Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate – Episode 2 offers a satisfying continuation of MyDearest’s episodic trilogy. Building upon Episode 1’s intriguing narrative, Dyschronia is gearing up for a big finale, though it sometimes falters with pacing. Read on for our full impressions.
Before going further, I’d recommend reading my Episode 1 review if you haven’t already, where I previously covered Dyschronia’s premise and gameplay. You’ll find some smaller gameplay changes here but, unsurprisingly, nothing drastic. Playing once again as Special Supervisor Hal Scion, you’ll continue investigating Professor Rumford’s murder across Astrum Close. If you played the first part but need a refresher, MyDearest thankfully includes a brief recap in the opening sequence.
Avoid the next paragraph if you don’t want light spoilers.
Following an intense trial, Hal indicts a living marionette called Systelia in Professor Rumford’s murder, clearing his supervisor of suspicion. However, he soon realizes this may not be correct, either. I won’t detail too much, in case you haven’t played the previous part, but what follows is a dramatic story-driven adventure with numerous twists.
I hadn’t touched Dyschronia since September but re-acclimatizing didn’t take long. As Hal, you’re still freely exploring the city, handling objects through motion controls, and scanning items to witness past events. Just like before, select events can be directly influenced, such as stopping another character from firing a gun. There’s even a new stealth and action sequence to fear for your life in, which kept me on my toes. Should you make a mistake, Hal can turn back time upon dying but unlike Episode 1, I almost never needed to use this to advance. Otherwise, everything remains a natural fit for VR.
Dyschronia’s only noticeable change regards Augmented Dreaming (AD), which shares each citizen’s dreams across a unified state. As a supervisor, Hal can explore this realm in public spaces, but there aren’t as many troubled residents in need of counseling across Episode 2. There’s also a new version of this minigame that goes beyond memorizing sequences of button presses, requiring you to place your hands in a set position briefly. It’s nothing major, but a mandatory sequence requires you to do this multiple times in a row, which quickly becomes repetitive.
Still, that segment doesn’t last long and Episode 2 builds upon the established storyline well. It provides a few answers while introducing new mysteries that kept me interested, before ending on a high note that should get you excited for Episode 3. This didn’t take as long as Episode 1 either – about 4-5 hours – and as a fan of murder mystery games, playing detective in VR continues to feel rewarding.
It’s not all positive, though. My previous criticisms about Lily’s voice acting and the counseling minigame haven’t changed, and midway through Episode 2 the pacing starts to feels off. There’s one particular segment that conveys some important story details, but gets bogged down in a repetitive gameplay loop, killing the episode’s forward momentum.
Ultimately, if you liked Episode 1, this second chapter shouldn’t disappoint. Building on the previous episode’s potential, MyDearest offers a satisfying midway point for Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate. With the mystery slowly drawing to its natural conclusion, I’m excited to see how Episode 3 wraps it up next year.
Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate Episode 1 and 2 are out now on Meta Quest 2 for $19.99 and $14.99 respectively. Both episodes will also be available on PSVR 2 at launch.
