About a month or two ago I watched my favorite YouTuber Markiplier playing Risk of Rain 2 on his channel. I did not understand it at all and it looked like a tangled mess of gameplay and mechanics. I didn't look it up, I didn't watch another video, and I didn't even see it in stores ever since then until a couple days ago. A bunch of Gamestops were closing down and one of the ones that were closing in my neighborhood had this in stock. It stood out because there were only around 10 PS4 games in total on the shelf so I couldn't not look at it.

I thought back to the video and all the hype that the game has received and decided to get it. It was only $15 because of the closing and came with the original Risk of Rain on the same disc so I thought it was a steal, and in the end I'm pretty glad that I picked it up.

It's still what I said it was though, a tangled mess of gameplay and mechanics, though it is fun. The game is about trying to escape a planet and you run around different maps killing off all sorts of enemies while trying to locate and activate a teleporter which activates a boss battle. Once you beat that and the teleporter is charged, you're free to move on to the next level. Very barebones for a story but pretty good for if you're playing with someone else.

GRAPHICS: 5/10

The graphics are good but at the same time, the graphics are bad. I really like the way that the game looks, full of color, vibrant, very futuristic looking. Each of the maps are large and feature beautiful landscapes and all the enemies have cool looking designs. The only problem for me is that it's too much to handle IMO. A lot of the time, the game looks like it's trying to be 3D and extra neon, and at times that makes the game hard to look at, can be disorienting, and can make some of the small text difficult to read.

MUSIC: 10/10

When I first turned the game on, I ended up staying on the main menu for about five minutes listening to the music. The music is something that I really love about the game, nearly all of the songs are super upbeat and futuristic, and they work really well with the speed of the battles. The regular sounds are pretty epic as well because once you're in battles with 10 or more enemies at once, you get to hear everything.

ADDICTIVENESS: 9/10

The game is so much fun. When I first started playing, I was running around shooting enemies and I didn't really see the point at first. But after around 10 minutes, I started realizing that it was fun, a constant barrage of enemies for you to mow down. You don't even have to find the teleporter to get to the next level, you can just keep on battling for as long as you want Or until you die.

Then once you die, you just start over from the beginning but in a different starting map or from a different point on the map. So you always have a new and unique experience every time you play. Plus you get a small assortment of characters to play as, which will change your strategy and make each playthrough different from the last.

DEPTH: 7/10

I wouldn't exactly say that the game has a lot to offer in terms of depth, despite their being an immense amount of items and skills, and the maps are all randomly generated. This is because there isn't actually all that much. Currently there are 7 different characters to choose from though it looks like more will be available later on. Each one has an attack and 2 skills, and that's pretty much it.

I don't exactly know how many maps there are, I'm not sure if I even played them all yet but they are randomly generated and if you play in the same map multiple times, you will start in a different location each time. The biggest aspect of the game would probably be items and buffs, which are an assortment of things that can be found while playing that will help you out during that playthrough. You don't actually use most of the items thiugh, like as in have an inventory and press buttons to use them, they are just activated with when certain conditions are met.

Lastly, there's also a multiplayer mode and a trials mode, which is basically different challenges. Other than that, therr will be other stuff added to the game later on but for now I wouldn't exactly call it an insane amount of stuff.

DIFFICULTY: 7

I will definitely call this a tough game. The first time i played it, I died when I was just in the 2nd map because I was battling the final boss of that level while waitinf for the teleporter to activate and there were more than a dozen enemies coming at me from every angle. I was attacking a group of enemies, evading attacks from others, and I was still getting hit and then I eventually died. Some of the bosses are OP too and takr a long time to die so you have to be patient and take your time becaise not only will they outlast you but you have you worry about all the other enemies on the map trying to kill you too.

It's all trial and error though, even if your levels, stats, and buffs don't rollover after you die, you will get better as you play more and you get used to the game and all the mechanics.

OVERALL: 7.8/10

Overall, I have been really enjoying the game ever since I started playing. The only downside that ive seen so far is the headaches from the way the game looks, which became disorienting after playing for like 20 minutes. Other than that, each time you play is a unique experience and the thrill of being able to take on so many enemies at once and showing off all your abilities can get exciting at times. Not to mention it looks like there are a lot of new features coming later on that will make the game better. For now, taking the headaches into account, I'll give Risk of Rain 2 a 7.8 out of 10 and will definitely recommend it.