Risk of Rain

This all manifests into a project that feels like a true gift for fans and a premium prospect for roguelite veterans who may have missed its original launch. Risk of Rain Returns takes an all-timer which might have been overshadowed by its sequel and gives it much, much more than a fresh coat of paint.

Thankfully, there’s something about the core feel to the gun-play and movement that mostly makes up for things. Everything is snappy, even with the screen chock full of enemies, gunfire and gigantic bosses. Getting a particularly powerful upgrade early on feels like winning the lottery, while teaming up with 3 players online makes the grind far more appetising. It’d have been nice to be able to keep something from each run, and have online loot shared amongst the team, but as it is, Risk of Rain 2 is a great example of the genre.

A lack of clarity plagues both the aesthetics and gameplay. Reaching a place where you know what you’re doing isn’t an easy task, but getting over the learning curve is worth it. A single run in Risk of Rain is quick, but it’s also so addicting that you’ll rarely ever play just one run.

Risk of Rain is an excellent game, though the tiny character size on the PS Vita screen is a major nuisance sometimes. Mop-up bits slow down an otherwise lightning fast experience. Great music and addictive gameplay are the order of the day, however. Features an incredible amount of content for a meager price. An absolute PS Vita must buy!

It's a hard-won thrill, and one errant bullet or second of distraction is enough to undo it all. If you can accept that challenge, if you can pick yourself up and start all over again whenever you fail, you will lose hours to Risk of Rain. Whether you mean to or not.

These blemishes are annoying, but they're minor compared to what Risk of Rain has accomplished. It mixes together the challenge, randomness and discovery that make roguelikes so endlessly replayable, but in a form that also feels more welcoming. Even with over 15 hours under my belt, I've still got classes left to unlock, items left to find and plenty of meta-game strategy to master.