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• overall: A. enjoyment: B.
• huniepop is a dating sim/puzzle game combo. you woo girls by playing candy crush. in this sequel, you're trying to get them to have threesomes with you, often by getting them to crush on other cute girls they know. and you have no idea how much it infuriates me that this game is so good. compared to the first game, the art, writing, and characters have all massively improved. it's a well crafted and fun game. it's... still a self-aware raunchy comedy game, so if that's not your thing definitely don't try it out. it's also got a real problem with racism and creepy shit, including a sexual assault scene and incest for some reason? i can't in good faith recommend playing this game. if you do, do yourself a favor and skip through as much of the dialogue as you can. skip the first lola/aiba scene, at least.
• plot: D. every few thousand years, two space goddesses awaken from their slumber and unleash their horny rage on the world. the only way to stop them is for you to wake them up early and quell their passions. you do this by having threesomes with a lot of girls. the fact that this game has a plot is wild to me, it didn't really need one. but there it is. it... isn't a good plot, but for the game it's in it makes perfect sense. i'm gonna give this an "ok, cool!" and stop thinking about the horny space goddesses.
• characters: A. despite being a sequel, only 2 of the datable girls return from the first game. they happen to be my two favorite girls, so that's a good start. the rest are newcomers or girls from huniecam studio, now with brand new well written and diverse personalities and new outfits. the thing about this game is -- all the characters are really well done. they all have rich and consistent personalities and unique voices. now, are they likable? well. most of the cast is great, but there are a few bad apples who drag it down. cannot for the life of me figure out how suki, the race-faking ganguro weeb, got into this game instead of nadia. there's also the elephant in the room, i.e. there are two characters who even on a conceptual level are racist stereotypes. are they still well written and treated as people? yes. but it's impossible to divorce them from their intent.
• writing: A. there's a lot more character interaction in this one, since it's not a solo game like the first one, and it really helps. the romance (which now exists!) between the girls is often sweet, and their chemistry is apparent. the dialogue is catchy, fun, and more realistic than the first game. there are even a few moments of genuine emotion and character development, by virtue of the baggage system and through the girls getting closer. there's still no overarching story or in-depth exploration of any particular characters, so it's not very hard-hitting, but it's about as good as a game like this can be. also its still racist. just wanted to bring that up again.
• routes: 28 couples is too many to rank so lets just do best and worst. jessie/lailani > jessie/lola >> lillian/lailani > lola/zoey >>>>>> suki/lailani >> lola/aiba > brooke/suki > ashley/lillian
• gameplay: S. overall, the gameplay matches the previous game, but with some thematic changes and major balance adjustments making it substantially more difficult. at it's core, you move around to different locations to talk to the girls, who now come in pairs; each girl has 4 other potential lovers, and your goal with conversation is often more about making the two of them realize they're compatible. dates progress much faster than in the first game, girls now getting intimate after only the second date. and, as for the dates themselves... you are still playing a match-three puzzle, but a lot more elements have been added. you now have to focus on both girls at once, each having a limited amount of stamina controlling how long they can be active at once. matches for both girls go to the same total score, but their preferences for gems are often different, leading to some moves being better done with one than the other. and that isn't the only personal touches, either. each girl has three different "baggage", story or character based insecurities or issues that change how the puzzle is played. for instance, one girl has a baggage that reverses the effect of passion and broken heart gems, meaning you can feel free to match the latter but must avoid the normal pink hearts. this system means that every single girl plays differently, not to mention each pair. gifts, too, are limited now, as you must equip them to girls individually, and can only give them to the girl carrying them. this essentially leads to creating different "builds", finding the best combination of items to match each girls play style. the puzzles, then, become less about matching gems wildly, and more about strategy, and planning moves out far in advance. compared to the difficulty in the first game merely just being the point requirements getting higher and higher, this difficulty feels more natural and fun.
• art: A. 100% an improvement over the previous game. the art is high quality, though it can be a little wonky in some areas. the character portraits are good, outfit designs are usually pretty nice, and the UI got a smooth looking update. there's also idle animations, which are a really nice touch. the lip flap animations are laughable, though, and the sexy CGs are... honestly somehow a downgrade on average? possibly a result of having so many, and being 100% sexual. the posing and composition is lacking in the vast majority, but there's some keepers in the mix.
• sound: S. just like the last game, it's fully voice acted. the quality is fantastic, and the voice acting itself is very good -- mostly. there are a couple really bad fake accents that kill it for me, but most of them are very pleasing to listen to. the sound design otherwise is very good as well, with relaxing music and catchy sound effects.