It’s been a long time since 2006, the last time we saw Jimmy Hopkins. With all the rumors circulating with the new casting calls for a new AAA title lead by a UK games developer in Pine studios, we could be seeing Bully 2 soon.
Bully 2 News – Everything We Know About The Game
The casting call specifically asked for the portrayal of young characters, particularly of high school age. Alongside those, there’s also a specification for slightly older actors that can play Professor roles. This, combined with the warning of mild profanity, definitely does imply that it could be a sequel to 2006’s Bully. So here’s what we can speculate from all that information.
Gameplay
For those that aren’t familiar with Bully. It was kind of like GTA but for school. The player taking control of Jimmy Hopkins, a student of Bullworth Academy who looks to rise up the student ranks.
In doing so, he also has to fight against the bullies and avoid unnecessary detention from teachers, Bully’s version of a wanted level basically.
The gameplay from the first Bully involved free roaming the town and Academy of Bullworth. The player was able to traverse using a skateboard or scooter beside just running around on foot.
If going by the recent trend Rockstar has set in Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V, Bully 2 is likely to also have a first-person mode attached to it, though if another console exclusive, people are probably sticking to third. We’ve crashed our horses into enough trees to know that by now.
Leaks
Bully 2 is rumored to be Rockstar’s next big project after Red Dead Redemption 2, which will obviously keep them busy for a long time.
Besides earlier rumors of Bully 2’s development, Rockstar forums have also had confirmations on the process. As well as leaks in GTA Online.
Release Date
Finally, the major give away (for me at least) as to Bully 2 being the next Rockstar game after Red Dead Redemption 2 is their statement regarding GTA 6. Another GTA not releasing for a very long time in the current political climate. Regarding how sensitive and PC the populace has become.
Bully while it did retain Rockstar’s profanity, wasn’t nearly as satirical or outrageous as the GTA series is known to be. Thus why Bully 2 could pass off in today’s society. Not only going under SJW radar but also attracting players of the original Bully. Who’ve no doubt been waiting for a sequel, it’s been more than a decade.
GTA’s five-year release cycle was also broken by the release of Red Dead Redemption 2. The success of GTA Online also wasn’t too anticipated by the company. This, combined with both the ongoing attention to Redemption 2, the upcoming Red Dead Online and now possibly Bully 2? Yeah, GTA 6 won’t be coming anytime soon.
Wishlist
This one’s kind of hard to get narrowed down. Particularly because it’s been nearly two generations since the last Bully. Which was in 2006, that’s over a decade ago. Not to mention that it was on the PlayStation 2 and that Bully 2 is most likely to be a PlayStation 5 release. What all can we ask from the game?
One route is the continuation of Jimmy Hopkins’ story. This does seem useless to do seeing as how Jimmy had a conclusive end to his story in the original game. Though a progression can still be made.
University has bullies as well. I’m not saying that in a good way mind you, bullying sucks. But over here, we can make a game out of it. Ragging is a big thing for freshmen. And having that sweet satisfaction of beating the crap out of senior triggers as Jimmy would be immensely satisfying to most. Following the same classic formula of rising up the ranks, except this time it’s in university.
The other route is similar to what GTA does. Each game is a different story from the last, but in a shared universe. Bully 2 could follow the story of a different kid tanking his way through high school.
Of course, it would feel repetitive due to the last game being that era. But I think the school vibe of Bully is what really made it its own game. Just like GTA and RDR have their own identifying factors. Plus the classic vibe captured in today’s modern graphics and gameplay style would definitely be something a lot of people will pick up.
