Cubed3 was fortunate enough to play the first D Life game by Mindware, a game that resonated with this reviewer. Now, with the support of creator Mickey Albert, it’s time to jump into the unique world of Denshi Life again! What does this new iteration of the formula bring to the mixing table?
Mindware’s D Life was an interesting experiment that offered a very unique and enrapturing experience. Affect the behaviours of the denshi to try and capture high-scoring photographs of them based on the current mission goal. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s extremely addictive and satisfying to play. This time, Denshi Life 2 has a few more modes and tweaks to make the experience even better.
When the game opens up, a digitised human introduces the game in English, a funky and bizarre little detail. Players can then get stuck into the variety of modes, with the first and most important being Timed Mode. Here, players will race to progress through different challenges, manipulating the denshi in an attempt to capture the required types. Being fast and more accurate earns more points, meaning it’s no easy feat to land on the leaderboards.
All of the gameplay has been refined alongside the presentation. Now with a much bigger play area, the denshi can have even more complex behaviours to manage. There are also more chances to miss or accidentally capture unimportant types. This is the main change, and it ends up being satisfyingly challenging, and a suitable upgrade from the previous title.
Alongside this is the new Caravan Mode, which is a fun experience that, instead of a specific mission, is a time-limited free-for-all that is great for experimenting with the new controls. There is also a new introductory mode, which teaches players how to play, and a returning but expanded roguelike mode where missions are now choices, allowing for some customisation of the ‘story’ of that play session. Essentially, Denshi Life 2 is a way bigger game than the original.
The controls also feel rather good, but are best with a separate mouse, which might be a bit hard on a touchpad, as that allows for faster sliding and better, more accurate ‘photo taking’. If players are lucky, they can also invest in the nanoKontrol2, a popular device by Korg, around which the game is designed, allowing for an almost spiritual experience.
The sound design is done by industry veteran and visionary Yuriko Keino, who has created some truly interesting and amazing sound-scaping tools. Known for their work on games like Pac-Man, there is a real retro and fun vibe to the whole experience, underlined by a hazy, nostalgic sci-fi sound effect scape. Very cool stuff! In fact, the act of controlling the denshi is almost the same as mixing the sound, and as such, the music evolves as the game progresses in line with the denshi behaviours. Honestly, it’s this aspect that is so enrapturing.
