There’s always been a question of where exactly Malaysian-made Metronomik was going to go with No Straight Roads 2 when it was announced earlier this year.. The musically inspired action game has built up quite a bit of a cult following, with its action gameplay as well as charming mix of southeast Asian flair.

Having tried a bit of No Straight Roads 2 at Tokyo Game Show, it’s interesting to see the game push further into what it clearly wanted to be in the first game. It has gameplay much more in line with an action game, complete with a new character what they can make from scratch.

Each character even has their own gimmicks- though I didn’t get to see much of Mayday and Zuke’s specific ones, Metronomik boss Wan Hazmer did mention that features from the old game like Zuke’s dial-a-combo were part of his upgrade tree.

No Straight Roads 2 Casey Gameplay And Evil Influencers

As for new character Casey, she seems like she’s going to be the most fun of them yet. Having both a Keytar stance and a Violin stance, her gimmick is set around placing notes on the field- before detonating them with her other attacks. Meanwhile, the Violin stance allows her to detonate all the notes at once- making her a great crowd deleter.

She’s also got something I wasn’t expecting a No Straight Roads character to have- a mobility skill. Holding one of her attack buttons creates a wave she can ride, hitting enemies she collides with.

One of the biggest changes to the game I’d noticed is how parrying worked. Enemies don’t feel as contrived into having parryable projectiles, and instead it feels like most attacks can be parried- if you can catch it. The demo stage featured enemies with big telegraphed swings so it wasn’t a problem- it’s all about just catching the move and following up with your own punish.

Given that most of the characters in the build were un-upgraded I couldn’t get fully into the swing of things. Characters like Zuke clearly get more elaborate once you delve further into his upgrade tree, but you can find the core personalities there- despite not having his beats from the previous game yet, he’s pretty useful for air juggling since his attack stalls him in the air. Similarly, Mayday’s big swings very much make her the most straightforward character- not unlike her role in the cast.

Of course, part of the big appeal of No Straight Roads 2 is the personality. The demo also features a new boss, the delightfully punnily named Rama Irama, a seeming fitness influencer. In true No Straight Roads fashion you basically walk her through her own meltdown, was she goes through her various Green Screen phases even having a phase where she streams to the camera while you fight down her goons.

The game’s still very much in development and you can see it in Rama Irama’s animations- they’re definitely in need of some polish and yet you can already see the personality showing through. I don’t just hate Rama Irama- I’m pretty sure I know her.

Still, from my time with No Straight Roads 2 it feels like a game firmly built on its strengths. I can’t wait to see more of this game.