Info about Beholder 2:

Official game description:
  
Every citizen of our great State dreams of working at the Prime Ministry!  
You are lucky, intern – your dream has come true!  
While you are at the bottom of the career ladder, that is more than many of your fellow citizens will ever achieve!
Have you already decided what you're going to become?
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Will you become a diligent and responsible officer decorated by the Wise Leader himself? Or will you become a hardline careerist capable of destroying anyone who stands between you and the Prime Minister's seat? Or maybe you are just a whistle-blower? If so, who sent you? And why?  
Whatever the case, you are now part of the Ministry!  
From this moment on, no one beyond these walls has ascendance over you! You are free to shape your own future!
So, what are you going to become?
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Release date: Dec 4, 2018

Categories: Narrative Adventure, Choice-based Narrative, Character Interaction, Satire, Bureaucracy Simulation, Moral Decision-Making, Single-player, Dark Humor

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 50; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The user feedback for Wiki Tax indicates several key issues. The most prominent theme is the complexity of the game mechanics, which often requires players to refer to external guides to progress. Additionally, there are significant concerns about inventory management and economic pressures within the game. These issues collectively impact the user experience negatively, making the game challenging and sometimes frustrating to play.
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant issues with controller support and game stability. Users have reported problems with Xbox controllers and frequent crashes, which severely impact the gameplay experience. Additionally, there are mentions of language and localization issues that may affect non-English speaking users. These technical barriers contribute to a less than optimal user experience on the Steam Deck.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Improved graphics and atmosphere (weight 0.96): The game has transitioned to 3D graphics, enhancing the visual style and creating a more immersive and atmospheric experience. The dark and oppressive tones effectively convey the game's themes.
- Engaging and complex narrative (weight 0.87): The game features an interesting and well-developed plot with unexpected twists and morally challenging choices. It includes references to the first part and expands on its lore, creating a captivating and immersive storyline.
- Meaningful choices and consequences (weight 0.86): Player choices have significant impacts on the story and characters, leading to multiple endings and a high level of replayability. The game emphasizes moral dilemmas and strategic decision-making.
- Rich character development (weight 0.82): The game features well-developed characters with detailed backgrounds and unique histories. Character interactions and choices significantly impact the story.
- High replayability (weight 0.79): The game offers multiple endings and a variety of choices that affect the story, encouraging players to replay the game to explore different outcomes and experiences.
- Satirical and humorous elements (weight 0.76): The game includes satire and dark humor, providing a unique and engaging experience. These elements add depth to the game's themes and narrative.
- Unique and immersive setting (weight 0.21): The game is set in a totalitarian regime, providing a unique and immersive atmosphere. The detailed environments and character interactions enhance the overall experience.
- Accurate simulator of office life (weight 0.19): The game accurately simulates the experience of working in a corporate or government institution, with realistic portrayal of bureaucracy and office life.
- Relaxed and strategic gameplay (weight 0.07): The removal of strict timing on tasks and the addition of strategic elements make the gameplay less stressful and more engaging. Players can manage their time and resources more effectively.

Common complaints:
- Repetitive and grindy gameplay (weight 0.69): The gameplay involves a lot of repetitive tasks such as stamping papers, walking back and forth, and grinding for money. These tasks can become tedious and boring over time, leading to a less engaging experience.
- Poor save system (weight 0.48): The save system is criticized for being too basic, with no option to rename saves. Some choices can directly break the save file, leading to frustration and lost progress.
- Unsatisfying endings (weight 0.48): The endings are seen as unsatisfying with little variability. Some endings feel forced or reveal too much, reducing the mystery and impact of the player's journey.
- Complex and unclear mechanics (weight 0.46): Some mechanics are overly complex and not intuitive. The sorting systems and hints could be clearer, leading to confusion and frustration.
- Disappointing transition to 3D (weight 0.43): The transition from 2D to 3D is seen as disappointing. The graphics and character models are criticized for being worse than the first part, affecting the overall experience.
- Slow and tedious movement (weight 0.29): The character's movement speed is slow, and interactions can be time-consuming. This, combined with the need for constant back-and-forth movements, makes the gameplay feel tedious.
- Time and progression issues (weight 0.07): The time per day mechanic feels like a mobile game energy mechanic, which can be frustrating. Quest progression issues and bugs can force players to reset progress, leading to a less enjoyable experience.
- Lack of connection to the first game (weight 0.03): The game has minimal connection to the first game, making it feel disconnected and less addictive. This lack of continuity can be disappointing for fans of the first game.

Gameplay feedback:
- Time management and resource allocation (weight 0.69): Time is a crucial resource that players must manage wisely. The game involves balancing time between various tasks and activities, with no time limits but a need for strategic planning.
- Career progression and office tasks (weight 0.52): The game focuses on career progression within a ministry, involving repetitive office tasks such as stamping papers, filling out documents, and managing daily routines. Players must navigate office politics, make ethical choices, and complete various bureaucratic tasks to advance their careers.
- 3D graphics and gameplay (weight 0.52): The game transitions from 2D to 3D graphics, offering a new visual experience. This change includes a shift in gameplay mechanics and perspective, providing a more immersive environment.
- Investigation and intrigue (weight 0.47): Players can investigate colleagues and bosses, complete side quests, or frame others to advance their careers. This involves gathering evidence, making strategic decisions, and navigating office intrigues.
- Mini-games and repetitive tasks (weight 0.46): The gameplay includes various mini-games and repetitive tasks that simulate office work. These tasks can become grindy but are essential for progression and achieving certain goals within the game.
- Moral choices and consequences (weight 0.43): Players face numerous moral dilemmas and choices that significantly impact the story and character development. These choices can lead to different endings and affect relationships with colleagues and the overall narrative.
- Financial management and side missions (weight 0.31): Players must manage their finances, pay bills, and invest in side missions to progress. Financial decisions are tied to story progression and can influence the availability of certain missions and outcomes.

Performance notes:
- Graphics quality issues (weight 0.03): Players have reported poor graphics quality, particularly in some cutscenes and a low-polygon model in one of the endings. Additionally, the game has low PC requirements, which might affect the overall visual experience.
- Bugs and texture issues (weight 0.03): There are reports of various bugs and texture issues throughout the game. These issues seem to be episodic but affect the overall gaming experience.
- Performance and interaction slowness (weight 0.02): Some interactions within the game are reported to be slow, and there are 3D performance issues causing slowdowns. This affects the smoothness of gameplay.
- Long commute paths (weight 0.01): There are complaints about the long path from home to workplace within the game, which can make the game feel tedious.

Recommendations:
- Worth the purchase (weight 0.19): The game is considered worth its money and is recommended for purchase, especially during sales. It offers a good volume of content and is seen as a good investment for players.
- Recommended for fans of narrative-driven games (weight 0.14): The game is highly recommended for those who enjoy narrative-driven games with moral choices, dark anti-utopias, and rich world-building. It is particularly suited for fans of dystopian themes and complex decisions.
- Recommended for fans of the series (weight 0.12): The game is recommended for those who have played the first part and are familiar with the series. It is suggested to play the first part and specific DLCs for a better experience.
- Great for fans of specific game types (weight 0.03): The game is highly recommended for fans of games like Papers, Please! and those who enjoy dark, atmospheric games with moral dilemmas.
- Positive anticipation for future content (weight 0.02): Players express excitement for future developments in the universe and upcoming content, indicating a strong interest in the game's continuity.
- Highly recommended without specific reasons (weight 0.01): Some reviews highly recommend the game without providing specific reasons, indicating a general positive sentiment towards the game.

Other player notes:
- Manual save management needed (weight 0.01): Players are advised to manually save copies of their savegames, indicating potential issues with the game's save system.
- Extensive reading required (weight 0.01): The game involves a significant amount of reading, which may be overwhelming for some players.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.19): Players are frustrated by various gameplay mechanics and technical issues. The slow walking speed and excessive time consumption, particularly during commutes, are major points of contention. Additionally, game-breaking bugs, unclear mini-game mechanics, and tedious tasks such as repetitive work duties and bureaucratic challenges contribute to the frustration. Financial management and the time-per-day mechanic are also criticized for feeling like mobile game energy mechanics.
- Disappointment (weight 0.13): Players express disappointment due to the game's departure from the depth and intrigue of its predecessor. The gameplay is criticized for being more monotonous, tedious, and less engaging compared to the first part. The transition to 3D graphics and linear locations, along with unskippable animations, are also points of disappointment. Additionally, the lack of significant impact from player choices on the ending and the weak graphics contribute to the overall dissatisfaction.
- Excitement (weight 0.08): Players are excited about the game's rich story, engaging plot, and the variety of choices and endings. The ability to influence societal development and make moral decisions adds to the excitement. The game's full 3D environment, expansive locations, and strong plot twists are also highlighted as sources of excitement.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.07): Players are satisfied with the game's interactive elements, good plot, and meaningful choices. The visuals, OST, and satire are appreciated, along with the successful transition from 2D to 3D graphics. The longer story duration and the ability to influence the plot and make moral decisions contribute to the overall satisfaction.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.06): Players enjoy the game's atmosphere, story, and the variety of choices and endings. The natural dialogue and immersion provided by the Japanese translation mod, along with the ethical choices and storyline, are sources of enjoyment. The rich content and engaging gameplay also contribute to the positive experience.
- Interest (weight 0.05): Players find the game interesting due to its unique setting, atmosphere, and deep, multifaceted gameplay experience. The improved graphics and new perspective on the game, along with the unique gameplay and freedom of choice, add to the interest. The anti-utopian theme and the shift in focus to the Ministry employees and the theme of total control are also intriguing.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Players admire the game's themes, mechanics, and the immersive atmosphere that fully engages them in the world of a totalitarian regime. The art design, atmosphere, plot, and character development are highly praised. The high political intrigue and tension in the game are also sources of admiration.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Players experience boredom due to repetitive and unengaging gameplay mechanics. The repetitive tasks required for achieving 100% completion and the overall repetitive gameplay contribute to the feeling of boredom.
- Engagement (weight 0.03): Players are engaged by the game's narrative, moral dilemmas, and complex moral choices. The immersive and thought-provoking narrative, along with the engaging plot and well-developed characters, keep players engaged.
- Positive (weight 0.02): Players have a positive experience with the game's quality, storyline, design, and themes. The transition to 3D, continued story, and engaging gameplay are enjoyed despite some negative aspects.
- Engaged (weight 0.02): Players are engaged with the game's unique setting, meaningful choices, and complex narrative themes. The detailed character backgrounds and the game's mechanics and theme contribute to the engagement.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Players feel anger due to game design issues, psychological stress, and frustration with game mechanics and quest design. The presence of bugs and low-quality models and textures also contribute to the anger.
- Excited (weight 0.01): Players are excited about the variability of actions, decision-making gameplay, and multiple endings. The fast-paced action and engaging plot add to the excitement.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Players feel frustrated with tedious walking parts, quest design issues, and the time mechanic. The game feeling unpolished and the presence of bugs contribute to the frustration.
- Tension (weight 0.01): Players experience tension due to important character choices, atmospheric graphics, and sound design. The constant anxiety and feeling of being on the brink of failure add to the tension.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Players feel joy from successfully completing tasks and progressing in the game. The enjoyment of the game's improvements over the original and the pleasant graphics and structured endings contribute to the joy.
- Immersed (weight 0.01): Players feel immersed due to the dense atmosphere and improved graphics. The dystopian atmosphere and character interactions add to the immersion.
- Thoughtful (weight 0.01): Players feel thoughtful due to the game's deep thematic content, moral choices, and exploration of political and ideological themes.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Players feel sadness due to the true fate of Carl Stein and the low-polygon character model in one of the endings.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Players feel nostalgia due to the many references to the first part of the game.}