I’m not entirely convinced that the freshly released “Troublemaker 2: Beyond Dream” is a gaming masterpiece. After spending about half an hour with the demo, I’d describe it as a budget-conscious, unofficial take on the popular Yakuza/Like A Dragon series, but set in a fictionalized version of Indonesia. Basically, it’s an open-world beat ’em up with comedic elements and a mix of other genres thrown in for good measure.
I previously likened it to Rockstar’s games and Saints Row in a recent post, but that was somewhat inaccurate. “Troublemaker 2” focuses primarily on on-foot exploration, and you can’t just randomly attack anyone. You’re only allowed to fight specific groups of troublemakers, and it seems you have to wait for them to start causing problems. For a brawler, it feels surprisingly restrained. Also, you can briefly transform into a dying cow.
I’m writing about the demo partly because “Troublemaker” is a fantastic name for a chaotic, urban fighting game. It has a playful, rebellious vibe. Imagine calling the next Call Of Duty something like “Street Riot Squad” or the next Doom game “Mayhem Marine.” The first “Troublemaker” game, released in 2023 (which received decent reviews), was set in a high school. And what is a city, really, but a giant school with more complex social dynamics, plus “cars” as roaming delinquent students that can instantly ruin your day? I’m curious to see how far the “troublemaking” concept can be taken. Could we maybe cause chaos in space?
I’m also writing about this because, despite not being totally sold on the button-mashing combat, I’m genuinely impressed by the setting. The demo map is a convincing collection of environments, enhanced by film grain and pop-up details. There are glowing neon installations, scooter-lined sidewalks, courtyards with solitary sweepers, unfinished concert stages, and busy backstreets where random people are, inexplicably, twerking on crates. That last one might be a glitch.
It really feels like a tribute to a real neighborhood. It’s a shame you can’t go into all the stores and admire local food brands. Often, you’re just shown an anime drawing of the shopkeeper. I know I sound like a stereotypical tourist. The only time I’ve experienced Indonesia is through video games, with the most recent being the quite different Afterlove EP.
One of the first things you’ll notice is the humor. It’s hard to say if it’s just naturally bad or poorly translated into English. Maybe it’s both. For example: I immediately jumped into one of the demo’s free-roam modes and came across a man fishing off a bridge. We had barely said hello when his wife showed up and started yelling at him for fishing all day. She made some suggestive comments about his “pole” and threatened to withhold “our nightly spicy time” if he didn’t go back to work. I was left on the bridge, confused, with nothing but questions. And a pole. I tried fishing myself, but lost interest when I failed the quick-time event.
The jokes do get better as the demo goes on, although the translation remains inconsistent. Later, I met the dying cow, who was lying on a street corner surrounded by onlookers. I mooed at the cow in sympathy. The cow told me I was terrible at speaking cow. Apparently, this cow had been “blessed by God with critical thinking,” but was now destined to be slaughtered and cooked into rendang.
I asked the cow if it had any final requests, and it asked me to pass laws punishing corrupt officials who steal money allocated for 5G towers, or something along those lines. I suspect there’s a joke about Indonesian politics that I’m missing (the game’s disclaimer puts “fiction” in air quotes). Since I couldn’t pass any laws in the demo, the cow asked me to help it go on a rampage instead. This led to a minigame where I became the cow, charging through cars that exploded like bubbles.
Besides being strangely satisfying, the sad cow encounter also gave me some valuable background knowledge. Shortly after, I had to answer trivia questions for a couple of guys doing a live vox pop interview. They asked me what rendang was made of. I knew this! The cow had complained about it earlier!
I somehow got a perfect score on the quiz, or at least that’s what the NPCs told me. I celebrated by getting into some awkward, clunky fights with strangely aggressive guys in vests, using light and heavy attacks and parrying when I felt like it. Then, I decided it was time to share my experiences. It was a rather anti-climactic ending to a demo where I got to run wild as a cow in not-Jakarta.
“Troublemaker 2” won’t be replacing games like Yakuza Zero anytime soon, but it has a similar sense of freedom and generosity. Based on the demo, it’s a delightfully clumsy, over-the-top game, full of silly jokes and awkward punches. Gamecom Team, the creators, started as a high school project in 2014 and have also made multiple Troublemaker mobile games. I think I’ve caused enough Trouble for now, but I’m rooting for them. Learn more on Steam.