PC Critic Reviews

Beyond the Ice Palace 2 is a sort of spiritual clone of Castlevania, less inspired but still with a big heart. The sequel to an IP that not everyone remembers, but that can find admirers among those who still love this genre of games today and that fully deserves a place in your library.

Beyond the Ice Palace 2 is the sequel no one expected—35 years frozen in time, now reborn with nostalgia and a heart of ice. Its stiff controls feel straight out of the ‘80s, but beneath the frost lies gothic charm, slick chain combat, and rewarding exploration.

Beyond the Ice Palace 2 is unashamedly retro and blatantly derivative, but it's also quite enjoyable to play if you like a stiff challenge.

Beyond the Ice Palace 2 attempts to resurrect a forgotten action platformer from 1988, turning it into a Castlevania-like. The gameplay introduces chains used for both combat and platforming, but imprecise controls and questionable physics detract from the experience. Uninspired level design, repetitive bestiary, and badly distributed checkpoints make the game frustrating. While having a good atmosphere and an interesting combat system, this sequel ranks below the average of modern indie productions and will therefore be appealing only to hardcore fans of the genre.

Despite its good intentions, Beyond the Ice Palace 2 ultimately feels derivative. It fails to evolve beyond the 30-minute mark, resulting in a repetitive experience. On top of that, traversal issues and excruciatingly distant checkpoints make it an often frustrating journey.

Add it all up, and you’ll be left wondering why Beyond the Ice Palace 2 exists in the first place. You’ve absolutely played plenty of games like this before, and there’s nothing this game has that you can’t find done better elsewhere.