Freedom Planet 2 is an independent platform video game created and released by GalaxyTrail for Windows. It was also published for home consoles by Xseed Games. The game is a follow-up to Freedom Planet, which was first made as a game inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog. Freedom Planet 2 was released for Windows on September 13, 2022. Later, versions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S were released on April 4, 2024. Like the first game, it is influenced by Sega Genesis games. The story follows the three main characters from the original game and introduces a new playable character, Neera Li, who was previously a supporting character in Freedom Planet 1. Together, they fight against Merga, a water dragoness who wants revenge for past wrongs.
Reviewers said Freedom Planet 2 is better than the first game in many ways. They also noted that it became less like the Sonic series and developed its own special look and gameplay style.
Gameplay
Freedom Planet 2 is a 2D platform game. Players move quickly through levels with different paths to beat the boss at the end. Unlike the first game, there are no mini-bosses or second parts to levels. Players can run, jump, attack enemies, and guard to avoid damage for a short time. By gaining speed, players can run up ramps, go through loops, and slide along rails. The game’s design and visuals are similar to games from the Sega Saturn.
Each of the four playable characters has special abilities controlled by an energy meter. Lilac can use her hair as a whip or spin rapidly to attack while slowing her fall. Her special move, the Dragon Boost, is a powerful dash attack in any direction that makes her invincible and can now be used after her spinning attack. She can also dash short distances after guarding. Carol can jump off walls, attack with her claws, or throw her boomerang-like Jump Disc, which she can then jump toward from any direction. Finding gas canisters lets her ride her motorcycle, which speeds up faster and climbs walls. Milla can briefly fly with her ears to reach high places and use an energy shield to block attacks. She can also summon Phantom Cubes that can be shot as projectiles or used for a powerful shield move that pushes her backward. The new character, Neera Li, uses close-range attacks and long-range Frost Arts that deal strong damage. Guarding lets her enter a Focus State that increases her attack speed.
Players start each level with three lives and can earn more by collecting crystals. When health runs out, a life is lost, and the player can return to the last checkpoint with full health or revive on the spot with no health. If all lives are lost, the player must spend crystals to continue. Items bought from shops or found in levels give benefits, like regaining health when attacking, but reduce the crystal reward at the end of a stage. Brave Stones cause challenges, like being unable to revive on the spot, but increase the crystal reward. At the end of each stage, players receive a rank, which is lowered by taking damage, losing lives, or using items that reduce crystal rewards.
There are two main game modes. In Adventure mode, players move through a world map between levels and visit hub areas where they can talk to NPCs and buy items using crystals and gold gems collected in levels. Classic mode, unlocked after completing Adventure mode, has no cutscenes, no hubs, and a simpler map system. Outside of levels, players can complete challenges in the Battlesphere to earn time capsules that reveal more about the game’s story. Collecting all time capsules is needed to unlock a secret stage and receive the true ending.
Synopsis
Freedom Planet 2 takes place on the planet Avalice, which has four kingdoms: Shang Tu, a city once ruled by earth dragons but now governed by the Royal Magister; Shang Mu, an advanced republic city led by Mayor Zao; Shuigang, a northern kingdom ruled by King Dail; and Parusa, a southern tropical island nation that was once home to ancient water dragons who fought against Shang Tu.
The main characters include Sash Lilac, believed to be the last water dragon, who fights with her pigtails; Carol Tea, a motorcycle-riding green wildcat; Milla Basset, a basset hound and alchemist who can make phantom cubes and potions (later revealed to be an alien from Brevon’s homeworld); and Neera Li, the Royal Magister’s trusted advisor.
The game begins three years after the evil Lord Brevon was defeated and forced to leave Avalice. This brought a short period of peace, but it ends when the water dragon warrior Merga returns. Merga is an ancient bioengineered soldier from the same species as Lilac and seeks revenge for past wartime crimes. The heroes are divided into opposing groups and must work to stop the powerful superweapon Bakunawa, which could destroy the planet.
Lilac and Carol face a robot attack in Dragon Valley, which destroys their home. While staying at Milla’s house, Lieutenant Neera Li calls them to meet the Royal Magister of Shang Tu. The Magister explains that recent attacks seem planned and asks for their help in finding the source. Neera joins the group as their contact with the Magister.
The heroes’ tasks include stopping a sky pirate attack on Shang Tu’s museum led by Carol’s older sister, Corazon, and her engineer, Aaa, who are trying to steal the archival drone Pangu; participating in Shang Mu’s Battlesphere to recruit its champion, Captain Kalaw; and working with Shang Tu’s sergeant, Askal, to defeat General Serpentine and the remnants of Brevon’s army in Shuigang, capturing their drone, Syntax. The attacks are revealed to be Merga’s work. Merga, a water dragon centurion from ancient times, was freed when the Kingdom Stone was destroyed. She kidnaps Mayor Zao and demands Pangu to activate the ancient spaceship Bakunawa. The heroes try to trick Merga with a disguised Syntax, but they learn that Kalaw, Corazon, Aaa, and Askal are helping Merga. Merga invades Shang Tu to kill the Magister, who is revealed to be a young earth dragon. Merga accuses the earth dragons of slaughtering the water dragons, overpowers the heroes, and forces them to retreat.
The group takes shelter with Mayor Zao in Shang Mu. The Magister explains that Merga was created during Shang Tu’s war with Parusa and was sealed away with the power of the Kingdom Stone. While the Magister researches Merga and the water dragons, Carol travels to Parusa to convince Corazon not to follow Merga, joined by Lilac, Milla, and Neera. The heroes solve many problems on the island, including a conflict between Serpentine’s and Aaa’s robots over Syntax, defusing explosives planted by Kalaw, and stopping Askal from detonating the island’s volcano. Along the way, they find time capsules left by Cordelia, an earth dragon princess who tried to create peace between earth and water dragons and formed a bond with Merga.
Merga leaves Shang Tu and meets Lilac alone. She explains that the earth dragons were spacefarers stranded on Avalice who enslaved the water dragons to build Bakunawa so they could leave the planet. Merga plans to use Bakunawa to harvest the moon for spaceflight, which would destroy Avalice. The Magister discovers that the test fire of Bakunawa’s mining laser killed thousands of water dragons and started the war, during which the earth dragons killed them all while blaming the water dragons for the conflict. General Serpentine temporarily allies with the heroes to stop Bakunawa.
On Bakunawa, the heroes defeat Merga’s supporters and convince them to stop fighting. Serpentine betrays the heroes and reveals Milla is a bioengineered war dog from Brevon’s homeworld, trying to seize Bakunawa for himself. The heroes defeat Merga after failing to persuade her to stop. If all time capsules are found, Pangu plays a corrupted message from Cordelia wishing Merga happiness. Syntax then takes control of the ship and tries to complete the moon harvest, but is stopped with Merga’s help. As the ship crashes, Lilac is injured by debris and saved by Merga from falling. After learning the truth, the Magister offers Merga’s followers forgiveness and steps down from his position to study Avalice’s lost history, leaving Neera as regent until elections are held. After recovering, Lilac says goodbye to Carol and leaves to find Merga and learn more about her species.
A post-credit scene shows Cordelia’s final message clearly and suggests she may still be alive.
Development and release
Freedom Planet 2 was created using the Unity game engine and features more detailed pixel art compared to the first game. To define Freedom Planet's identity as a franchise, all characters from the original game were redesigned by Tyson Tan, who had previously made fan art for the first game. While early concept artwork on the game's official website remained unchanged, Tan experimented with a new art style based on feedback from fans. Sonic Mania developer Christian Whitehead helped with programming and transferred the physics system from Clickteam Fusion to Unity. A playable demo of the game was available on Steam early in its development. Because of the commercial success of Freedom Planet, its sequel was fully funded without crowdfunding. In an early 2017 gameplay trailer, Neera Li, who was a boss NPC in the first game, was introduced as the fourth playable character in the sequel.
The game was released on Windows on September 13, 2022. Home console versions were initially planned for mid-2023 but were delayed to December 2023. In August, GalaxyTrail announced that Xseed Games would publish the console versions, with a late 2023 release still expected. However, Xseed Games later delayed the release to early 2024. In January 2024, it was announced that the sequel would launch on home consoles on April 4. A Linux version was originally planned to release alongside the Windows version but was delayed indefinitely.
Reception
The Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X versions of Freedom Planet 2 received mostly positive reviews, according to the website Metacritic. Another review website, OpenCritic, reported that 81% of critics recommended the game, showing strong approval.
Before the game was released, Chris Moyse of Destructoid said he liked the game’s visuals and its "Saturday morning vibe," calling it "delightful" and "very cool." After its release, Dominic Tarason of PC Gamer compared the game to a lost Sega Saturn title, noting how it had changed from Sonic the Hedgehog. He said the game was worth the seven-year development but suggested newcomers start with the first game. He praised the boss fights, the addition of a block button, and the improved control for all characters. He also noted that the game was easy to play because of its accessibility options, which let players adjust difficulty as needed.
Tarason said the cutscenes and story were better than the original, which had long scenes and inconsistent voice acting. He praised the new voice acting and the game’s setting. He said there were few things to criticize and called it one of his favorite games of 2022.
Bobinator of Hardcore Gaming 101 said the tone of Freedom Planet 2 was more consistently "cartoony" than the first game, which had a sudden shift in mood. He noted that the villain, Merga, was less threatening than the previous villain, Lord Brevon. He called the story sincere and the voice acting charming but warned that those who disliked the first game’s story might not enjoy this one. He praised the combat and level design, saying the levels were shorter than the original, which was a welcome change. He also liked the boss fights against large enemies and the addition of a world map that let players revisit earlier areas.
He described Freedom Planet 2 as "truly massive" in scope and said the graphics were improved with "real artistic care." He noted that removing elements similar to Sonic the Hedgehog helped the game stand out. He called it "the best of its kind" among a rare group of games not inspired by Nintendo and said "most of the original game’s flaws have been fixed."