NO STRAIGHT ROADS 2

I went into NSR2 coverage already knowing the first game's rap sheet: gorgeous art, a killer soundtrack, combat that occasionally tripped over its own ambition. Metronomik clearly read those same reviews. Everything about NSR2 is designed as a direct answer to the original's rough edges - more structure, more characters, and a world that stretches well beyond Vinyl City's borders. The core loop is rhythm-action combat where you move freely but live or die by your attention to audio cues. Music notes double as ammunition, boss encounters are built around their signature genre, and the whole thing is synced tightly enough that fights feel like a performance rather than a brawl. What's new here is the four-character roster: Mayday and Zuke return, joined by keyboardist Casey (confirmed playable from the Tokyo Games Show demo) and a fourth bandmate still under wraps at time of writing. Each character carries distinct abilities and a different musical identity, and you swap between them in real time to chain combos, solve environmental puzzles, and unlock areas locked to specific playstyles. Casey, for instance, owns the ammo-shooting mechanic, so combat loadouts shift meaningfully depending on who you field. The first confirmed boss, Rama Irama, got a full demo run at Gamescom and Tokyo Games Show, and the early reception from players and press praised improved visuals and tighter combat feel compared to the original. The world tour structure replaces the single-city setup of the first game with multiple genre-spanning cities, and there's reportedly some player agency in which order you visit them - a welcome nod toward replayability. Between battles, the band's tour van is customizable with stickers and unlockables that accumulate as the story progresses, which is a small but satisfying progression hook for completionists. The question mark hanging over NSR2 is whether the sequel can balance four distinct character kits without one of them feeling underbaked. The original's combat was criticized for inconsistency, and adding more moving parts raises the stakes on that front. The fourth playable character is still unannounced, which means we're judging an incomplete roster. That said, the pre-release buzz is strong - NSR2 won four awards at the 2025 Level Up KL exhibition including Best Audio and Audience's Choice, which suggests the musical and artistic direction is already landing. Returning composers James Landino and Falk Au Yeong anchor the soundtrack, with new contributors filling out the genre-diverse range the game is promising. This one is built for players who bounced off the first game's clunkier moments but loved its energy, and equally for newcomers who want action-adventure with a genuinely original musical identity. If you need a game that has a clear answer to the question "what kind of music is this boss fight," NSR2 has that answer for every single encounter.

Alex · Scout Team

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