I've played a good couple dozens of hours despite the counter and I'm glad I could finally purchase and finish the game for good (as unexpectedly quick as it happened today). This game is a hit or miss and it's quite an experience too: Receiver 2 feels like a mix of very well settled (and unexpected) element of horror, a simulation game that'll teach you at least in a basic level how to properly handle a gun and, the most important part, a strange semi-sci-fi setting that is meant to deliver a self-help message, or that is as best as I can phrase it.

Into the game itself, you play as another faceless target for the threat, i.e. yourself, but one of the few that will become receivers. You go around the randomly generated level collecting tapes that carry messages, some will talk about the sidearm you carry or firearms in general, they could carry a message that will improve your "mindtech" which is just the game's way to give you a small lesson to strenghten your own psyche or that talks about how the threat can attack other people a little more rarely; there's also the chance the threat itself will attack you through the tapes, and you will definitely notice. The environment will change and so will the tapes as you sharpen your mind's eye, tapes and ammo become more scarse and the challenge grows, but facing and beating these challenges builds the mental fortress that every receiver needs.

Receiver 2 also looks pretty nice, sometimes even feeling somewhat photorealistic, and the sound design is just as good: You'll always know what you're hearing, whether it is an enemy, if they've seen you, if they've lost you and even the subtle hint of the hidden tapes nearby; Hell, with some attention maybe you can hear if your gun failed to feed before the *click* of the hammer on an empty chamber sends you a cold shiver of terror through your spine while a drone quickly rushes towards you. Even though ballistics play a smaller role in the game (Or at least I never found bullet drop to be a bother, or penetrating soft walls to be that useful), it is quite immersive to see bullets' trajectory distorted by glass or a soft wall, whether it is your own rounds or a turret trying to hit you. Lastly, I think the ending is actually decent. People probably found it dissapointing by the fact the game just ends without any real head-wrapping revelations after a level that is combined to be the worst of the worst: No turrets to give you ammo that is already a scarce as is, lots of drones and a special enemy that is made only to tell all the nearby drones to shock you and is only possible to kill by wasting a precious round, but I think this is quite important too. To keep it as spoiler free as posible, the very last insight on the fabric of reality's nature is a tape that mostly searches to reach to you through the 4th wall while staying in touch with its "multi-realm sci-fi setting" and wants to make you reflect upon the fact that you've listened to all the tips and story the game has transmitted to you and that thanks to it you've beaten a challenge that is beyond normal human capabilities and it should be proof for you to know that the perseverance and inner strenght to reach a goal is fully developed within you. The resilience and self-awareness of your thoughts are now well settled for you to use to act and make yourself a better future by fighting against all odds. The game wants to make you realize it before the tone of awakening calls you, an ending much more strenghten by the addition of the tone and a self-killing command that will send you back to your desktop to feel still stranged to the nature of the threat but very likely with a small sensation of empowerment at the very least.

The only couple negatives I could point out would be the ridiculous fall damage, the way you die in a single hit or how easy it is to shoot yourself in the leg. You eventually find that dropping off of anything isn't too common and there's usually paths to do so in a way you can drop almost unharmed, and it's even easier now that the W spam to sprint can be disabled. Considering the nature of the killdrones, a single shot should be enough punishment for being either impatient or for letting your mind lose focus and probably the same goes for not holstering safely all the way through , although I can't tell for certain if bullets that have gone through a wall are also an insta-kill.

All in all, Receiver 2 is both an incredibly frustrating but also a rewarding experience for a game. You will die a lot, and you will fail in more ways than one, but the game constantly reminds you that the strenght to get through anything is there in your head no matter the odds and that it is of your utmost concern to exercise your consciousness to be the best you can be, not only for the game. As a person that once was "attacked by the threat", I can tell you that if you decide to actively learn from the tapes, you are definitely taking a step forth to have a better mental wellness through self-awareness of your thoughts. I can give this game a soild 9/10

I've played a good couple dozens of hours despite the counter and I'm glad I could finally purchase and finish the game for good (as unexpectedly quick as it happened today). This game is a hit or miss and it's quite an experience too: Receiver 2 feels like a mix of very well settled (and unexpected) element of horror, a simulation game that'll teach you at least in a basic level how to properly handle a gun and, the most important part, a strange semi-sci-fi setting that is meant to deliver a self-help message, or that is as best as I can phrase it. Into the game itself, you play as another faceless target for the threat, i.e. yourself, but one of the few that will become receivers. You go around the randomly generated level collecting tapes that carry messages, some will talk about the sidearm you carry or firearms in general, they could carry a message that will improve your "mindtech" which is just the game's way to give you a small lesson to strenghten your own psyche or that talks about how the threat can attack other people a little more rarely; there's also the chance the threat itself will attack you through the tapes, and you will definitely notice. The environment will change and so will the tapes as you sharpen your mind's eye, tapes and ammo become more scarse and the challenge grows, but facing and beating these challenges builds the mental fortress that every receiver needs. Receiver 2 also looks pretty nice, sometimes even feeling somewhat photorealistic, and the sound design is just as good: You'll always know what you're hearing, whether it is an enemy, if they've seen you, if they've lost you and even the subtle hint of the hidden tapes nearby; Hell, with some attention maybe you can hear if your gun failed to feed before the *click* of the hammer on an empty chamber sends you a cold shiver of terror through your spine while a drone quickly rushes towards you. Even though ballistics play a smaller role in the game (Or at least I never found bullet drop to be a bother, or penetrating soft walls to be that useful), it is quite immersive to see bullets' trajectory distorted by glass or a soft wall, whether it is your own rounds or a turret trying to hit you. Lastly, I think the ending is actually decent. People probably found it dissapointing by the fact the game just ends without any real head-wrapping revelations after a level that is combined to be the worst of the worst: No turrets to give you ammo that is already a scarce as is, lots of drones and a special enemy that is made only to tell all the nearby drones to shock you and is only possible to kill by wasting a precious round, but I think this is quite important too. To keep it as spoiler free as posible, [spoiler]the very last insight on the fabric of reality's nature is a tape that mostly searches to reach to you through the 4th wall while staying in touch with its "multi-realm sci-fi setting" and wants to make you reflect upon the fact that you've listened to all the tips and story the game has transmitted to you and that thanks to it you've beaten a challenge that is beyond normal human capabilities and it should be proof for you to know that the perseverance and inner strenght to reach a goal is fully developed within you. The resilience and self-awareness of your thoughts are now well settled for you to use to act and make yourself a better future by fighting against all odds. The game wants to make you realize it before the tone of awakening calls you, [/spoiler] an ending much more strenghten by the addition of the tone and a self-killing command that will send you back to your desktop to feel still stranged to the nature of the threat but very likely with a small sensation of empowerment at the very least. The only couple negatives I could point out would be the ridiculous fall damage, the way you die in a single hit or how easy it is to shoot yourself in the leg. You eventually find that dropping off of anything isn't too common and there's usually paths to do so in a way you can drop almost unharmed, and it's even easier now that the W spam to sprint can be disabled. Considering the nature of the killdrones, a single shot should be enough punishment for being either impatient or for letting your mind lose focus and probably the same goes for not holstering safely all the way through , although I can't tell for certain if bullets that have gone through a wall are also an insta-kill. All in all, Receiver 2 is both an incredibly frustrating but also a rewarding experience for a game. You will die a lot, and you will fail in more ways than one, but the game constantly reminds you that the strenght to get through anything is there in your head no matter the odds and that it is of your utmost concern to exercise your consciousness to be the best you can be, not only for the game. As a person that once was "attacked by the threat", I can tell you that if you decide to actively learn from the tapes, you are definitely taking a step forth to have a better mental wellness through self-awareness of your thoughts. I can give this game a soild 9/10