Chapter One: Introduction
Evil Maze 2 is a lewd action-RPG with hidden-object gameplay available on Steam.
To enjoy uncensored content, the EVIL MAZE II Sexy & Uncensored Patch must be installed. It took me about three and a half hours to complete the base game and about thirty minutes for Evil Maze II – Lava Dungeon.
For purposes of this article, all DLC are installed.
Chapter Two: Gameplay (3/5★)
Section One: Overview
On a search for an “antidote for her friend”, Suhaya must persevere through maze-like “levels”. Each level is loaded with locked doors, enemies, traps and secret loot. She must ration her resources and spend her color-coded keys wisely; the only way to progress is to move forward, but if she’s took weak to continue it could mean resetting the game.
Section Two: Combat
Combat is similar to the first Evil Maze, but with one very big change — Sahuya attacks are restricted by “stamina”, preventing her from attacking too many times in rapid succession. It’s not an issue when engaging stationary enemies, but it makes boss fights extremely difficult.
More on that later when I discuss gameplay “balance”.
Other than the stamina mechanic, combat is pretty much mashing the “attack” button and spamming potions as needed. However, Evil Maze 2 does feature more action with enemies and traps which deal damage from afar. It’s doubly important to maintain healing items in this game to cope with what are often unavoidable sources of damage.
Like the levels in Evil Maze II – Lava Dungeon, which deal damage with every step!
Enemies can deal “critical” damage, dealing sudden, extreme damage. Evil Maze had the same mechanic, but critical strikes felt more regular in this title. During my playthrough, I maintained as much HP as possible as a buffer for critical damage.
Section Three: Progression
As Suhaya defeats enemies, she levels up, gaining increased stats across the board. However, leveling up is not her primary means of progression. Most of her power is derived from equipment, which can be found or purchased. The best equipment is hidden from view, unmarked and sometimes even locked behind doors.
Making a come back from Evil Maze, Suhaya can gain minute stat increases by collecting colored “orbs”. Typically guarded by enemies and locked doors, these orbs are a quick way to gain what’s effectively level-up. Also making a comeback are “stones” and “medals”, purchasable items which provide a permanent boost. However, unlike the first game they’re harder to get ahold of.
Section Four: Exploration
In Evil Maze 2, it’s wise to click on every object, wall and pit for hidden loot. Secrets are the key to garnering the power to beat the final boss; however, it’s also important to save before looking for secrets. Sometimes, enemies spawn in place of items, instantly ending the game depending on Sahuya’s HP. It wasn’t until a few hours of gameplay was I able to survive surprise attacks.
To note, a few hours in this game was over half of my playthrough!
Advertised as “10000+ combinations of game levels”, Evil Maze 2 employs randomly generated levels. . . but I didn’t notice. Levels appear to be randomized once per playthrough. Unless you’re playing on speed running the game, I don’t see any benefit for randomized levels. I was hoping for something like Ruins Seeker, which offers endless, randomly generated dungeons.
Section Five: Balance
Compared to Evil Maze, every room was a struggle to live. Maybe I experienced bad RNG, but preparing for battle often had me backtracking for anything I could use for recovery — even if only for small change to buy one more Violet Potion.
Evil Maze 2 may not have twenty minute boss fights, but ZOV GAME STUDIO didn’t make them any less infuriating. When Sahuya attacks, she loses stamina. But if she “dashes” (e.g. moving any quicker than a crawl), she loses stamina. Fortunately, Sahuya typically only needs to move or attack, but boss fights require an overabundance of both.
Bosses move about quickly, often employing projectile-based attacks with one or more companions. The biggest feel bad moments I had was when I had to take my hands off my keyboard and wait before I was allowed to continue playing the game.
Section Six: Controls
The controls are what I’d expect for an RPG, but customizable bindings would be nice.
I’m not sure why ZOV GAME STUDIO decided to switch up the controls from Evil Maze, but I suppose “Enter” is more intuitive for attacking than “F”. Evil Maze 2 maintains a “hot bar” system likes its predecessor, which may be desirable for some players. If you’re someone that prefers browsing spells and items via the “pause” menu, you’ll have to make do with a laggy UI.
Something I enjoy in this game is how doors are unlocked. In the first game, simply bumping a door would expend one of Alma’s keys. That issue is eliminated in Evil Maze 2 by requiring an “interaction”. When misspending a key can break your save, consent is a great quality of life.
Chapter Three: Sexual Content (1/5★)
Section One: Content
Unfortunately, there is no sexual content in this game.
There are ten unique, unlockable images in “Gallery” with up to four variations of increasing nudity, provided EVIL MAZE II Sexy & Uncensored Patch is installed. Supposidely, it’s possible to acquire a nude “outfit” in the game, but I didn’t have the patience to fulfill the unlock conditions.
Section Two: Implementation
Defeating bosses and interacting with secret locations unlocks entries in the Gallery. Outfits are are typically found within elusive “hidden areas” which require one or more rare keys to traverse.
Section Three: Interactivity
The gallery does not offer any interactive content. Too some extent, one could play “dress up” with Suhaya by equipping different outfits (but nothing like what the first Evil Maze offered).
Section Four: Quality
The CGs in this game are a step down in quality. It’s nice to see full art unlockable images, but compared to the artist behind the original Evil Maze they felt like mid-tier fan art — like something I’d expect to see in a budding artist’s gallery.
Also I haven’t a clue why each image says “OLD VERSION CG”. Where’s the “NEW VERSION CG”?
Chapter Four: Story (1/5★)
Section One: Plot
Evil Maze 2 begins where Evil Maze left off (more specifically, where Evil Maze Horror Forest DLC left off); Alma, the previous playable character is recovering from her wounds. Her caretaker, Suhaya goes on her boat in search of medicine. Along the way, she meets you, her “inner master”!
Section Two: Characters
I was hoping this game would expand upon Alma, her situation, and her relationship with the Suhaya. Alma has nothing to say for herself until revived (if revived — “endings” are randomly decided). Despite having “lived in [the] forest for over 1000 years”, Suhaya has little worthwhile input in the game. She’s fucking braindead, but not in a good way.
Among the boss fights are characters whom she refers to as “sisters”. It’s unclear why they want to stop Suhaya, but I have to mention them for completion’s sake. I just wish they didn’t soak up images in the gallery which would be better served by Alma and Suhaya.
Chapter Five: Sound (3/5★)
Section One: Soundtrack
The music is this game is certainly more distinct than the first, but it’s a bit much. Sure, Evil Maze was just a bunch of stock tracks. . . . but at least they matched the gameplay. In this game, the music is overtly dramatic for what’s typically slow paced, methodical gameplay. Once I got a good sample of an area’s music, I took off my headphones to prevent burnout.
Section Two: Sound Effects
The sound effects in this game are unremarkable. What Evil Maze has to offer are stock sound RPGMaker files and recycled content from the previous game.
Chapter Six: Visuals (2/5★)
Section One: User-interface
The user-interface is a mess; it’s ugly and overdesigned with mismatching icons and text. I have a feeling ZOV GAME STUDIO wanted to “top off” the first game, but the first game looked great! Maybe they wanted to distance themselves from the outwardly RPGmaker aesthetic, but at least I could fucking read the text.
TO be clear, Evil Maze 2 is similarly functional, it’s just aesthetically overcomplicated.
On a less serious topic, in the first game equipped items would alter Alma’s appearance. It was a fun way to show progression as she racked up increasingly valuable gear. But in this game, Sahuya’s outfits are prohibitively rare with no gameplay value. Alma’s clothes represented progress. Sahuya’s clothes represent wasted time and money.
Sort of like this game — ooh!
Section Two: Graphics
The game fails to impress with clashing, premade RPGMaker sprites — many of which recycled from the previous game. Despite both games sharing much of the same sprites, Evil Maze reigns as the most aesthetically pleasing title. Evil Maze 2 just looks every other RPGMaker game.
In the previous game, Alma’s sprite occupied more space. In Evil Maze 2, the player character only uses a single tile. Additionally, the maps in this game are “zoomed out”, allowing more of the level to be shown at a time. On paper, it’s advantageous — but I found myself playing round after round of “Where’s Waldo” as I tried to track where my character was on the screen.
Evil Maze didn’t have this problem because Alma was (A) proportionally larger, (B) visually distinctive, and (C) followed by a soft glow as a contrast for the darkness of her explorable world. The following image is a side-by-side comparison of Evil Maze 2 (left) and Evil Maze (right).
Chapter Seven: Verdict (2/5★)
If you played the first Evil Maze and you want something similar, this game will scratch that itch. If you want something better, don’t bother. Evil Maze 2 is several steps back from the original game. What I wanted was better balance, more weapons, more armor and above all, lewds — but Evil Maze 2 fails to deliver improvements in every way. If you’re interested in a high quality action-RPG with lots of sexual content, consider Ruins Seeker from Kagura Games.
I don’t recommend purchasing Evil Maze II – Lava Dungeon. The “lava costume” isn’t sexy and the “new levels” aren’t fun. The boss fight is a let down and the balance is unsuitable for a DLC intended to be played after finishing the main story.
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend purchasing EVIL MAZE II Sexy & Uncensored Patch either. This DLC will not add any meaningful adult content or accessible nudity. It’s unlikely most players will see more than a few images without consulting an exhaustive guide.
