The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 starts off not long after the events of the first game. The heroes have all gone their separate ways, but it isn't long before they each find an excuse to get together and tackle the new threat that is looming over the lands.
When describing the new plight in the world, Ivo's mother references The Darkness that once swept across a distant realm (a reference to The Neverending Story), but says the force encroaching on Aventasia is much more horrific. And indeed it is something special. This magic force is changing castles into dollhouses and monsters into puppies. While I wouldn't call it worse than The Darkness, it is definitely causing some problems.
With a 25 hour or so gameplay time, The Book of Unwritten Tales 2's story is lengthy and in-depth. For instance, there is a good chunk of story that the player has to work through before the party even gets back together. At first, the game is all about setting up the characters in their current predicaments and getting them to all move to the same place. When the game starts, Nate finds himself falling from the sky, Ivo is locked away at her parents' palace and feeling a bit under the weather, while Wilbur is teaching at the recently reappeared mage school. The game switches between the main characters slowly bringing them together, and only once they meet does the game's story seem to really pick up and get going.
The lengthy gameplay time is a big selling point in this game. While there are still plenty of companies coming out with full length adventure titles, I find myself spending a lot of time playing Telltale Game's episodic titles. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them and anxiously await the next part soon after getting through the latest episode, but it makes the game a series of short, choppy stints of adventure. Sure, by the time the season is done, the game might clock in at 10 or 12 hours, but being confronted with a massive undertaking like Unwritten Tales 2 all at once has gotten a little daunting. I've had to dust off my old-school hardcore adventure gamer boots with both this game and its predecessor in order to make my way through these games and it is a refreshing and welcome change.