The Secret Monster Society - Chapter 2: Time, Dreams and Underwater Travel (PC) Review

Blithe Dalrich is back, complete with his best friend, Aphonic, this time getting the chance to use the key item found in the previous episode, a contraption bestowing him with the power to travel back and forth in time. They are dream monsters in the 'underworld' and have the overarching mission of preventing an evil villain from destroying human dreams. In Chapter 2: Time, Dreams, and Underwater Travel, though, it is more about finding Blithe's father, collecting various objects to craft an underwater breathing device, and then figuring out how to get a special ticket to make use of said user-fashioned scuba gear during a deep-sea tour, at which point the credits roll, leaving players once more on edge, eagerly anticipating the next chunk of this highly amusing adventure. How is that for a summary? There is more to it than that, but basically the big evil does not make an appearance yet.

Chapter 1 of The Secret Monster Society was an introductory sequence to familiarise players with Blithe's various cohorts, and the bright, colourful and well-voiced romp was, whilst enjoyable, pretty much all over within 45 minutes to an hour, maximum. Chapter 2 is not quite as short, pushing to perhaps the two-hour mark because of some much trickier puzzles being implemented, and certain ones that will indeed make you extremely frustrated at first, but amazingly overjoyed once finally getting to the bottom of the conundrums. In fact, there was one particular moment of screaming at the game because it was so crafty, and when eventually cracking things, there was a massive sigh of relief, a fist pump, and that feeling of "Wow, you little…" except in a good way that only the smartest of puzzles can inspire.

The script this time round seems even funnier than before, with highly comical quips, and some well placed references, including one pointing directly at a certain protagonist from a popular point-and-click series who can store pretty much anything, no matter the size, in his deeper than deep pockets! As before, this is absolutely gorgeous, taking on the classic cartoon approach, with wonderfully rendered HD characters that are full of life, complemented perfectly by a superb selection of voice actors, and a brilliant soundtrack that gives off a definite Banjo-Kazooie feel.

Time, Dreams and Underwater Travel is the second of this four-chapter adventure, and given how apparently it is meant to be around eight-hours long in total, and the first two chunks weigh in at about three-hours overall, hopes are high for the next two parts to not only carry on the improvements in puzzle style and increased humour, but to also take longer to finish off so there is not that sense of disappointment after just getting into the journey and having it wrapped up soon after.

Issues remaining from the first chapter include Blithe's painfully slow walking pace, the lack of being able to double-click on exits to 'warp' through, and the skip text function being just as temperamental as it was before, sometimes working, sometimes not, meaning that accidentally repeated conversations and deaths must be endured in full.