For the love of god please do not buy this version of the game! It is overpriced for no good reason and the inclusion of the second game simply isn't worth it. To put it frankly, the sequel is a steaming pile of wolfshit. The game has a "christmas theme", however, only two levels come anywhere close to portraying this theme. The game uses many of the same enemies from the first game which very clearly fit the Halloween aesthetic it was going for, yet they feel out of place here. The final level has you fighting ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I ♥♥♥♥ YOU NOT chess pieces IN SPACE(???).

Deathsmiles 2 also has no semblance of "level design", every single level has no obstacles or gimmicks making them all feel the same. Contrast this to the original Deathsmiles where every level had a distinct theme and gimmicks fitting that theme. For example in the volcano level there would be platforms you had to get behind to not get damaged by the lava explosions below you. The game is exceedingly easy as well, I'm not a shmup champion but I could easily clear Deathsmiles 2 with one continue, and if I felt like it I could 1CC; I won't be doing this because I have reached 1.7 hours and I want my money back as I already own a superior version of the first game. This game only contains 43 achievements, split across 2 games, which is somehow less than how much the original CAVE release of Deathsmiles had only containing one game.

All of these things are microcosms of the bigger issue, this is a horrible package that is overpriced with no reason to purchase it over the original release. If you have some morbid curiosity to see just how bad the sequel is you can purchase the game with the intention of refunding it, but I don't think it's even worth the time to see. Deathsmiles 2 being bad is not a hot take, any shmup veteran knows this game is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but I like to keep an open mind, this however was not one of those cases where the game is just misunderstood.

TL;DR buy the original CAVE release, it's half the price and goes on sale frequently for a good deal.