Graveyard Keeper 2 Takes the Best Part of Stardew Valley and Somehow Makes It Much, Much Worse

Graveyard Keeper 2 launched on September 22 from developer Lazy Bear Games, and after about 20 hours the writer finds it essentially the same game with a new coat of paint, plus quality-of-life improvements like less grinding, better inventory management, and fully voiced dialogue. The problem is that the story's pacing clashes with the management-sim loop: NPCs constantly interrupt with cutscenes and dialogue, and much of the sim progression is tied to enduring those conversations and quests. The writer questions whether the sequel is worth $25 when it feels inferior overall to the first game.