White Noise 2

*White Noise 2* is an indie horror game developed by Milkstone Studios. It is the third and currently final game in the White Noise series, releasing after White Noise: A Tale of Horror and White Noise Online.

## Gameplay

 File:White Noise 2 Lobby.PNG
Gameplay is vastly different compared to its predeccessors. It retains the ability for up to four players to play as Investigators finding Clues, although there are now tapes instead of tape recorders along with four special clues. Investigators must also break a specific amount of Sigils after finding all eight clues. One player can now play as the Creature, aiming to devour all Investigators before they break the sigils. The Creature can't instantly devour Investigators normally.

Instead of multiple Investigators sharing the models of others and being considered a unique character, a Skins feature is used to not only customize the Investigator, but also slightly affect their stats. All Investigators who used a different Investigator's model have become skins. Creatures also have skins.

A notable change to the Investigators is their stats, as Investigators now have seven stats and all of them can be at values greater than or less than five, the average. All six stats from White Noise Online return, although with the exception of Speed and Flashlight stats, all of them have been renamed. The Vitality stat is added to determine how quickly the Creature will devour an Investigator when caught. Creatures also have stats added to them, specifically Speed, Horror, Perception, Light Resistance, Strength, Skill Usage, and Idol Influence.

The Creature is fairly different compared to how they worked in the two White Noise games before. They are now weak to light and move slower when affected by it. They are weaker to Flashlights, which can stun them and eventually force them to teleport away (called Banishing).

## Investigators

Four Investigators are available at the start of the game. Twelve Investigators must be unlocked through leveling up. Corey and Shaira are the first pieces of Downloadable Content in the traditional sense, being bought together for aroud $2 in USD. Each Investigator also has four alternate skins that are gradually unlocked as well, until the player reaches Level 42.

### Starter Investigators

* 5 Endurance
* 6 Exploration
* 7 Flashlight
* 4 Bravery
* 5 Stealth
* 5 Vitality
 Anna |  | * 5 Speed
* 6 Endurance
* 6 Exploration
* 4 Flashlight
* 5 Bravery
* 6 Stealth
* 5 Vitality
 Rinko |  | * 6 Speed
* 5 Endurance
* 5 Exploration
* 5 Flashlight
* 7 Bravery
* 4 Stealth
* 5 Vitality
 Phileas |  | * 4 Speed
* 7 Endurance
* 5 Exploration
* 5 Flashlight
* 6 Bravery
* 4 Stealth
* 6 Vitality
INTIMIDATING: Investigators within 10 meters have their Speed lowered by 3%.

### DLC Investigators

* 4 Endurance
* 5 Exploration
* 7 Flashlight
* 4 Bravery
* 4 Stealth
* 5 Vitality
VANDAL: The effects of Items Corey uses are decreased by 25%, except for Flashbangs, Statuettes, and Medkits.
 Shaira |  | * 5 Speed
* 5 Endurance
* 7 Exploration
* 3 Flashlight
* 8 Bravery
* 7 Stealth
* 4 Vitality
STATIC: Shaira's Exploration is decreased by 10% when her Flashlight is on and over 60% battery life.

## Creatures

As a series first, the Creature is now playable. One Creature is available when first starting the game, while four others are unlocked at specific levels. Three additional Creatures may be purchased as DLC, costing $2 each in USD.

### Starter Creature

* 5 Speed
* 5 Perception
* 5 Light Resistance
* 5 Strength
* 5 Skill Usage
* 5 Idol Influence
* RANCOR: Olkoth's powers have their cooldowns decreased by 20% when banished.

## Changes from White Noise Online

### General

* The game now runs on the Unity game engine. As a result, overall quality, such as graphics, have improved significantly.
* Opening cutscenes have been removed.
* When the player first joins the game, they are immediately given the choice of going to the Tutorials or skipping them. Tutorials now include videos imported from YouTube.
* Levels have been added and is now used for unlocking content. The player's level increases each time they play a round and fulfill certain criteria, such as finding Clues.
* The six maps from White Noise Online are replaced with nine new maps.
* Skins have been added. Each character has five skins, a default skin and four alternate costumes that affect their stats slightly. Skins can also be added for a limited time, such as around Easter Sunday or Halloween.
* The Tape Recorders have been replaced with Tapes that act identically to their predeccessors. There are also four special clues, which are Light Prisms, Arcane Chests, Ancient Grimoires, and Rifts.
* The Artifact and Sigils are now present, which need to be broken by the Investigators for them to win the round. The amount of Sigils corresponds to two times the number of Investigators.
* The Creature is now controllable by players. As a result, lobbies now accomodate five players, unless if the gamemode chosen is Co-Op or Classic Co-Op.
* The End-Of-Game Results screen has been worked into two phases. The first phase shows the winning team organized by their score, while the second phase includes the replay seen from the previous game and the amount of times players did specific things. The first screen is directly inspired by Overwatch.
* Four gamemodes have been added, three of which exclusive to Online play. Standard is the default mode, while Classic mode makes various changes to play more like White Noise Online. Both modes have Co-Op variants that remove the ability to play as the Creature and thus lower the lobby's maximum player count to four.

### Investigators

* Twelve unique Investigators have been added alongside the six returning ones. The nameless reporter from A Tale of Horror as well as Invisible Man and Invisible Woman from White Noise Online have not returned.
* Investigators are voiced by professional actors and have unique voices, rather than sharing voices taken from a sound library.
* Investigator's stats have been renamed, except for Speed and Flashlight. Vitality was added, while some returning stats have been reworked.
	+ Stamina is now Endurance.
	+ Scout is now Exploration. It affects how quickly the Compass and Glow Sticks charge after being used and the Investigator's hearing radius for Clues.
	+ Sanity is now Bravery.
	+ Evasion is now Stealth. Stealth affects Paranoia, a hidden mechanic that lowers Exploration and Bravery depending on how many Investigators are away, the Creature's distance required to outline them, and how long they are affected by the Creature's powers.
	+ Vitality affects how long it takes for the Creature to devour an Investigator and the Speed penality on an injured Investigator. Investigators are also able to resist being grabbed by the Creature until their third grab (with the exception of Phileas and Vincent, who are instantly devoured on their fourth and second grabs respectively).
* Investigator traits have been added. Investigators have unique positive and negative traits.
* Investigators can now choose different flashlights, which affect their stats while also having three unique stats affected by the Flashlight stat.
	+ Battery Life affects how quickly the Flashlight will lose its battery.
	+ Range affects the length of a Flashlight's beam.
	+ Spread affects the width of a Flashlight's beam.
* Investigators are now able to use a compass that roughly points in the direction of the nearest Clue, throw or drop Glowsticks that slow down the Creature, and shout to alert the Investigators and Creature of their location.
* Various Items have been added. Batteries have also been added, being spread across the map like Items and recharging the Investigator's flashlight.
* Investigators now fall and lie on the ground when devoured instead of floating upwards and being petrified.
* Ghosts now move faster, can banish Idols, shout, and place Spirit Flames that slow down the Creature.
* The memorials are now small brown boxes with candles and a few of the Investigator's personal items instead of glowing gravestones.
* The Sanity Cap now gradually lowers as the game progresses, as well as lowering when looking at the supernatural or when running.
* Going insane now only stuns the affected Investigator instead of instantly killing them.

### The Creature

* Seven Creatures have been added alongside Subject 23. They also have different stats.
	+ Horror affects how quickly they drain an Investigator's Sanity.
	+ Speed affects their movement speed.
	+ Perception affects the distance the Creature needs to be from an Investigator to highlight them.
	+ Light Resistance affects how long they can keep attacking after being stunned by Flashlights or a Flashbang.
	+ Skill Usage affects how much the Creature can use their powers.
	+ Strength affects the time it takes for the Creature to devour an Investigator.
	+ Idol Influence affects the Range and Horror stats of Idols, as well as the time it takes to summon them.
* Idols are now able to track Investigators. They can choose between 15 Idols with two stats, as well as a positive trait.
	+ Horror acts exactly like the Creature's Horror stat, affecting the speed an Investigator's Sanity goes down when looked at.
	+ Range affects the distance an Idol will detect an Investigator.
* Each Creature gains two positive traits.
* Creatures are now weak to light, slowing down in it. They are also stunned by Flashlights, eventually banishing them and teleporting them to another part of the map if they get stunned.
* Creatures cannot instantly devour Investigators unless they have been grabbed enough times. They can still be devoured on their first grab, although only if they aren't saved by their teammates stunning the Creature with their flashlights.
* Creatures now have six powers they can use throughout the match. Each one has a Compass to find the Investigator with the lowest Stealth, can teleport to Investigators, and can sprint to move faster. Each one also has three unique abilities.

## Reception

White Noise 2 has been recieved much more warmly compared to the two games before it, having mixed to positive reviews on Metacritic and a positive review average 11% higher than White Noise Online, indicating very positive reviews. Despite its more positive reception, it wasn't able to sell well, with most sales being made with the game recieving a discount.

In comparison to other asymmetrical survival horror games, such as Dead by Daylight and Last Year: The Nightmare, White Noise 2 has higher review scores than many games in its genre. Its positive review average of 80% on Steam within its game genre is only outclassed by Dead by Daylight, with 81% of its reviews being positive. Unlike other survival horror games, however, White Noise 2 lacks much of a presence on various reviewing websites. This can be noticed on larger websites, as neither the PC, PlayStation, or Xbox versions of White Noise 2 have a defined Critic score on Metacritic, while others, such as IGN, lack a review for the game altogether.

Different versions of the game tend to have different scores. On GameFAQs, users rated the PC version as Flawless with a Tough/Unforgiving difficulty and over 80 hours of playtime, although this only consists of two users. On the same website, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360 versions have the game at four stars instead of five, with the difficulties swapping between three and four hearts respectively.

## Trivia

* White Noise 2 is the only White Noise game not developed for a Xbox system initially, as well as the only game to not be available on the Xbox 360.
* White Noise 2 is the only game in the trilogy to be rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). It was given an M-Rating, as it contains violence and blood.
* White Noise 2 has three removed achievements. The first one, named Powerful Legs, was obtained when sprinting as the Creature 50 times. The other two are unknown, but likely tie into Olkoth's or (at the time) Subject 23's Decoy and Shutdown powers.
* Most achievements in the game are identical or very similar to multiple achievements in White Noise Online.