have to use your imagination to move on. Know that the least suspected item may solve the situation in the most absurd place! Both fellas can pick up items and exchange some of them for others. Each character may use the same items differently, which means that you’ll have to experiment with both. Also, unlike in the previous installment, you can order your characters to move simultaneously, in order to solve certain time-themed puzzles. (That’s a nice innovation to the overall challenge, for one.)

Through the course of the game, you may have to travel back and forth from some screens, unlike the previous game which boasted single-screen levels.

The game features once again Pierre Gilhodes’ (the guy behind the whole Gobliins series) unique art and style, humour and distinctive character speech. A limited number of Jokers can disclose the current puzzle’s solution to you, although using them will totally ruin the game experience. Let’s not forget that this game isn’t just about making your way to the next level, but also about enjoying its slapstick humour and watching how your Goblins react to the various situations that occur while you’re striving to find the solution. As said before, each goblin will react differently in each situation. Also, this time, the Level Password implementation gave way to a simpler Save/Load system.

All in all, this game has a unique style and is quite fun, even if it gets difficult and some puzzle solutions become totally absurd! You’ll love the characters and the game world, which isn’t of your ordinary innocent “fairy-tale for kids” type. Trust me on that.

If you’ve already played the previous game, I don’t need to tell you any more. If you’re not familiar with the series, now is the time.

Score: 4.5/5

Part of the Goblins series