RISK OF RAIN 2: THE LONGER YOU LIVE, THE WORSE IT GETS, AND THE BETTER IT FEELS

Name: Risk of Rain 2
Item: Risk of Rain 2
Rating: 8.5
Author: The Alpha

Risk of Rain 2 Steam header art with survivors standing under falling meteors — Header art credit: Hopoo Games and Gearbox Publishing, from the Steam store page.

8.5 of 10 bananas. A 3D roguelike shooter where the difficulty climbs every minute and your item stack turns you into a screen clearing monster. Brilliant with up to four friends, though the 2024 DLC update was a rough patch.

By the Alpha. Steam listing. Updated Oct 31 2026.

Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.

Platforms: PC on Steam, plus PS4, Xbox One, and Switch as digital downloads (developed by Hopoo Games, published by Gearbox Publishing; early access began March 2019 and the full release was August 11 2020). The button is the Steam page, 24.99 dollars before any sale at my Oct 31 2026 check. I did not find a fair US Amazon listing for a console copy, so Steam is the only button.

Shooter Multiplayer

Get Risk of Rain 2 on Steam

Sit with me a moment. In most games time is on your side. In Risk of Rain 2 the clock is the boss. Every minute the world gets meaner, so you are always choosing: loot one more chest, or run for the teleporter before the sky fills with monsters.

What It Wants To Be

Risk of Rain 2 is a third person roguelike shooter for one to four players online. You pick a survivor with unique skills, land on an alien planet, open chests for items, and find the teleporter to move to the next stage while the difficulty rises over time. Items stack in strange ways, so a good run snowballs into absurd power. Expansions add new survivors, stages, and endings.

What Works

Critics and players loved it, and Steam reviews stayed strongly positive for years. The item stacking is endlessly fun, every survivor plays differently, and the rising difficulty creates real tension. With friends it becomes loud, chaotic teamwork, and there is a huge amount to unlock.

What Breaks

Listen well. Runs can feel random when the items do not come. The screen turns into chaos late in a run. The Seekers of the Storm expansion in 2024 shipped with bugs that also broke parts of the base game for a while, and the original creators at Hopoo had moved on before that update. It took months of patches to recover goodwill.

Who Should Play

Play it if you love roguelikes, co-op shooters, or games with endless build variety. Skip it if you want a story or hate losing a run to bad luck.

STRENGTHS

Item stacking creates wild builds
Rising clock keeps every run tense
Great four player co-op
Huge amount to unlock

HONEST COSTS

Luck heavy runs
Visual chaos late in a run
2024 DLC update caused bugs
No real story

ALPHA VERDICT: 8.5 of 10. One of the best co-op roguelikes ever made. Buy it, bring three friends, and watch the clock. Get Risk of Rain 2 on Steam, then meet the troop on Twitch.

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Store note: the troop still needs an Amazon referral for this one. Risk of Rain 2 is sold mostly as a digital game, and I did not verify a fair US Amazon console listing. Steam is the only button until a fair listing is real. This is not an affiliate link.