Risk of Rain Returns is a wonderful alliteration, but it’s also the name of the remake of the brutal cult classic that spawned Risk of Rain 2, which a lot of you are fond of, I’m told.
For the uninitiated: the first Risk of Rain is a side-scrolling platformer, and it was absolutely punishing. At least, that was my memory of playing it back in the day. I gave it a good try, but it just didn’t stick.
I mostly remember being overwhelmed by a marching army of strange creatures, and then I put the game down and didn’t ever go back to it. I really wish I had, because after playing Risk of Rain Returns for several hours, I’ve now worked out exactly why the original is held in such high regard by so many.
What is Risk of Rain Returns, then?
Like the original, Returns is a side-scrolling platform game built on the roguelike principle of permadeath. After crash-landing on a strange alien world, it’s up to you to get to a new ship and escape. That’s easier said than done, however, as the aforementioned marching army is still very much in residence and you’re still going to have to blast them to smithereens to get away.
The roguelike DNA means you start with a clean slate for every new run. While the individual characters don’t get more powerful per se, you can unlock new abilities and then calibrate them to your tastes over time. To aid you on your quest there are also powerful artefacts that you can equip, and these have a profound impact on the action. For example, I equipped one called Spite and then had to avoid the bombs that were subsequently dropped by my opponents as they fell. I didn’t die at my own hand, but it did completely change my approach for that run.
Risk of Rain Returns can be played both solo and co-op. I’ve tried both and I had a great time across the board, but co-op was a total blast as overall it’s a bit less overwhelming.
Setting up a party and getting started was nice and easy, and once again the netcode is rock solid – me and my co-op buddy both had a silky smooth in-game experience. It’s a neat setup, that has dead players revived at the end of each level, if the rest of your team makes it through.
You’re not left with nothing to do when you perish either, as you’re put behind the wheel of a drone with a moderately effective machine gun. This allows you to scout out the level for your allies and contribute a little to the chaotic battle that ensues when one player activates the portal that ushers in the final climactic battle of each level.
Guns and Droneses
RORR’s roster is filled with different characters that each have their own abilities, so you can experiment with them as they unlock. I’ve managed to get access to around half of them ahead of writing my review, and I’m not going to stop until I’ve got them all. Trying out the different playstyles is a lot of fun, even if I did gravitate towards the Huntress during my first few attempts.
As you progress through the game, you’re able to evolve and upgrade your character by equipping the items that you discover in chests and by trigger altars. You have limited slots so you can’t just grab everything you find – sometimes you’ll be forced to choose – but you’ll be given enough options over time to upgrade your character’s damage output considerably.
Players also have the chance to spend the cash they’ve pocketed from their enemies on drones. Once revived, these cute little flying folks follow you around like lost puppies, firing at your enemies and even pumping you full of health points.
Your drones do take damage over time so if you find yourself in a pitched battle, they won’t last long. If they do succumb, they will need to be picked up and repaired once more, which costs a bit. Thus, it’s always worth keeping them alive if you can manage it.
Risking it all to escape
You’ll spend much of your time trying to find the teleporters that advance you through the game’s many levels. However, there is wave after wave of enemies sent to extinguish you with prejudice, and it can feel tough at times. Franchise fans will know all about the creatures that they’re about to face, while newcomers will enjoy the sheer variety on offer. You’re constantly on the move, dodging attacks, and returning fire whenever feasible – but sometimes it’s just about staying alive.
Traversal is also a challenging part of the game and you’ll often have to climb up and down in order to find your exit. There are big drops that can take a chunk of your health, so be careful climbing all those ropes, Dear Reader. While the world itself isn’t out to kill you, the landscapes are effectively composed to provide a good challenge. There are even loads of secrets built into the levels, so look around and you’ll find hidden areas with collectibles to pilfer.
I’m not going to spoil the ending, but I will say that the boss battle itself is a dazzling spectacle. There are several smaller bosses to tackle on the way to meeting Providence, although perhaps “smaller” wasn’t the right word because these guys are absolute units. Be prepared to stay on your toes during these secondary boss battles, especially if you don’t have a powerful attack to help you whittle the enemy’s health bar down quickly. I think I’ve seen them all by now and there’s decent variety there, and the challenge they offer is well balanced, in my humble opinion.
Reflections on a long-awaited Returns
I’ve not even touched on the new Providence Trials mode, which gives you a whole new way of playing the game. I appreciated having the variety and I daresay seasoned veterans will appreciate it even more. Better still, the trials are attached to unlocks that feed into the main game, so they’ve been baked into the experience properly. They’re though, too.
In fact, I think Gearbox Publishing and Hopoo Games have done a great job at restoring and refreshing an ageing game. A lot has been done to make roguelikes and roguelites more accessible in recent years, and these accommodations can be felt throughout Returns. Overall, I think they’ve handled it with just enough reverence for the original. I even went back to the original to see just how much had changed, and the difference between the two games is night and day – you can clearly see how much love has been poured into the project.
Risk of Rain Returns is a strong contender for my personal game of the year, and I’m going to keep coming back for more, in particular, the online co-op. The difficulty is balanced just right and scales perfectly as you play, there are tons of fun item combos to keep things fresh, the new ways to play are well-integrated, and the gameplay is tight and responsive. It looks just like you remember but better, and I can’t find a single negative thing to say about it.
The game is out on PC and Nintendo Switch, but I played on PC.
Updated to remove references to procedural generation.
