Risk of Rain, one of my most favourite video games, is a 2D shooter where as time increases, so does the horde of enemies attacking you… Yesterday, the sequel dropped on Steam Early Access, so naturally, I had to give it a go!
Forecast…? Risk of Rain!
The main difference between the first and it’s sequel is the dimension. Whereas Risk of Rain was a 2D platformer, Risk of Rain 2 is a 3D third person shooter.
The 3D graphics seem to give RoR2 a more mature feeling to it; somehow it’s more 
The 3D makes the scale of some of the enemies a lot more real – and terrifying!
🎮Gameplay
The game plays almost exactly like the previous: you race to find teleporters that take you to the next level, all the while fighting off hordes of enemies and unlocking chests to get items that power you up in order to fight the bosses that appear once you reach the teleporter. There are some minor differences like you no longer have to kill all enemies to proceed, and the timer on the teleporter opening only counts if you stand within range of it.
These similarities, as well as a banging soundtrack by Chris Christodoulou, do mean that this definitely feels like RoR yet somehow, it’s feels like a step-up, a definite sequel.
I think it’s the 3D environment that gives it a slightly new feeling – you feel very small! I always thought that RoR levels felt a bit claustrophobic, but not any more! Maybe it’s lack of familiarity, but the levels feel a lot more open-world and adventurous.
🚧 Early Access?
The game is currently is Early Access on Steam, which means it’s still in development. There are obvious things that make this game unfinished – some are even marked as “coming soon”, like some characters and the addition of Artefacts – rare items that alter specific aspects of gameplay.
Other than that, I’ve not come across much that seems unfinished. There aren’t many bugs, and visually the game seems done. However, I have had some issues with difficulty. Some of the enemies, especially bosses, are very hard to beat unless you find a green or orange level item early on. Perhaps the team need to work on balancing the game a bit better. Or perhaps not! RoR has always been a hard game, especially since the longer you play, the harder it gets meaning you have to rush to that teleporter as fast as you can for the boss to be beatable.
🤔 Final Thoughts
Of course as a RoR fan, I’m biased. But I think this game is amazing! It’s everything a sequel needs to be, and I’m looking forward to (slowly) making more progress into the game, and seeing how Hopoo Games develop it, and make it better!