WORTH ANOTHER GO? THE EDITORIAL VERDICT
Risk of Rain 2
Risk of Rain 2 is a strong pick for repeatable combat builds, especially when a small group wants to play together. Stacking items and different survivors create escalating combinations that become especially interesting in a co-operative group.
Game facts
- Developer
- Hopoo Games
- Publisher
- Gearbox Publishing, 2K
- Released
- 11 August 2020
- Platforms
- Windows (Steam edition)
- Model
- Paid game
- PEGI
- 12 · Violence, Bad Language — Steam UK listing
- Players
- Single-player · Multi-player · Online PvP · Co-op · Online Co-op
- Length
- Medium
- Difficulty
- 4 / 5 · Challenging
- Steam Deck
- Playable
PEGI source ↗ · Steam Deck status source ↗
Edition: Base game
The score, explained
The interest and responsiveness of the core decisions and actions.
How progression, exploration and goals fit together.
The coherence of the visual, musical and narrative presentation.
How clearly the game explains its rules and offers useful ways to engage.
The depth of optional goals, alternative approaches and reasons to return.
An item changes more than a statistic
Risk of Rain 2 builds its action around survivors whose abilities interact with collected items. Effects can combine as a run develops, while the opposition grows more dangerous over time. The game makes that shared escalation central to the design. The strongest element is the resulting decision: another item may help, but searching for it also extends the run under rising pressure. This is a strong fit for readers who enjoy adapting as a build becomes more capable and less predictable. It is a weaker match when fixed chapter lengths, quiet encounters or precise control over every available reward are important. The game asks the player to manage momentum as well as equipment.
The run has several possible ambitions
The available structure allows players to work towards an escape or continue a run further, giving success more than one possible meaning. Survivors with different abilities, item combinations and gameplay modifiers support changes in approach. The official listing also confirms solo play and online co-operation with up to three friends. We rate the structure highly because those options remain connected to the same escalating expedition rather than unrelated modes. Their variety does not make results predictable. A player should still be willing to adapt when a desired item or route is unavailable. The attraction is finding what the current run can become, not executing a fully controlled script from beginning to end.
Scale is part of the spectacle
The alien environments and increasingly forceful item effects give Risk of Rain 2 a visual identity tied to growth. As more systems interact, the screen can become a representation of the build's accumulated power. We value that connection while treating visual density as a meaningful trade-off. A spectacular late run is not automatically a comfortable or readable experience for every player. The official compatibility information provides a separate starting point for investigating a particular setup. A prospective player should decide whether escalating chaos is part of the desired experience before treating a high replay assessment as a reason to buy. Stacking items makes success increasingly spectacular, but that spectacle can obscure threats as a run develops.
Choose a run you are willing to improvise
Risk of Rain 2 is especially appealing when the combination of a survivor, unexpected items and rising opposition sounds like a useful reason to improvise. Those available systems support a high return score, with co-operative play adding another way to approach them. The same uncertainty can frustrate readers who want a carefully bounded session or a reliably repeatable build. Hades offers an alternative action-run structure with more emphasis on recurring characters and the time between attempts. Choose Risk of Rain 2 when the developing expedition itself is the main attraction. Its most distinctive question is how far to push a build while the world becomes stronger alongside it. Pushing further is a choice about risk, not only strength. Stacking items and different survivors create escalating combinations that become especially interesting in a co-operative group.
The verdict
Risk of Rain 2 is a strong pick for repeatable combat builds, especially when a small group wants to play together. Stacking items and different survivors create escalating combinations that become especially interesting in a co-operative group.
Reasons to play
- Stacking item effects encourage build experimentation
- Solo and up-to-four-player online co-op are supported
- Different survivors and modifiers change the approach
Reasons to think twice
- Escalation can make encounters visually busy
- Run outcomes and duration are not predictable
- Expansions and platform versions need separate checks
See the game
Assist & accessibility
Parents’ guide
Players: Single-player · Multi-player · Online PvP · Co-op · Online Co-op. No in-game purchase marker in the checked Steam listing. Separate downloadable content may be sold.
Age classification: 12. Violence · Bad Language Steam UK listing
A useful starting tip
Treat time spent collecting another item as a risk decision; an improving build still has to keep pace with the escalating opposition.
A different direction
Compare this with Hades: A rewarding return loop where changing weapons and boons tests growing combat skill while the household keeps developing around each attempt.
Official sources
Reviewed: November 2026
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