EDIT (9/7/2024): Gearbox actually fixed a lot of major issues from the SotS release. I can confidently say the game is playable and fun again! My review from before still stands, this is a great game. I hope Gearbox can keep fixing bugs and revamping/tuning content to make the game even better. I should build the man a statue...

EDIT (8/30/2024): I last left my review with high hopes for the DLC from Gearbox, but they failed in more ways than one. I won't go into detail about the DLC here, but it was overall a lesser package than SotV (a better DLC for the same price). As of now I can't recommend anyone buying this game with the state it's in. With the patch that brought in Seekers of the Storm (SotS) the game was completely destroyed. Tons and tons of bugs are running rampant in almost every game you play. Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is tied to frame rate now, meaning you're at a disadvantage the better your system is. I could go on and on, the point is: Gearbox broke RoR2 and need to fix it ASAP. I've already refunded SotS and encourage others to do the same to send a message to Gearbox. We won't stand for an undercooked release of a DLC, and a buggy patch that fundamentally changes the game. It's now or never...

Risk of Rain 2 is my favorite PC game of all time. This is the game that I can always come back to. For myself and many others, this game holds so much replay value, it’s insane. The amount of characters and items alone make the game such an interesting experience each time you boot up a run. RoR2 has 11 playable survivors (2 more with DLC) and 132 unique items (41 more with DLC) that all interact in different ways with each other.

Each survivor plays differently from one another, while some can be classified as basic “melee” or “ranged” characters, they still each have their own kits that make them stand out. Certain items also perform better on certain characters, rewarding player knowledge of the character/item. Each enemy is also super fun to fight (for the most part, I’m looking at you blind pest…) and bosses are also super engaging and challenging.

A typical run will have you go through 5 normal stages and a 6th final boss stage. The main point of the first 5 stages is to get items and move on to the next stage without wasting too much time. I mention time here as it’s a key factor in how enemies progress. As time goes on, enemies spawn more frequently and get tougher. If you want a shot at beating that final boss, you’ve gotta be more powerful than the enemies. There are two main ways that players usually go about this, either by fully looting a stage or speedrunning to the teleporter (the object that summons the boss of the stage and allows you to progress to the next one).

There is a nice medium to these two strategies, but pick whatever works for you! After you’ve progressed through 5 stages you have the choice of fighting the final boss or “looping”. I won’t go into details about the boss of course, but it’s an awesome fight once you get there for the first time. “Looping” on the other hand, lets you go back through the stages you’ve explored again (perhaps entirely different stages too) and get even more loot. Every time you get to that 5th stage though, you get to choose what to do again. This choice in “looping” or just ending your run really allows the player so much freedom in how they want their run to go. If your build isn’t really that fun, but you know you can beat the final boss, then you can end it. However, if you feel like your build can go places beyond imagination, you might want to loop. That is the true magic of this game.

Well, there is one other magical thing about this game: THE MUSIC. The soundtrack to this game (and the original Risk of Rain) stands up there as one of the best gaming ost’s ever. Bravo Chris. This game also has a pretty decent modding community that has made tons of characters, items, stages, and more! If you ever (somehow) get bored of the vanilla game, mods truly expand the experience into something amazingly chaotic. I love this game and can’t wait to see what the future holds for it (hope DLC 2 is good please please please Gearbox).