Radical Jak sequel abandoning the naïve tone for urban Dark Fantasy. New gunplay mechanics, vehicles and Haven City world are brilliant. A significant franchise turning point that dared an audacious and successful change of direction.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player12+
Description
North American edition of Jak II released in 2003, the second entry in Naughty Dog's trilogy. Same platforming, shooting and urban open-world mechanics (Haven City) as the Japanese and European versions, published by SCEA. A major dark turn for the series after the first game.
Jak II review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
The art direction tips from fairy tale to urban dystopia. The first game's tropical world yields to Haven City, a gray metropolis smothered under Baron Praxis's regime: concrete walls, guard turrets, wan neon and factory smoke. The bright palette of before turns to metal and grime, the architecture grows oppressive and surveilled. This aesthetic swerve toward a police future signals at once that the series has left childhood.
The soundtrack crystallizes around the Dark Jak transformation. When the hero mutates under Dark Eco, the sound tears: guttural growl, sudden distortion, strings turning to a scream, as if the score itself lost control. This switch motif punctuates the game and embodies the inner beast Jak learns to contain.
The story hurls a beloved hero into rage and flight. Captured at the outset, Jak endures two years of Dark Eco experiments that disfigure him with hatred, before escaping thirsting for vengeance. The carefree kid of the first game becomes a taciturn fugitive, ready to kill, drawn against his will into an insurrection against Baron Praxis.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Taking a darker, more heavily armed turn, this chapter grafts gunfights and city joyrides onto platforming that stays pixel-perfect as ever. The variety of missions and the vehicle driving across an open world tighten the pace without sacrificing any of the joy of the jump. A few difficulty spikes still grate, but the mechanical richness and the fluidity of the action remain remarkable.
A sequel that tips Naughty Dog's mascot into a darker urban open world, blending platforming, driving and gunplay in a dystopian city. Still fairly widespread in the West, its interest lies in this bold tonal turn within the saga rather than scarcity. A prime piece for action-adventure fans wanting to track the Jak line's transformation.
Is Jak II still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2003 on PS2, Naughty Dog's sequel takes a radical turn by dropping Jak into Haven City, an oppressive metropolis inspired by the urban open world. The hero grows up, gains firearms and a dark side tied to black Eco. The timed missions and the steep difficulty left a mark, sometimes to the edge of frustration. The dystopian art direction and the more mature writing remain strong, and the hovercraft driving energises exploration. Recommended for seasoned action platforming players and for trilogy fans ready for its most demanding turn on Sony's second home console hardware globally.
