Poker Night 2

”Hail to the King, baby.” -Ashley Williams

With the myriad of video games that have been introduced throughout the years depicting intense scenes of hardship, degradation, and redemption, I am certain there are some characters that would prefer to just take it easy and play some table games every now and then. Poker Night 2 (PN2), the sequel to the ever-popular Poker Night At The Inventory, was published by in 2013 by Telltale Games, and allows the player to ante-in to a one-game poker tournament with individuals the likes of Brock Samson from the Venture Bros. television show, Claptrap from the Borderlands series, Sam from the classic Sam and Max detective adventures, and-my personal favorite-Ashley Williams from the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness trilogy. Poker Night 2 is exactly as you expect it to: as a card game computer simulator; there’s really no explanation needed for this. However, this title offers much more than just a deck of cards and green felt.

Here are a few reasons to consider Poker Night 2:

Gameplay - This title is not so much a continuation of the last episode as it is a familiar experience with a different set of familiar faces. The player is re-invited to the Gallery, the venue for the first game’s setting, to partake in more tournaments with an increase buy-in amount. The player may challenge said opponents to two variations of poker, being Hold’Em and Omaha. There is nothing truly outstanding about the game’s mechanics , though it does have a unique facial-reading system in which the player may gauge the others’ dealt hands by viewing simple responses to them. PN2 primarily utilizes a mouse interface to select options in menus and during tournaments; this is as simple as it can get. Why I added this section, however, is to touch a bit on the other competitors’ ruthless cunning during tournaments. I am usually pretty decent at poker and other card games, but this character cast knocks me down a peg both competitively and morally at times by taking outstanding risks to oust everyone else from the game.

Humorous Cast - Along with the stated characters, Mad Moxxi from the Borderlands tends the bar, Portal’s GLaDOS is the card dealer, Tales from Monkey Island’s Reginald Van Winslow reprises his role as the Inventory’s host, and Max-Sam’s faithful partner and competitor in the first Poker Night-sits idly by, awaiting moments to add to the comedic dialogue exchanges; a random bandit from Borderlands named Steve also makes appearances from time to time, but mostly remains hidden from the scenes. Each individual around the table converses with one-another fluidly, and intriguing conversations arise both about the game at hand and of everyday lives, such as Brock Samson’s mentioning of his employers or Sam and Max respectively spouting back and forth. These witty exchanges remove much of the tension from each session so that the tournament simply feels like a friendly game among friends.

Unlockables - Poker Night 2, similar to the original, features content that may be revealed through play. After each session, whether the player won or lost, tokens are earned that may go toward purchasing various themed table felts, chips, cards,  Team Fortress 2 and Borderlands 2 also benefit from Poker Night 2, as players may equip items such as Sam’s signature hat in TF2 and Brock Samson’s haircut for the Gunzerker in Borderlands 2, respectively; these unique articles are rewarded for obtaining Bounties, challenge items unique to each character’s respective games.

TL:DR - Though not complex, this title can be extremely cut-throat in nature, especially when there are few remaining players. Conversation is intriguing given it is between various characters that will very likely never meet again, and livens up the play experience with quirky yet witty lines. I highly recommend this title to anyone who enjoys playing table games with brutal adversaries. Thanks for reading.

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Originally posted December 12, 2015. Last edited May 1, 2018.