Game Review #164: The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (Nintendo Switch)
Reviewer: Bradford “TheWaffinator” Ekstrom
Developer: KING Art
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Category: Adventure
Release Date: 2.5.2019
Price (At Time of Review): $29.99 (Digitally & Physically)
Buy The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 from the Nintendo eShop here.
Buy The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 from Amazon here.
Not Another Teen Movie? I Mean Game… Yeah, Not Another Teen Game.
Anyone out there reading this ever watch the great classic known as Not Another Teen Movie? If not, you are doing yourself a disservice and need to go watch it—if you are not of age, ask a parent of course. It is essentially a movie that spoofs on some of the more American-teen-style classic movies like The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, American Beauty, Never Been Kissed, She’s All That, 10 Things I Hate about You, and others. Well, never in my wildest day could I imagine playing a game that spoofs some greats of the cinematic world, but also the gaming world. Not just any game either, but a point-and-click-style adventure game. The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 by KING Art Games is just that. It is a 3-D point-and-click adventure game that spoofs some amazing and great titles.
Some of the more famous titles that this game takes a swing at are some of the better titles like Harry Potter (my favorite references of the game are the Potter ones), Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Discworld, and World of Warcraft; but I feel like there are other spoofs it has, like Disney. I say this because you start off as Nate, falling from the sky and trying to get help from a blue genie that messes things up more than helps. Or, how about when you’re Ivo, a fairy princess whose mother is forcing you to marry a fairy prince and says you are too fat and such. Sound familiar? If this doesn’t have Aladdin written all over it, I don’t know what does. There is also one hidden little gem that stood out to me and was my favorite hidden gem. Here… take a peek! I don’t want to spoil it completely:
If you don’t see what I see, then we can’t be friends. Or, maybe I am just completely wrong, but that looks like it belonged to one of my favorite video game characters of all time, a dude with yellow spikey hair that once worked for SOLDIER but ends up helping AVALANCHE. One last hint and then I am moving on: the sword looks like one called the BUSTER SWORD? Now do you get it? Yes? Great then please let’s be friends, because you have great taste. No? That’s okay I still like you, but I question your gaming taste.
The game itself isn’t too long. If you can figure all the puzzles out fairly quickly, you can complete the game between 17 and 20 hours. I, on the other hand, am not too good, and kept looking up walkthroughs to help me along. This is great for those who want to add another game to their list of conquered games, but do not have a lot of extra time to dedicate to the game. There are four playable characters in this spoofy-yet-entertaining adventure: Nate with Critter, Wilbur, and Ivo. Nate is a pirate that kind of reminds me of Aladdin, like I already said, and his trusty sidekick partner, Critter, that is some kind of gooey alien-like creature. Ivo, which is the spoof of many iconic Disney princesses, is an elf. A very pregnant elf. Finally, Wilbur, who is a mage gnome. Silly gnome, gnomes can’t learn magic. But that doesn’t stop him.
Controls
The game is a point-and-click, so there are not too many controls to explain or understand. You use the Left thumbstick to move the cursor around, A to confirm and execute a command, or B to talk about (inspect) what you have the cursor pointing to. You have an items menu option with the Y button, which pulls up all your items, and X helps pull up all the key points to which you can move your cursor and will have options for you. When you get to the point in the story/game where you are playing as multiple characters, you will be able to swap between them with ease using ZL and ZR. Other than that, like I said, it’s a point-and-click game, so not too much controlling, more reading and puzzle solving.
Well, how do I look?
I don’t know you, therefore I can’t tell you how you look. I mean, even if I did, I am a very honest person and I don’t think you would like my opinions. However, I can tell you how I liked the outline, both visually and musically in The Book of Unwritten Tales 2. Like I was saying earlier, this game kind of spoofs on World of Warcraft, and not just because of some of the elements in the story, but as I sit here and play and look at the game, the nice crisp cartoony looks remind me of my WoW days. This game is NOT, I repeat NOT to be played by children, because there is a lot of adult content, and they don’t hide it as well as Disney/Pixar. I mean, if you shut the subtitles off, maybe you will get lucky and your kid won’t notice some of the content, and it will be just like watching Shrek with them, except, when they talk about the “Birds and the Bees”, that part is very blunt.
If you have been paying attention to what I have said while reading this, some of my favorite spoofs are the picking at of Harry Potter. Well, when you first play as Wilbur, a gnome who is trying to learn magic, you start off in essentially what is a run-down version of Hogwarts. The reason I am bringing this up in the Audio/Visual section is because, during the first set of Wilbur missions, you talk to books that help bring you back in time, and because you must save some other books from being destroyed. Well, because you are in a video game you get to go back in time with video games graphics as well.
After you save the three books, you go back to normal 3-D graphics, so don’t worry, the command-style graphics are only temporary. Overall, between the funny and spoofy dialogue, and the WoW-like cartoony graphics, I feel like it is well executed and makes it enjoyable for playing.
What’s the Verdict?
This game is one to be noted and not overlooked. It is so much fun that I contemplated buying the physical edition of the game to add to my collection. The only reason I haven’t yet is because I am still debating if it has any real reason for replaying once beaten. Usually for me to buy a game it must have replay value to me. If you are a fan of things like South Park, Not Another Teen Movie, or the Scary Movie series that spoof on others, you will enjoy this game. If you are a fan of how Disney/Pixar is both kid-friendly with hidden adult content, this game is for you.
What I am trying to get at is that this game fits the style of a wide variety of audiences, and that makes it a great title. Am I saying this game is one of the best? No. I am saying it is a great game that is worth at least one playthrough and will give you your money’s worth. In fact, I have been so lost into this title and enjoying all the hidden content and trying to find all the hidden gems that it has taken me a little longer to write this review than I had wanted. I hope you like what you have read and believe me when I say this game is worth your time. How will your story be told?
Score: 8.5/10
Buy The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 from the Nintendo eShop here.
Buy The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 from Amazon here.
Follow KING Art Games
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*Review Code Provided by Terminals