Just replayed Kona

[ShutEye_DK]

AS title says. Replayed it to get into the mood of the story, before starting on Kona 2.
It was very enjoyable - so many things I forgot about.
One thing that really got me (playing on a 5.1 system) was the sound stage. Very good :)

I am looking forward to start playing Kona 2.

Anyone else replayed Kona recently?

[Grogan]

I haven't since Kona 2, but I really liked Kona.

One thing I really got a kick out of was the realistic winter driving in the pickup truck.

Enjoy Kona 2, and take your time exploring. It's particularly important in the mansion, so you don't miss important information, quest items AND resources you are going to need later. Open every drawer to look for batteries, spare parts and ammunition :-)

[ShutEye_DK]

Originally posted by Grogan:

I haven't since Kona 2, but I really liked Kona.

One thing I really got a kick out of was the realistic winter driving in the pickup truck.

Enjoy Kona 2, and take your time exploring. It's particularly important in the mansion, so you don't miss important information, quest items AND resources you are going to need later. Open every drawer to look for batteries, spare parts and ammunition :-)

Yeah the driving was hard on the eyes. As it is IRL.

I LOVE exploring in games that deserves it. Kona deserved it.

EDIT: Keep it low on the spoilers, please :)

[TheBeak]

Just finished this for the first time. I might go for it on survival, because I played through the original Kona twice. Overall, I was happy with this. The atmosphere, mystery, exploration and story were all very well done.

The nod between the two goes to the first one for me. Survival had more complexities to it, the detective elements were more in-depth, and I enjoyed the truck more than the methods of travel in Kona 2 (though they weren't bad by any means).

With that all said though, this was still a really solid sequel. I thought each location stood on its own, and I liked exploring 'em. Some folks found some of the bigger areas (that I saw) annoying with backtracking, but I personally loved the sorta of old school RE/SH type of rush in regards to the unlock and explore fun of Hamilton Estates, the underground lab, etc.

I definitely had a good time with this.

[Grogan]

I too liked the pickup truck best (Kona). Better than the Skidoo.

However, in Kona 2, I prefer to be on foot. I start out using the dogs but end up ditching them while going off on side paths and stuff. Sometimes they'll come right up with no handler when I come out at a different point. (I get a kick out of that, but I still may not get on the sled). The exploring is simply more significant in Kona 2 as well as more significance in finding quest items.

I have to disagree about the first game being more "in depth" for the detective elements, though. That stuff was trivial in Kona. All you had to do in that game was go from house to house. The only real puzzle was getting the parts for the skidoo.

As for survival elements, I actually hate that ♥♥♥♥ in games. It was trivial in Kona (warm by the fire, smoke cigarettes) so I didn't mind, but in Kona 2 I play in detective mode where I don't have to worry about it.

[TheBeak]

Originally posted by Grogan:

I too liked the pickup truck best (Kona). Better than the Skidoo.

However, in Kona 2, I prefer to be on foot. I start out using the dogs but end up ditching them while going off on side paths and stuff. Sometimes they'll come right up with no handler when I come out at a different point. (I get a kick out of that, but I still may not get on the sled). The exploring is simply more significant in Kona 2 as well as more significance in finding quest items.

I have to disagree about the first game being more "in depth" for the detective elements, though. That stuff was trivial in Kona. All you had to do in that game was go from house to house. The only real puzzle was getting the parts for the skidoo.

As for survival elements, I actually hate that ♥♥♥♥ in games. It was trivial in Kona (warm by the fire, smoke cigarettes) so I didn't mind, but in Kona 2 I play in detective mode where I don't have to worry about it.

Nothing wrong with any of that. I'll have to revisit the first one again sometime. I played through it twice right away when I got it (smokin' and drinkin' run, and sober run : ) So, I might be fuzzy on a part or two. Depends on the game for me with survival. I couldn't get into the Long Dark because of it, but the small touches of that in the first Kona I liked. But then I'm weird, and Miasmata which was tough to survive in I loved to death (that was another game all about atmosphere for me, once you got a hang of the movement).

Ha ha ha! The same about the dog sled. I saw it rolling up the first time it did that, and thought it was hilarious. Driven by the headless horsemen, no doubt.

Overall, I really like both games. I wasn't disappointed at all by this sequel; it's welcome all around. Jeez, I was looking at my Steam list during this response, and it really has been 6 and 1/2 years since my times through the original! So I think memory has dulled a little bit of my recall.

[rogermorse]

Oh now I cannot choose whether to replay Kona 1 first or not...I was just about to start Kona 2 today. Also I see there is a Kona VR version, I wonder if it's working well on Quest (I see so many bad reviews). I played the original Kona kind of a lot, I also did the achievement guide but somehow I don't remember much about the game ahah I would like to remember details of the story.

[rogermorse]

BTW the surround in Kona 2 is weird. My rear channels are not really engaging....example: once you are in the mansion, you will find a jukebox in a room, the sound coming from it is not positioned...meaning if you turn your back to the jukebox, the sound will still come from the front speakers...can't say if most of the sounds in the game are just not well positioned (as entity in the space) or if surround is not supported at all...

p.s. my AVR receive an Atmos signal as in every game in Windows (though not every game support atmos, but definitely 99% of them usually have good surround, just without ceiling channels).

[Grogan]

Originally posted by TheBeak:

I couldn't get into the Long Dark because of it, but the small touches of that in the first Kona I liked.

Exactly the same for me. I couldn't stand "The Long Dark". It, and the content I bought for it, sits there collecting dust in my Steam library list. Ugly (it looked really stupid) and tedious survival gameplay.

I don't like Valheim either. Go pick up sticks and stones for a week to get it off the ground, I have better things to do lol. I waited for "creative mode" type settings, but when they came, the one that I most wanted "no cost crafting" wasn't working (and still wasn't, months later). Another one collecting dust.

Kona, on the other hand, had just enough of that stuff to make a game out of it, but not tedious and aggravating. For example, once you got the parka from Rosaire, you didn't have to worry about the cold much after that.

Kona also looked nice, and had realistic winter. Driving in that pickup truck gave me the same feeling of dread as driving on secondary roads I shouldn't be on etc. and getting out in knee deep snow go get to a marker felt yucky too (just like reality).

These folks make incredibly good use of the Unity engine.

Originally posted by TheBeak:

Ha ha ha! The same about the dog sled. I saw it rolling up the first time it did that, and thought it was hilarious. Driven by the headless horsemen, no doubt.

The barking is funny too, as they approach heheh

6.5 years, wow, where does the time go. I'm not sure when I got Kona, but I first got it and couldn't get it to work, so I refunded it. A few years later I bought it again and got it to work (the Windows version at first, but then the Linux build got updated to work too around Steam Deck time)

P.S. Something that doesn't get much credit, is the thought put into the mock brands in these games! Things like "Lebrun 60" instead of Labatts 50 in the stubby bottles from our younger days. My favourite, and I was disappointed to not see it in Kona 2, was "Apple Jacques" cereal. That's just great.