Nerds That Geek Game Review – ‘Blair Witch Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

If there’s one universal truth that exists when it comes to the entertainment industry as a whole, it’s that sequels can be a difficult venture. Because ‘Part 2’often has to find a way to live up to the expectations of the original, all while finding a way to wow the audience with something new and exciting that allows for it to stand on its own, and that’s just not always possible. Because sometimes a second entry has no choice but to try and move the story into a different direction in order to not create a clone and well, you never quite know if audiences are going to embrace that or not.
 
But if the folks behind the scenes truly take the time to provide the audience with a quality and engaging story, one that properly has ties to the original, wonders can and will happen. But alas, more often than not, a desire to take things in a new direction and a lack of collaboration leads to sequels that are messy in nature or outright disappointing. This is something that is especially true in the gaming industry since sometimes different studios work on a sequel to a game and having an entirely different team build a story often leads to disaster since there is zero communication between the original team and the new one. And this is precisely why the second entry in the Blair Witch trilogy of video games falls short.
 
Because Blair Witch Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock is a game that only looks like its predecessor since it goes in a wildly different direction with its storytelling style and its gameplay and quite frankly, the changes that are made to this particular entry take the player right out of the overall experience. Because in essence, this story offers nothing new to the user. It’s the same stuff that the movie covered, surrounded by a plot involving a character who is desperate to regain his memory and sadly none of this inspires one to obsess over the game in the slightest since everything is carefully scripted out and it’s obvious early on that you don’t really need to pay attention to the plot, you just need to ride the cinematics out and hack and slash your way to the ending.
 
Which makes this game feel more like a side scrolling arcade game over an adventure game and that’s a shame because this one had some serious potential. For there are parts of this game that are actually eerie and creepy. Take for example the spirits of dead children that pop up within the environment often. For these little monsters’ chuckle with glee as they meander about, and their pale blue eyes are always locked upon your character and sometimes that’s a little more eerie than one would like. But alas, it’s subtle and twisted moments like that, which the game does not capitalize upon in the slightest. Instead, the focus is set on flashbacks designed to help you learn about your character, which really doesn’t pay off in the end, since the finale is pretty messy in its own right.
 
If anything, this is a game that feels like a wasted opportunity. Because had the game focused more on the creep factor and built wild moments upon that, we’d likely be calling this adventure a masterpiece. But instead, we are left with a game that is quite frankly, only for the hardcore Blair Witch fan in your life. For it does do a good job of exploring the legend it shares it namesake with. So, if you’re eager to learn more about this particular part of the Witch’s history, give this one a look on YouTube and enjoy the ride, but if you’re looking to find a solid horror story that leaves you uncomfortable, look elsewhere because this one is a straight up disappointment.

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