Risk of Rain 2 is a rogue-like, looter-shooter, stage-based video game that’s enjoyable to most audiences, regardless of their goal while playing.

The ESRB gives the game a “Teen” rating, citing blood, drug references and fantasy violence. I consider this a fairly heavy-handed rating since all of the above are presented in a cartoonish art style and can be hard to spot in-game. I would give the game an “Everyone 10+” as far as age rating is concerned.

Risk of Rain 2’s story is completely unimportant to the actual game, although I would say that reading up on the story only improves your understanding of the world you’ve been put in. 

It’s also important to note that Risk of Rain 2 is only a spiritual successor to the first game. You don’t need to play the first game to like or understand the second game. That being said, some players like having the background knowledge from the original.

I love Risk of Rain 2 for the cartoonish yet solemn art style, the interesting way that it implements items and how replayable the game is.

One of my favorite features is that the achievement system ties directly to how future playthroughs go. General achievements can be earned by any character, and unlock new items that have a chance of appearing in your next playthrough. Achievements that are unlocked by playing a specific character unlock new abilities for said character.

Most of the characters themselves are unlocked through secrets or specific tasks, which increases replayability.

In fact, almost every aspect in the game is about increasing the amount of enjoyment from consecutive runs. One example of this is through Artifacts, which are earned in-game through trials, and change major aspects of gameplay. My favorite is the Artifact of Command; it allows you to have full control over what items you receive, which allows you to focus on specific stats or gameplay.

I give Risk of Rain 2 an overall rating of 9/10, with my only complaint being that a certain boss that often appears early in runs can be extremely difficult to defeat without ranged weapons or good items.

Risk of Rain 2 is available on Steam, Epic Games, Stadia, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch for $29.99 and has DLC available for $14.99 on Steam and Epic Games. I recommend waiting for a sale on your platform of choice as Steam in particular has frequent sales throughout the year.