The Butterfly Sign – Chapter 2: Human Error Preview
Reliving a memory is – more often than not – an experience filled with nostalgia, looking back on something we love or cherish with a fond sigh of remembrance. Even looking back at something of a less than favorable situation still has a twinge of happiness, if only in how absurd it was. Memories make up a huge facet of who we are, but what do you do when you start to question both who you are and what your memories say about you? What do you think you are capable of when you can’t even be confident in who you are? This is the kind of deeper question Jack is now faced with as he finds himself delving deeper into his own mind in The Butterfly Sign – Chapter 2: Human Error.
Chapter 2 begins with Jack reliving the closing moments from Chapter 1 with a refreshingly detailed yet brief recap video, something many games tend to drag on for far too long. In fact, it’s handled so well it really wouldn’t be a problem for players to jump in with Chapter 2 entirely. Jack returns but this time around his character feels just a little more developed than the previous chapter, his voice work feeling more believable as he is confronted with the events he has experienced. Jack has doubts and its beginning to show in this thoughts, a welcome change from the somewhat more nonchalant portrayal in the previous chapter. Also returning is the same high-quality atmosphere present throughout the entire first chapter. It is just as gorgeous as before and will definitely leave players wanting to see what else the developer can do.
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“… so far [Quantum Phoenix Studios] have overcome my expectations for this title.”
Where Chapter 1 proved to be a good stepping stone for the plot, Chapter 2 gives the player a solid step forward in telling this story. Players will experience the same levels over as Jack, but this time around he recognizes more, he notices more clues as to the truth and questions Romanov’s motives, adding a new layer of intrigue that felt oddly vacant from Chapter 1. It amps up the interest now that Jack is a more rounded character but Chapter 2 doesn’t add much in the way of new content/area’s for Jack to explore, meaning once you’ve completed Chapter 1, the sequel can be completed in almost no time. I’m sure there are more achievements or some manner of hidden extras to uncover, but it was still a bit sad to find myself getting to the end so quickly considering the emotional payload this game is potentially carrying with the narration and story arc. That being said, some of the subtle changes made in Chapter 2 are greatly effective in making the player see how twisted up Jack’s mind is becoming while on the drug.
Whereas Chapter 1 set the stage for this to be a somewhat grounded psychological thriller, Chapter 2’s ending, however, felt a bit lackluster. What we are left with is a potential shift in genre for the third and final act in Butterfly Sign and it’s a pretty big gamble to take after having spent two chapters setting up this story. I’m on the fence if developer Quantum Phoenix Studios will be able to pull it off, but so far they have overcome my expectations for this title. With a solid and captivating plot twisting its way to the surface, the only real improvement Chapter 2 could make is to add more content. There is plenty of room to expand on the game but being able to complete it in 40 minutes feels criminally short. Here’s hoping Chapter 3 will bring the story to the rightful, shocking end it deserves.
*** PC Key provided by the publisher ***
