The original Freedom Planet was a burst of excitement in the gaming world, not just because of what it was but what it symbolized. Originally built as a Sonic game and transformed into something else entirely, it was thrilling to rush around in a world that had such a clear and heavy influence but still stood on its own. Fans fell in love with Lilac, Carol and Milla, and praise was strong for the blend of action and speed that was, definitively, its own thing. The team at Galaxy Trail has decided to once again visit the planet Avalice with Freedom Planet 2, which, for better or worse, takes everything from the first game and turns it up to an even higher degree.

Three years after the events of the first Freedom Planet, the stage is set as some unknown force reawakens in the depths of the Avalician ocean, and promptly triggers some kind of massive attack on the nearby forests. A robot of unknown origin wreaks havoc and destroys multiple trees and, unfortunately for Lilac’s crew, tree houses. A quick chase allows them to dispatch the robot, but something is clearly happening, and the Royal Magister asks the trio to investigate and take care of whatever problem is happening. Perhaps feeling they need a bit of guidance to control some impulsive decisions on Carol’s part, the party is joined by a new playable character, Neera Li, who is a panda royal guard that happens to excel in kicking ass.

If you played the previous Freedom Planet, you have a good idea what to expect, but Freedom Planet 2 does bring more to the table in terms of mechanics and interactions. Once again, the name of the game is speed and exploration: Galaxy Trail has done a phenomenal job of crafting these labyrinthian levels that seem to go every which way with the goal always being “forward.” You are able to play many of the stages the way you would with Sonic Mania, in which you just keep running and try to hone your twitch reflexes to deal with enemies, obstacles and hazards that ultimately crop up. Unlike the Genesis era running adventures, though, Freedom Planet 2 absolutely twists and folds back in on itself, so you never really know what to expect next.

Besides the running, however, the combat and the way combat interfaces with the game world has also changes significantly. While characters still have the ability to do a basic attack and a “powered” attack that have different forms depending on directionality, there’s also the new guarding system. This action is essential to good performance in Freedom Planet 2: beyond just making sure you don’t get walloped, it’s also necessary for phasing through barriers of the hurtful variety to keep the velocity going. The guarding system also acts as a temporary powerup, so your attacks alter and hit differently as soon as you enter the sparkly form that happens post-guard.

The addition of passive powerups is also a great alteration to the game, and it comes in flavors of catch free and catch heavy. For example, you might find a powerup that simply adds a different effect to your attack, like an early accessory that attaches a earth-based flavor to your final strike. On the other hand, you’ll also find relics that increase the number of shinies you get from treasure chests or enemies, but with the caveat that you have a time limit to finish the level. Such equippable items are not only purchased throughout the game and occasionally found, but also come with the new difficulty system that will gift you certain equipment if you start on easy mode. Inversely, items may not appear as frequently (or at all) if you bump up to the highest challenge mode.

What’s really interesting is that Freedom Planet 2 is, in essence, four different games. While the story is mostly the same, there’s a lot of key differences between whom you pick before starting off. For example, beginning as Lilac will put you in the driver’s seat of someone who has a lot of connection to the initial events (her treehouse being blown up) and the decisions and actions of her teammates. Carol’s vantage is slightly different, instead giving her more time to speak on her own opinions as things unfold. Galaxy Trail has done top notch work in not only having excellent voice work and dialogue, but also incorporating some great pixel animation for the mouth and body movements. As a result, when exposition moments begin, it feels more like a moment from a cartoon instead of just a normal gaming speech moment.

In that same vein, the new mechanics of Freedom Planet 2 are important to get better at as long as you’re one of the three original characters. While Milla is obviously the weakest due to her whole character schtick, the focus on learning combat and better reactionary timing becomes far more key than you might initially realize. It only takes until you get to the first boss battle that players understand the need to work out strike patterns and reactionary timing to guarding or jumping (highly recommend guarding). This becomes more of a symphonic suite of performative violence, and it’s honestly impressive how complex it can all feel. If you end up in the Battlesphere, you need to defeat the other members of your party to move forward, and I honestly thought it was a genius moment of pushing players to “get good” at the game’s intended upgrades.

However, if you decide to take on Neera Li, then the game changes perspective wildly. While she is clearly outlined as the “power” character, you don’t appreciate what that means until you get into boss fights. Neera can clean house with very little effort on her part, owning to having some great ranged attacks, an ice freezing move, and a full screen upward attack that can deal silly amounts of damage. I played most of the game as Neera because I was curious, and was astonished how much different it felt in comparison to Lilac or Carol. Though players understand she isn’t a core member of the team, it’s still surprising how different the experience is. Sure, you also don’t feel like you run as fast through the levels, but you still get a decent amount of speed and then make up for it by busting heads at the conclusion of the stage.

That’s probably what you most want to focus on when picking up Freedom Planet 2. As much as we want to talk about the spiffy new upgrades, it’s the core attraction – the high speed level design – that makes the game for me, and why I didn’t mind replaying multiple stages from other characters’ perspectives. There’s something about the kinetic surge of hitting all the right springboards, then doing Lilac’s aerial dash to connect with the next waypoint that is so satisfying. Plus, even more gear in the future makes things easier for those who want to focus on running than fighting: just don’t be surprised when the game gives you lower scores at the conclusion of the level.

When it all comes together – the wonderfully scored soundtrack, the intuitive level design, the beautifully rendered characters – there’s more joy in Freedom Planet 2 than not, and I have to believe fans of the original will pick this up without a second thought. For those of you coming in fresh, don’t expect Sonic, because that’s a different franchise. Brace for an actual storyline, balanced combat and exploration, and some positively charged adventure that keeps you locked in. After a bit of time in the shadows, Lilac, Carol, Milla and now Neera Li step into the spotlight all on their own, and it’s a banger title to carry around on the Switch or play on the big screen. 

Graphics: 8.5 Not just excellent character design, but thoughtful level crafting with enemies, flora, fauna and errant objects to really give the feel of difference between the areas. The details get blurred during the run, but you know they’re there.	Gameplay: 8.0 The greater focus on guarding now makes combat a bit more vicious, but that can be exceptionally satisfying when your skills become adjusted. Not as apparent when playing in Neera Li’s role, but it’s ultimately an optional take on the game.
Sound: 8.5 Gorgeously crafted soundtrack gives the feeling of flight with every step, and perfectly captures the essence of the 16 bit era gaming score. Voicework is top notch, though I personally didn’t care for some character’s inflection choices. Still admirable.	Fun Factor: 8.0 While not a game that I can play for an exceptionally long time, Freedom Planet 2 has a charm and appeal that cannot be denied, and makes for a fantastic sequel to an ambitious original. Excessive exposition moments drag down the momentum, but you can jump right back in with surprising vigor.
Final Verdict: 8.0

Freedom Planet 2 is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch.

Reviewed on Switch.

A copy of Freedom Planet 2 was provided by the publisher.