Audiosurf 2 is a worthy successor to the original experience. While Mono mode is, of course, the main star, you can find quite a few other interesting modes that provide a change of pace. While on its own the game is quite good, by factoring in the user-created modes and skins, Audiosurf 2 becomes even better.
Fun little game with a ton of new features.
Audiosurf 2 is an improved version of the first game with some new shiny visuals, many more modes to play and a built in track list.
I really liked this second Audiosurf game. It just offers so much more than its predecessor. Although the game is mostly the same as the first game, there are some unique new modes. Some are all right, others are great.
You now got a dude on a long board, riding the waves of music, making super jumps at certain peaks, you got a obstacle course mode in which certain nodes are walls that you need to slide under or jump over and, of course, all the classic modes from the first game. It offers a lot of new variation, although I mainly sticked with the classic modes.
In terms of graphics, the environment and light effects in the background look stunning. It really adds depth to the tracks you are surfing and the nice solid black in them let the colors pop out. Your little ship also received a small upgrade. The blocks are now oval balls instead of the rectangular blocks from the first game. Although fine, I preferred the use of rectangles over the round shapes.
Instead of grey blocks, that you need to banish to the bottom of your que to make them disappear, you now need to avoid distortion spikes that do not have a lasting effect on your playing grid. It is a nice upgrade from the first game and looks a lot easier. However, your punishment for riding over them is a screeching sound in your headset that screws up the song for a moment, something that you want to avoid obviously.
The sound effects are a little overwhelming, one of the reasons I (and I think many others) turned them off immediately so you could focus on the music that you are surfing.
Speaking of the music, off course you can still add your own tracks, like the first game, but Audiosurf 2 features a big build in track list with a lot of unique artist and tracks that I did not know before. When I tried them, I immediately fell in love with _Ensnare_ and its tracks and a lot of other gems that I discovered this way. It is just surprising to discover how many great build in music tracks this game provides right from the start.
Although I really like the new music Audiosurf 2 comes with, I still hoped that there could be some way or integration with Spotify in the future or in Audiosurf 3. It would make life so much easier.
Audiosurf 2 is just a great game and the best “music surfing” one, in a series of many. It is simple but effective and in this installment, it just offers so much more than the first game, especially with the low price in mind.
I would definitely recommend this game.
Well, I find the base content to be pretty similar to the orginal. What it those have new is the steamwork modding support and the integration of soundclound mostly. There are both nice addition that will keep the game replay value, even though I don't think It's justify the price. Especially if you own the orginal, if not, get this one around 10-15 buck.
The algorithm that builds tracks based on songs is outstanding, but when its novelty wore off and I got bored of feeding it mp3s to see what happens, I returned to Audiosurf less and less frequently. [08/2015, p.68]
If you want to relax and listen to your music Audiosurf 2 is a good pick. The introduction of Steam Workshop works well and adds variety and depth, whereas the UI has some issues, and the management of the music library is a bit tricky.
In the music industry, there is a thing called ‘second album syndrome’. Dylan Fitterer could not avoid it, too. He removed all the obvious thorns of the original Audiosurf, but added just a handful of new things, like integration with Steam Workshop and SoundCloud, new color schemes and a new gameplay mode. It’s not enough to entice me to switch from the original game to the sequel.
Pros:
The look and feel are better than the first game.
Integration with Sound Cloud
Mod support
Cons:
Similar to original
Can be hard to find songs that other people play depending on your taste in music.
Very familiar to the original Audiosurf. There are some new game modes, but they all pale in comparison to Mono, which is simple and places the music at the forefront rather than a mediocre puzzle game. Aesthetically, the game is pleasing and while Soundcloud implementation is a nice touch, I don't see it as something that will garner a lot of usage.
Overall rating - 7.0/10
SummaryRide your music in more ways than ever before. Audiosurf 2 is the music game for your entire music collection, plus online music streaming and Song of the Day. Hundreds of mods/skins on Workshop. Free demo available.