REVIEW: Leviathan Episode 2: Clues of the Past


Title	Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade Episode 2: Clues of the Past
Developer	Lostwood Games
Publisher	Lostwood Games
Platforms	Windows, iOS
Release Dates	July 10, 2013 (iOS/English) August 9, 2013 (Windows/English)
Genres	Visual novel, adventure
Age Rating	18+ (self-rated), 17+ (Apple)
Official Website

Note: For introduction details for Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade please refer back to the review of Episode 1.

When I read about Leviathan before I started the first episode, I realized that a lot of the themes covered in the game really appealed to me. I went into the game hoping for a great experience, all the while being cautious, because I know that the darker, supernatural themes can be done very badly. It also has some other, harder to deal with elements like the inner workings of family relationships. These are all areas of importance that can either impact your life in a thought-provoking, life-changing way, or they can send you into fits of rage or laughter if they aren’t handled the right way.

In Episode 2, we learn a few secrets, meet some more townspeople and find out a bit more about our past. Just as last time, let’s dive right in, and see what happens to Oliver through these events. We will learn a bit more about the people in his world and some of the fascinating themes the game brings to light in this episode.

Episode 2 takes us ten years into the future. Oliver has set out on a mission to learn everything he can about the stranger he saw in his mother’s room. He wants to know why this person was there, and why he was driven to do the terrible things he did. Oliver has basically vowed to himself that he will not let it rest until he finds out the details of his mother’s life that lead to the events from ten years ago.

Right away, Oliver meets up with Kael, who has new clues to share with him. You find out about a ring that sets you on a path to find out who made it and how it ties into everything. Finally. We have a place to start searching, and we set out on our journey to the truth. To do this we must venture out into the world a bit. Now we have access to the academy and a few other parts of town so that Oliver can explore this land.

The town looks like it holds a lot of history, as if it is hiding many a secret, and won’t lightly give them up. The Academy is a splendid sight to see with its many areas of intrigue. The halls, doors and outdoor areas each offer a different look that make you feel like you are really in some foreign land where anything is possible. I love the look of this entire game, but the Academy may well be my favorite sight so far.

The Archive room is definitely creepy! This is a room where Oliver spends quite a bit of time searching through records from times long gone, and uncovers a bit more about his past, as well as the past of many townspeople. There is a caged area, like a jail cell, and Oliver keeps hearing what sounds like a chicken. The overall darkness of the room combined with the ominous sounds of the chicken made this a fun place to spend time doing research. The things you find out here only add to the mystery. All in all, this was a good choice of locations!

Remember how I mentioned in the review for the first episode that your mother was a bit sketchy and hiding quite a few things? Well, as you venture further and further into the story, you uncover quite a few rather intense details about her. For one thing, she was basically selling you! She was broke, in horrible debt and found someone who would pay good money to become your guardian.

While that information would be enough to make anyone question everything going on around them, Oliver stands strong. He still carries on with his mission to seek the absolute truth. In doing so, one day, while he is in class, he has an odd.. hallucination. A tree appears to him, and says that he has helped Oliver’s family to keep free of demon corruption for hundreds of years.

“Only five steps separate you and falling into the abyss of aberrance. Five evil acts…”

Sometimes one sentence or scene in a game, book or VN can really make you think. The above quote was something that certainly made me do so. I often wonder just how true that is. It would depend, of course, on how you defined evil acts, and I am not sure if the number would be exactly five. However, if there has to be a number, I suppose that is as good as any. Speaking in terms only considering Leviathan I wondered when I reached this point in the game how many evil acts I had already committed, or at least attempted up til this point in the game. Would these actions, in fact, impact what came next? I was told my aberration level, which is what lets you know how many evil acts you had committed, was zero. Maybe others who play will have a different number than I did? Maybe, just maybe, the number that you see will reflect the exact number of evil acts you have committed in game. How many evil acts will you have remaining before you fall into the abyss? Hmm.

Right after this, Oliver ventures even further into the world. He visits the Train Station, where there are plenty of interesting people to talk to! Ride the train into another part of town known as White Circle, and you will find even more people to talk to. Some of them want to tell you about the past, while a couple of people will give you objects that you need later on. These will be kept in your bag for safe keeping. Be sure to talk to everyone as you go and you will have what you need later on.

While we are rambling around town, talking to everyone and being amateur investigators, some new items are available. Things like different types of potions such as: a power drink, charisma drink and the intellect drink. You will need to use one or more of these at certain times to trigger something in the story. Other times, you will have the option to use them which will give you slightly different dialog, and different choices to be made, depending on when you use them.

There are a few translation errors found in Episode 2, but nothing game-breaking. Usually its just a letter or two in a word that is incorrect, nothing that you can’t easily figure out what the correct spelling should have been. ( Note: I may have an early version of the game, and these mistakes could have been fixed in later versions)

The music and sound effects are just as good this time around. Maybe even better since there are so many new places to explore that each have their own atmospheric noises to enjoy! You still have the same atmospheric sounds as in Episode 2, but this time around there are new locations that offer their own sounds. Lots of eerie noises to be heard! The only real change in the controls are a new option that looks like a Fast Forward button that appears on the top-left side of the screen. You can click this down to scroll through any dialog a bit quicker.

Episode 2 lasts five to ten hours, depending on how fast you read, and how many different paths you try out. It draws to an end as you are searching through old documents and uncovering secrets of the past in the Archive room. In episode 3, you will be confronting your guardian. Time to hide your evidence, save the game and wait for the third part of my review to see what Oliver gets into next!