Like the original game,Poker Night 2is a computer-based poker simulation between an unseen silent participant (the player) and four characters that is played in The Inventory that was featured in the previous game. Each player starts with the same amount of virtual money (which was raised to $20,000 per player and $100,000 total from $10,000 per player and $50,000 total in the original game), and competes in standard poker rules to try to eliminate all the other players by exhausting their money. In addition to theTexas hold 'emstyle of play featured in the original game,Poker Night 2introduced theOmaha hold 'emstyle as a playable mode as well. Like the original game, there is a large amount of dialogue due to the banter that the characters share.
There is a large amount of dialogue due to the banter that the characters share. The player, however, is silent (and this acknowledged by the other characters in dialogue). The game features unlockable in-game card, chip and table designs, as well as "Bounty Unlocks" for completing certain goals, which unlockBorderlands 2content and, depending on the platform played,Team Fortress 2items on Steam,Xbox Avataritems, or PlayStation 3 themes.[6][7]Simultaneously using chips, cards, and tables sharing the same theme alters the design of the Inventory, opening up new conversation possibilities. Players can also buy the other characters drinks from the Inventory's bar in order to more easily expose theirtells.
Gameplay ofPoker Night 2,showing the player with aroyal flush,beating Sam (three of a kind), Brock (folded), and Claptrap (folded). Ash has busted out of the game on an earlier hand and can be seen at the bar in the background.
The firstPoker Nightgame was developed by Telltale during a lull in their release schedule, and proved to be successful; Steve Allison, vice president of publishing at Telltale, believed it was the relationship between Telltale andValvethat contributed to the success of the game, luring players withTeam Fortress 2items for performing well in the game.[8]As completion ofThe Walking Deadneared, Telltale found themselves in another lull, and returned to thePoker Nightconcept as a way to fill the gap.[8]
Character selection was more direct than the first game, with Telltale wanting to bring in characters from movies and television. Allison had a good relationship withMGM Studios,who were eager to offer characters, and was able to secure the character of Ash fromEvil Dead,which also was timed well against the release of the2013 remake.[8]Similarly, Allison stated thatCartoon Networkreadily agreed to the inclusion of Brock fromVenture Bros.,one of the Telltale team's first selections.[8]Gearbox Software,the creators ofBorderlands,appreciated the first game, and allowed the Claptrap character to be used.[8]The final spot at the table was to be left open for a character from a Telltale game, eventually resulting in Sam. They had considered using either Marty or Doc Brown from theBack to the Futuregame but realized that they would not be appropriate in a game with mature spoken content. Similarly, characters fromThe Walking Deadseries would not be a thematic fit for the poker title, as it would make people emotional about the game.[8]To help make the play more personable, they needed to have a dealer for the table, and GLaDOS was considered an obvious fit.[8]
Telltale started a website called The Key Party in 2013 in order to promote the game, with a new keychain related to the game characters revealed every working day from March 25 until April 1, when the game was officially revealed.[1]
The PC and iOS versions received "generally favorable reviews", while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions received "mixed or average reviews", according to thereview aggregationwebsiteMetacritic.[9][10][11][12]
^abcitizen_3rased (May 16, 2013)."Test: Poker Night 2 (PC, Mac)".Jeuxvideo(in French). Webedia.Archivedfrom the original on April 14, 2021.RetrievedNovember 9,2022.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
