Action · 2020 · Hopoo Games · online
Risk of Rain 2
Crashed on an alien planet, against ever more monsters — and a little more absurd with every pickup.
What it is about
You crash on an alien planet and have to fight your way from level to level. Each has a portal beyond which things get harder — and the difficulty rises with every minute that passes on top of that.
The pickups are the core. They stack without limit: find five that work together and you end up with a character who throws lightning, fires rockets and heals while doing it. No two runs are alike.
With two there are more enemies, but also twice as many items in play. The real appeal lies in showing each other what you just found — and realising together that it has gone too far.
Our verdict for couples
It starts manageable, and then you pick up items that stack rather than replace each other. Forty minutes in, one of you is throwing lightning, the other is trailing four drones, and it is barely possible to tell where the game stops on screen. That is exactly what you play it for, which is why it stings that a run cannot be saved: there is no point starting with less than an hour ahead of you. Both of you need practice, too, because nobody carries anybody here.
Pros
- Every run plays out differently
- The characters play markedly differently
- A very active modding community
Cons
- A run cannot be saved
- No local co-op
- Better avoided if you are sensitive to flashing lights
Suitable from
Gamer
- Conflict potential
- Spirited
- Cosiness
- Draining
- When you can stop
- Only after an hour or more
- How long it lasts
- No ending
What other co-op fans say
The community revolves almost entirely around the items and how quickly a run gets out of hand. A great many call it the game that brought them into the genre, and point out that it is better with others than alone. The music and the characters get regular praise. The criticism concerns technical matters — the shared connection was considered unreliable for a while — and individual enemies that hit out of nowhere.
- “A very fun roguelike. Highly recommend playing it with a friend in co-op.”
- “There are endless ways to play it, and every run feels different and exciting.”
- “This game likes to throw enemies that one-shot you out of nowhere.”
Summarised by machine from 60 Steam reviews, not written by our editors. The quotes appear verbatim in those reviews.
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