Risk of Rain 2

Genre: Third-Person Shooter / Roguelike

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Online)

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Risk of Rain 2 + Risk of Rain bundle, along with Risk of Rain.)

Risk of Rain 2 is an Third-Person Shooter with Roguelike elements that follows very much in the footsteps of its Action-Platformer predecessor, despite the switch in genres. Released in early access in 2019 on multiple platforms, Risk of Rain 2 would see full release on those platforms, including Nintendo Switch, in 2020.

In terms of presentation, Risk of Rain 2 has fairly simplistic-looking characters and worlds that are nevertheless visually interesting due to their alien visual design. This is actually a pretty good direction to go in taking the original game’s pixel art visuals and translating them into 3D, as they retain an element of that “classic” look, while still bringing players into a more fully-realized world. No doubt this simplistic design didn’t hurt when getting the Switch to be able to display such a big world with numerous enemies, too.

In terms of gameplay, there’s something really impressive going on here, in that the game’s designers did a fantastic job of preserving the spirit of the first game in its transition to this new genre and 3D environments. Much of this is thanks to the return of familiar playable characters and enemies, but mostly it’s due to the return of the same game structure that has you fighting off hordes of enemies, collecting gold and experience, and using that gold to buy upgrades, all while keeping an eye on the timer ticking onward, with more dangerous enemies emerging the longer you delay finding and activating each level’s teleporter and fighting its boss.

However, I would argue that this genre is a better fit for this formula. The enemy’s dumb AI isn’t as much of an issue when it’s not so easy to trap them behind obstacles, and players can’t easily hold up in one spot to rack up kills, as the change in perspective makes it easier to get ambushed from behind. What’s more, moving in three dimensions gives players more tactical options to dodge and engage enemies.

Having said that, this game retains the other major complaint I had regarding the original game – enemies are still bullet sponges, and firing an endless barrage of bullets at them while slowly waiting for them to take enough damage to go down can get tiresome. Also, while on the whole the game’s switch to 3D has been a huge improvement, the lack of a map and the strange geometry makes finding the all-important teleporter that much more difficult, which can be frustrating.

Another thing I should mention before finishing up. The Nintendo Switch version of the game does support optional gyroscopic controls (they’re on by default, in fact), and those gyro controls seem pretty good, though I did ultimately prefer more traditional controls. However, I know there are plenty of players who prefer the added nuance gyro controls bring, so know that you’re covered here.

One final note I should add for those considering whether to get the physical or digital version of this game. It bears mention that the physical version comes with the original Risk of Rain (apparently on the cartridge, I’ve been told), making that version the better value unless you find the game on sale. Just something to consider.

Fans of the original Risk of Rain should be ecstatic at this sequel, as it really is faithful to the first game while opening up a whole new genre to the series formula. And as I said before, I think the Third-Person Shooter genre actually works better for that formula, too. I just wish this sequel didn’t carry over one of the first game’s biggest flaws, bullet sponge enemies, along with that formula. Still, fans of action games looking for a challenging entry in the genre should find this to be worth a look.

tl;dr – Risk of Rain 2 is a Third-Person Shooter with Roguelike elements that’s faithful to the first game while bringing its formula into the world of 3D. Overall I’d say this game is a marked improvement over the first game, with some really good action, although again I’m frustrated by the bullet sponge enemies.

Grade: B

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