Overview
After suffering a few delays, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom finally makes its anticipated debut on PS4 and PC this week. Despite being a follow-up to the beloved PS3 RPG, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Revenant Kingdom bears little direct connection to the first game, taking place hundreds of years in the future and following the adventures of Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, a deposed boy-king on a journey to form his own kingdom.
The story isn't the only area where Revenant Kingdom diverges from its predecessor. The game features a radically different battle system than the original, eschewing the Pokemon-like familiars of the first Ni No Kuni completely in favor of faster-paced real-time battles. In addition to that, Revenant Kingdom features kingdom building and strategy elements, often tasking players with commanding a small army of troops in RTS-like battles.
While these new elements may not always tie together in a cohesive way, they help set the title apart from its beloved predecessor. They also make it one of the year's most ambitious releases, taking roughly 35 hours to complete by our estimates. In GameSpot's Ni No Kuni II review, critic Peter Brown said the game "compels you to care and put your best foot forward" and features "something worthwhile around every corner, and usually something pretty to admire along the way."