Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode Two cover art

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode Two

Light turn-based party optimisation carried by comedy writing.

Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION2 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION6 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    2/10

    Timed attack prompts add a light dexterity layer

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    Turn-based enemies follow fixed scripts

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    2/10

    Encounters are predictable after first contact

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    6/10

    Team loadouts and attack timing economy are easily solvable

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

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Game details

Released
2008
Developer
Hothead Games
Franchise
Penny Arcade
Platforms
PS3, Linux, PC, Mac, X360
Modes
Single player
IGDB critics
78/100
IGDB users
60/100
Role-playing (RPG)AdventureActionHistoricalComedy