Hylics 2

***Hylics 2*** is the sequel to *Hylics* and is created by Mason Lindroth, released June 22nd, 2020 and is available on Steam and itch.io. It's described as "A surreal RPG with a unique graphical style and droll scenario." This game uses a mix of stop-motion animation, 3d-scanned clay models, and pixel art. This game also features Chuck Salamone as its composer with a few tracks from Mason Lindroth.

FAQs can be found here.

## Description

"The tyrant Gibby’s minions seek to reconstitute their long-presumed-annihilated master. It’s up to our crescent-headed protagonist Wayne to assemble a crew and put a stop to that sort of thing."

## Plot

**Spoiler Warning:** The following section contains plot spoilers. (Click to skip section)

Much like the first game, Hylics 2 follows the adventures of Wayne and begins in his house. It's quickly revealed, however, that he is not a unique individual but rather a single member of an entire Wayne species. This colony of Waynes reside in their home known as the Waynehouse. Wayne makes his way to the top of the house seeking Old Wayne, the elder figure of the colony, to speak with him.

Old Wayne speaks of a prophecy from the stars telling of Gibby's resurrection through the efforts of his devoted followers. Wayne is sent out to inform Blerol, the chief of New Muldul, of these foretold events. Since the others at the Waynehouse have not finished their training, he is to go on his mission alone.

Upon arrival at New Muldul, it's discovered that the city has already been invaded by troops sent by a ruler named Viewax. While the city is no longer occupied by enemy forces, lord Blerol and the local cafe owner have been abducted and held prisoner in Viewax's Edifice to the North. Wayne enters Blerol's castle to find his old ally, Pongorma, who had been sent to New Muldul to assist in Blerol's rescue. As the two share a goal, they pair up and Pongorma provides them with Pneumatophores which allow them to glide through the air and make travel easier.

Wayne and Pongorma proceed to the North to confront Viewax and rescue his captives. While attempting to infiltrate the edifice, the two happen upon another old friend, Dedusmuln. Dedusmuln explains that they are in the area for research purposes, seeking ancient Active Cabinets held within the fortress. They decide to team up with Wayne and Pongorma, and together the three of them use Dedusmuln's canoe to access the edifice via the fortress's dungeons. The crew eventually finds their way to the top of the tower where Viewax resides and defeat him. The dungeon key is recovered from Viewax and Wayne and his crew free the imprisoned Blerol and cafe owner.

The group returns to New Muldul to speak with Blerol and discuss the current threat at hand. Lord Blerol explains to Wayne that a remnant of Gibby survived after his defeat. This residue, named the Gibbylet, was originally in Blerol's possession and was sealed away in a remote vault. However, Blerol was forced to reveal the location of the vault during his time as Viewax's captive, and this information was then relayed to another adversary by the name of Odozeir. Blerol fears that the recovery of the Gibbylet by Gibby's agents may already be in progress as they speak, and provides Wayne with the Dock Key to his Airship in order to reach the vault's location on the island of Foglast.

Unbeknownst to Wayne and crew, Odozeir's agents were able to successfully access the vault and seize the Gibbylet. The remnant, now in enemy hands, would soon be used to reconstitute the deceased tyrant Gibby and bring the former ruler back to life.

Using the airship, the crew takes to the skies and attempts to make their way to Foglast in the South. Their entry to the island is unforunately halted by a forcefield set up by Odozeir, the source of which is remote. The three are able to trace the source of the remote forcefield to an island in the far Northwest. Landing on this island, the crew soon happen upon a local Juice Ranch. At this ranch Wayne finds Somsnosa, another familiar face, locked in combat with agents of Odozeir. After joining forces, the attackers are slain and Somsnosa explains that the agents had snuck into the ranch by hiding within a juice beast egg. Upon defeat, the ambush left behind a key which Somsnosa proposes should unlock the entrance to the secret facility to the North of the ranch.

With the newly acquired key in hand, Wayne and crew unlock the entrance to the Shield Facility, the source of the Foglast forcefield. The four proceed to the facility's basement to slay the worm that powers the remote shield. After navigating the worm's maze, the crew summons the massive worm with the sounds of a horn-like instrument. They defeat the beast, effectively eliminating the power source of the remote forcefield.

The group returns to Foglast, no longer protected by the barrier. They make their way through the desert landscape learning of Odozeir's plans as they approach his fortress, such as the creation of Poolmagnes and Warpos to bolster their forces in preparation of Gibby's reconstitution. Wayne and the others soon arrive at the fortress and confront Odozeir. Defeated and reduced to a puddle of slime, Odozeir uses his remaining strength to inform Wayne that the ritual to revive Gibby is too far along in its progress and unable to be stopped.

The reconstituted Gibby Redivivus appears before the crew and deploys a dynamite, sending Wayne and his friends to the afterlife. Gibby then erects the Hylemxylem, an artificial satellite to serve as his kingdom. The floating fortress begins to send out corrupting rays, causing the local inhabitants to transform into incomprehensible, distorted beings. Upon the crew's awakening in the afterlife, long tubes from the Hylemxylem can now be seen draining the pink ocean, channeling the terrestrial juices into the oppressive structure.

Wayne and his party return to the living world and fly the airship up to the Hylemxylem, and infiltrate the fortress. They eventually arrive at Lord Gibby's chambers, where he can be seen bathing in the terrestrial juices stolen from the afterlife. The crew confronts Gibby and defeats him in battle, putting an end to his insidious reign. The Hylemxylem explodes and the crew falls from the structure, landing on a concert stage. Grabbing their instruments, Wayne and friends rock out and perform a concert in celebration of their victory.

During the ending sequence, many surreal scenes involving Wayne and his crew play out. Depictions of Wayne's head can be seen on the cap of a tube of toothpaste, as well as on the front end of an airplane. Somsnosa can be seen playing golf alongside the small Wayne seen in the playable active cabinet games. Dedusmuln's head unravels and releases several small worm-like forms before transforming into a sage token receptacle. Finally, Pongorma is witnessed performing a strange dance of sorts. It's unclear whether these scenes are to be taken literally, or if they may be symbolic or even completely nonsensical in nature. There is no current confirmation regarding the events of the ending scenes and they are likely intended to be up to player interpretation.

**End of spoilers.**

## Gameplay

Hylics 2 combines both JRPG and third-person 3D platforming elements in its main gameplay. The player takes control of Wayne, who can traverse the stylized 3D environments by walking, running, jumping, rolling, and air-dashing. The game utilizes a fixed camera angle, allowing only a single perspective while platforming, and cannot be manually adjusted by the player. Throughout Hylics 2, the player will encounter NPCs which they may talk to and enemies which will initiate battle upon contact.

The battles in Hylics 2 use a turn-based JRPG style of combat in which Flesh and Will take place of the typical HP and MP, respectively. In battle, the player can snap, use gestures, use items, or guard. Snapping is a basic attack that requires no Will to use, while Gestures are skills that consume Will and are generally either stronger, induce status effects, or provide support. New Gestures can be acquired outside of battle via various televisions scattered throughout the game. Every party member will learn a new Gesture when it's found, however, each character also has one Gesture that is unique to them that they will know by default. Hylics 2 also features two special battle functions in the form of Gestures that were not present in the original Hylics: Perish and Charge Up. There is no option to run from battle in Hylics 2, however, the player may choose to use the Perish Gesture to instantly lose the fight and proceed to the Afterlife. Charge Up is a Gesture that gives the user the Charged status, a unique mechanic that alters the effects of each character's signature Gesture, as well as boosting the damage of that attack.

The Afterlife makes a return from the original game in Hylics 2. This version of the Afterlife differs from the first Hylics game in that the player is not required to die to access it, and may visit it at any time via warp pools found throughout the game.

Hylics 2 also includes 2D platforming and first-person dungeon crawler sections. These segments are optional, however, and not required to beat the game.

## Characters

### Playable Characters

* Wayne
* Pongorma
* Dedusmuln
* Somsnosa

## Music

Hylics 2's soundtrack, created to complement the eye-catching visual style of the game, was composed by Mason Lindroth and Chuck Salamone. The soundtrack is comprised of 20 tracks and has been made available for listening independently from the game on Bandcamp and Youtube. Additionally, an extension to the soundtrack was made and released in September 2021 titled Moonage Lobotomy - A Hylics 2 Musical Expansion.

## Trivia

* On September 23, 2019, Mason Lindroth posted an apology for a delay in the game's release, missing the original Summer 2019 release range while revealing the current update for the game, describing the game's development status, as well as leaking new images.

## Videos

Hylics 2 PreviewPreviewHylics 2 Trailer 2TrailerHylics 2 - gameplay teaserGameplayHylics 2 Trailer 3Release trailer

## References

1. ↑ Mason Lindroth - September 23, 2019. Tumblr