Curious Expedition 2

Solid exploration and resource management gameplay combined with decent combat, an enjoyable story, and a strong audio/visual presentation.

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Curious Expedition 2 is a turn-based roguelike that takes you on a thrilling adventure to discover mysterious islands filled with treasures, dangers, and opportunities. Manage your resources, party members, and sanity to find glory in the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. Experience procedural storytelling that ensures every adventure is unique, as your characters form relationships, acquire illnesses, and more.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 558 reviews

story31 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

Curious Expedition 2 improves upon its predecessor with enhanced graphics, a more engaging story, and refined gameplay mechanics.
The game offers a variety of classes and characters, allowing for diverse strategies and playstyles, which adds to its replayability.
The art style is charming and reminiscent of classic comic books, creating a unique and immersive atmosphere.

The game can feel repetitive, with similar mission structures and objectives leading to a lack of variety in gameplay.
Some players have reported bugs and performance issues, particularly with animations and UI responsiveness.
The combat system has been criticized for being overly simplistic compared to the first game, with less emphasis on strategic dice combinations.

story
241 mentions
13 % positive mentions
84 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The story in "Curious Expedition 2" is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the deeper narrative and character interactions compared to its predecessor, while others find the linearity and repetitive nature of story missions tedious. The game features a blend of emergent storytelling and structured campaigns, allowing for varied experiences through procedural generation, but some players feel that the forced story elements detract from the roguelike experience. Overall, while the storytelling is engaging and well-presented, it may not satisfy those seeking a purely random and chaotic adventure.
- “The dynamic story, the battles, yes everything is good.”
- “Great storytelling that fits well with the gameplay and randomly generated maps/events.”
- “The charming art style and engaging story keeps me replaying the campaign to try new play-styles and characters.”
- “The story feels forced and tedious, and what I really want to play is a fun roguelite, which this is just not.”
- “This was a good game, but you need to be okay repeating story missions that can take up to 2 hours to complete.”
- “The difficulty forces you to speed through missions, and you can't explore with side missions; you are forced to follow the 2-3 mission pattern per act.”
gameplay
140 mentions
27 % positive mentions
66 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its class-based mechanics that enhance replayability, allowing players to experience different strategies and interactions based on their chosen roles. While the game offers engaging and fun mechanics, some players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking depth, with certain systems feeling cluttered or poorly explained. Overall, the game presents a mix of enjoyable exploration, tactical decision-making, and emergent storytelling, though it may not fully capture the charm of its predecessor.
- “These classes determine gameplay, allowing for enormous replayability.”
- “The gameplay is engaging (and at times enraging) and it has immense replay value.”
- “Fantastic style, fun gameplay.”
- “The amount of garbage mechanics shoved into this trash fire is just amazing to behold.”
- “Everything in here is cancer: from the UI elements covering game popups so you can't actually read them to fighting mechanics that need 10x the clicks and provide 0.1 times the enjoyment of other, similar titles.”
- “The gameplay is often very slow, the game is repetitive, the battles are extremely dumb and easy.”
graphics
138 mentions
36 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the new cartoonish art style reminiscent of classic comic books like Tintin, which adds a vibrant and charming aesthetic. However, some players miss the pixel art of the original game, feeling that the new graphics lack the same charm and that animations can appear awkward or outdated. Overall, while the visuals are generally considered an improvement, opinions vary on whether they enhance or detract from the game's experience.
- “The graphics are much more aesthetic this time around, and I found that because of this I was pulled further into the lore of the game and had more genuine enjoyment.”
- “I love the premise, the execution, and the graphics of this game.”
- “The art style is evocative of the adventures of Tintin and really looks amazing in motion.”
- “Different style of graphics and the gameplay seemed off.”
- “The change in graphics at first wasn't bothersome to me, but the longer I played I realized that the sequel is lacking the charm of the first game and I think the art style is partly to blame.”
- “Even though the first one had pixel graphics, the sequel has laughably bad animations like your very first flash project.”
replayability
37 mentions
41 % positive mentions
51 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
Curious Expedition 2 offers significant replayability through its diverse classes, unlockable characters, and various gameplay modes, allowing players to experience different strategies and playstyles. While some reviews note a lack of depth in certain gameplay mechanisms, the game's procedural generation, random events, and ongoing content updates contribute to a highly engaging and replayable experience. Overall, players appreciate the variety and depth that keep them returning for more adventures.
- “What makes Curious Expedition 2 so special and so replayable is its variety of classes.”
- “The combination of your main character class, which faction you choose, what party members you choose, and what equipment you choose makes for a lot of different strategies, and provides a lot of replay value.”
- “A great game with immense replay value; you don't get two of the same adventures, and even if you get close to it, small elements will change your experience from one playthrough to the next.”
- “All of this absolutely kills the replayability, the very feature that was a hallmark of CE1.”
- “It's a scam, it's got only 12 hours worth of content, and the content is on rails and it's not replayable - there is no variety.”
- “I really want to give it a 10/10, but sadly it is currently severely lacking in incentive for replayability.”
music
22 mentions
23 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its inspiring and diverse soundtracks that enhance the gameplay experience, particularly in the first installment. However, some players express disappointment with the sequel's soundtrack, describing it as mediocre and lacking the unique variety that made the original stand out. Overall, while the music can elevate the game's atmosphere, its quality and variety seem to vary significantly between versions.
- “Gorgeous hand-drawn art, terrific writing, inspiring music, and wonderful gameplay.”
- “This is a very original, pleasant, and somehow challenging game, no matter its pretty relaxing graphics and music.”
- “I am absolutely delighted by this game; it has a unique mood full of adventure, a stunning soundtrack, and is just an all-around fun experience.”
- “The differences in music and the quality of sounds between CE2 and CE1 is astonishingly sad; the first game has a wide variety of unique and cool sounding music reels, sounds, events, and noises that make the game really pop, making the entire expedition feel unique, with biomes even having their own dynamic soundtracks for events and such.”
- “CE2 has an awful soundtrack.”
- “The music is mediocre and forgettable; the character sounds and voices are so badly done that the skeletons just use the default female sound, and most characters don't have any unique sounds at all, rendering the idea that characters have voice or noises useless.”
humor
16 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a blend of dark and whimsical, featuring both hilarious and horrifying events that keep players engaged and entertained. Reviewers appreciate the charming character designs, funny animations, and the game's ability to evoke laughter through unique mechanics and emergent narratives. Overall, the humor is seen as a strong point, appealing to those with a taste for the macabre and a sense of adventure.
- “It's really funny and made me giggle a lot.”
- “The emergent gameplay and narratives are entertaining, hilarious, and head-scratching sometimes.”
- “It has a nice sense of humor, plenty of mechanics, and enough unlockable main characters and party members to keep you playing long after you finish the main story.”
atmosphere
9 mentions
33 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is described as sweet and inviting, blending elements of 1889 Paris with exotic islands, creating a friendly and pleasant environment for exploration. However, some players feel it lacks the charm and subtlety of its predecessor, with a more simplistic interface that detracts from the overall experience. Despite this, the community engagement through platforms like Discord enhances the game's atmosphere, making it enjoyable for those who prioritize storytelling and exploration.
- “Really sweet atmosphere, between 1889 Paris and exotic & mysterious islands.”
- “It is fun to play and the game creates a very friendly, pleasant atmosphere.”
- “I bought this on a whim, and have to say the positive reviews are well earned. It's really a beautiful little game where you can just go and explore and do an expedition in half an hour, very relaxed and enjoyable while still challenging. The simplistic look is deceiving, as are the basic graphics; once in the game, they just add to the atmosphere.”
- “But it doesn't have the flair nor atmosphere of its predecessor, because the interface feels like I am operating an ATM display.”
- “Lacks the charm and subtle atmosphere of the first game.”
- “At the end of the day, if you play these games for the atmosphere and storytelling, then CE2 is fine, but if you prefer a roguelike with snappy mechanics, then CE1 is still the superior game.”
stability
9 mentions
11 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
89 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is mixed, with some users reporting a smooth experience on platforms like the Steam Deck, while others encounter significant bugs, glitches, and crashes, particularly noting that it is still in early access. Despite these issues, many players express optimism about the game's potential and future improvements.
- “Runs great on Steam Deck.”
- “Conclusion - Curious Expedition 2 is an overall well-developed game but does share its number of bugs and glitches.”
- “It's laggy, buggy, and it just hard crashed my computer, causing a restart.”
- “The game I bought was buggy, janky, broke all the time, and was packed with charm and potential, unlike any other game I had played before.”
grinding
5 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, with repetitive missions and a forced narrative that detracts from the overall experience. The gameplay often prioritizes survival mechanics over exploration and combat, leading to a feeling of being "on rails" with limited freedom. Many reviewers express a desire for a more engaging and less monotonous experience, as the lengthy and mandatory missions can become frustrating.
- “That's it, basically after one playthrough you've been repeating content (like doing the same mission twice) and the story missions are just getting longer and more tedious, so it's a huge pain to get through them. It makes for bad gameplay, because it only prioritizes characters good at surviving long on the map - so forget focusing on fights, treasure hunting, or narrative interactions - just invest all you got into keeping high sanity and healing/traversing terrain and you will automatically win this game.”
- “So far, this game seems pretty 'on rails' with not much freedom - being able to do just three missions until a new 'mandatory' story mission is forced upon you whether you are prepared or not. Those missions can be very long and tedious, and are entirely dependent on random locations which can really mess you over.”
- “The story feels forced and tedious, and what I really want to play is a fun roguelite, which this is just not.”
optimization
3 mentions
67 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
Overall, while the game has the potential to run on low-end hardware, players report significant optimization issues that hinder performance. Despite these challenges, the optimization is generally considered good, suggesting that improvements could enhance the experience further.
- “Optimization is good.”
- “Between expeditions, your performance earns you rank progress with one of three expedition sponsor guilds, who each have their own special abilities and unique available items based on your progress with them.”
- “This game looks like it could run on a potato, but because of the optimization issues, it doesn't run as well as it should.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game contrasts a simplified, wholesome art style with themes of colonialism and exploitation, leading to a dissonance that some players find unsettling. While the game may appeal to certain audiences, others feel uncomfortable with the moral implications of plundering and the consequences faced by the native inhabitants.
- “It's like Darkest Dungeon but very simplified and with a wholesome art style and themes.”