All of that being said, I still enjoyed the game quite a bit. Learning more about the characters through conversation was one of, if not THE best part of the first game, but in this one I'm always trying to avoid it because it directly affects the dates in a negative way, if not through the loss of stamina, then through the baggage effects. It would've been WAY better if they included a separate hunger bar in addition to the stamina bar, or made it so that you're not limited to just one food item and have conversations lower the stamina by less. This makes it so that talking to the girls and learning more about their character, one of the best aspects of the first game, is almost NEVER a good idea because one, their stamina decreases with every conversation, and two, it's the only way to learn about their baggage, which as I already talked about, is super annoying 9 times out of 10. Unlike the first game, however, you're only allowed to feed them ONE item, or, if their stamina is already at zero, nothing. This wouldn't be so bad, but talking to each of the girls before a date depletes their stamina, and the only way to get it back up is to feed them, similar to the first game. In this game, though, if you go in with low stamina, you'll only be able to get a few moves in before your date gets exhausted, so if you're unlucky enough to not get a stamina token match early on, you're screwed. In the first game, if you went into a date with low hunger, the worst thing that would happen was that you'd miss out on a few extra moves or sentiment. Unlike the first game, however, going into dates with low stamina is a HUGE disadvantage. My issue is that, outside of dates, the stamina bar works like how the hunger bar works in the first game. It adds a new challenge to the gameplay and I think it's done well there. Now, for the double date system, the stamina bar is necessary, and during dates I really like it. Something that I absolutely HATED was the stamina bar.

Like I said, I like the idea, but it comes off as more annoying than anything. I wish more of them were like that instead of *insert mild annoyance here*. Off the top of my head, Nora has one that increases the amount of broken heart tokens that fall, but in turn, she's immune to all broken heart matches. Some of the baggage effects in the game do this, but not very many. I feel like it would've been a lot better if, in turn for the negative effects, something positive would happen as well. A lot of them are really punishing, too, like almost too punishing. Most of the baggage effects just add unnecessary frustration to the game. I really like the idea, but it wasn't done particularly well. The baggage system especially was the cause of most of my annoyance with the game. Like they say, 'if it aint broke, don't fix it.' I'm not saying that the game should've been a carbon copy of the first one, but the double date system alone changes the dynamic of the gameplay enough that most of the new gameplay additions weren't really needed. It was simple, sure, but it worked amazingly. Some of it works and some of it doesn't, but most of it feels unnecessary. The game's biggest sin, strangely enough, is the amount of changes that they added from the first game, like the baggage system, stamina meter, double dates, Hunie Seeds, etc.

It's good, just not AS good as the first one.

That's actually the best way I can sum up this game. Not that they're bad, just not as good as the first game. The characters, gameplay, and overall progression feel worse.

A lot of the game does feel like a step down. First of all, was the game as good as the first one? Well honestly, no. Now, my experience with the game was with it's v1.0.0 release, so some of my biggest critiques have been changed (like the stamina bar only refilling after a date), so keep that in mind. I absolutely loved the first HuniePop game, so as soon as the sequel was announced, I was super hyped. I absolutely loved the first HuniePop game, so as soon as the HuniePop 2 is a game that I've been following the development of since day one. HuniePop 2 is a game that I've been following the development of since day one.

Huniepop 2 photos