The Gearbox developers working on Risk Of Rain 2 have released a patch for its poorly received expansion, Seekers Of The Storm. The recent DLC for the action roguelike came out of the oven a little doughy, with enough game-breaking bugs to thoroughly upset some fans. Including one bug that sometimes made the game's final boss accidentally invincible. Ah. Yesterday's patch seems to target the worst of these bugs, and the dev team promise there are more fixes are to come.
]]>Hopoo Games, the studio who made chewy roguelike Risk Of Rain and its moreish 3D sequel Risk Of Rain 2, are shutting up shop and taking jobs at Valve. They're no longer working on a previously unannounced game called "Snail", say the developers on Xitter. Instead, the studio co-founders Paul Morse and Duncan Drummond (plus "many other talented members") are taking up game development roles with the Steam owners.
]]>Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm released last Tuesday, and hasn’t gone down too well with fans of the co-op roguelite. How not well, you ask? To shreds, I say - it’s currently sitting at 79% ‘mostly negative’ rating on Steam. Among the chief complaints are…uh, everything, it looks like. The DLC is reportedly so bug-ridden that it’s taken many of the base game’s core systems down with it.
Gearbox - who acquired Risk Of Rain from Hopoo Games in 2022 - have since put out a blog with a list of known issues they’re targeting, and encourage players to keep submitting bug reports. Among the listed issues are a boss named Mithrix becoming invincible (“definitely not intentional”), and “an issue that allowed players to get stuck while smelling the flowers”.
]]>Chaos and comedy. Death and rebirth. Luck and, uh, running out of luck. A good roguelike doesn't treat the player like other games do. Roguelikes won't guide you helpfully along a path, or let you cinematically snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They're more likely to dangle you deep between the jaws of defeat and fumble the rope until you go sliding down defeat's hungry gullet. This is their beauty, and it's a part of why we keep coming back for another go. Next time everything will go right. Next time you'll find the right pair of poison-proof loafers, the perfect co-pilot for your spaceship, a stash of stronger, better ropes. Next time.
Here's our list of the 19 best roguelikes on PC you can play in 2024.
]]>Risk Of Rain 2 is one of my fave action roguelikes, as it's a good time with pals and has all the hallmarks of things I enjoy most in my games: shooting and looting. That's why the latest free update excites me so, as it introduces an artifact that makes chests malicious and another that lets you hatch angry lizard companions. Oh, and there's a new map, too.
]]>The Risk Of Rain intellectual property and both Risk Of Rain and Risk Of Rain 2 are now owned by Gearbox. Gearbox were previously the publisher of Risk Of Rain 2 and say they are "eager to prove ourselves as worthy custodians" of the series. They bought the IP from original developers Hopoo Games, who say they won't be doing any more work on the series.
]]>Fantasy roguelike Dead Cells is being invaded by indies again. Weapons and outfits from six games are making their way into the game with today's free Everone Is Here 2 update: Terraria, Hotline Miami, Shovel Knight, Slay The Spire, Risk Of Rain 2, and Katana Zero. There’s also new lore rooms based on locations from these games, which is where you’ll find the weapons stored. You can watch some of the costumes and weapons in action in the trailer below.
]]>The railgun is the best weapon in the Quake series, and so I am excited that it's coming to Risk Of Rain 2. The class-based looter-shooter is getting its first paid DLC, Survivors Of The Void, which adds two new classes - including the Railgunner. You can watch a trailer for the expansion below in preparation of its release on March 1st.
]]>I was ready to give up on Risk Of Rain 2. On the face of it that doesn't make much sense, because it's a 3D followup to an excellent platforming roguelike where possibility spills from cascading item combos. It's like if The Binding Of Isaac was a third-person shooter set on an alien planet where dinosaurs, ghosts and automatons team up to kill you. I wanted to like it, but a too-long crawl towards new characters and a tendency for levels to flip from 'chill murder pottering' to 'instant death' put me off.
These are still very big problems with the full version. But then I unlocked the robot with a grappling hook.
]]>Storm's finally here, folks. Over a year since it hit Steam Early Access, Risk Of Rain 2 is popping on its wellies to brave the rocky seas of a full release. Fortunately, The Captain's on deck as a new playable survivor, steering the frenetic third-person shooter through an ocean of new items, enemies and custom servers to reach its ultimate conclusion - a massive alien brawl on the moon.
]]>Now here's a forecast you can rely on. Risk Of Rain 2 is finally leaving early access next month, and besides an increased chance of precipitation, the alien-blasting romp is adding a whole heap of new features on launch. Expect a new survivor, a new stage, a flashy new server browser and, unfortunately, a little bit of a price hike when it arrives on August 11th. Soz about that last one.
]]>Pack your brolly away, it's clear skies for a few months yet. Risk Of Rain 2 developers Hopoo game released a revised forecast for their swarming early access roguelite this week, pushing the game's 1.0 release back to August this year. After all that time in early access, the devs reckon they'd picked up a little tunnel vision, and are re-thinking their release plans to bring some new and improved features to the colourful bug-hunt at launch.
]]>Every time I sit down to write, the first thing I do isn’t open up a blank document, it’s find some nice video game music to listen to. And loads of it can be found free on YouTube. Ambient music from Skyrim, relaxing compilations from Animal Crossing, lo-fi Legend of Zelda remixes Sometimes, work or study just can’t get done without my 10-hour loop of Chrono Trigger’s Corridors Of Time.
Looking at the millions of comments, uploads, and views these uploads get, it’s clear that I’m not alone. If you’re reading this on a PC right now, there’s a statistically decent chance that YouTube is currently open and playing some video game tunes in another tab. And it’s only possible because YouTube doesn’t treat video game music as it does other popular music.
]]>I want to like Risk Of Rain 2 . The 3D sequel to Chancy Precipitation 1 has snazzy music and a weird, varied menagerie of monsters to shoot at. A few more joined the fray in yesterday's Hidden Realms update, along with a playable lizard-dog, dedicated servers, nine new items, and more varied level layouts. It's a meaty and welcome update, though I just played a game and still think getting insta-swatted after 40 minutes of pootling around is an unforgivable pacing problem.
]]>Rain, rain, go away, come again once you've got a new assortment of tools I can murder monsters with. Oh, hello Risk Of Rain 2. What've you got there? The Skills 2.0 update, introducing a loadout system that lets you configure each character's skills at the start of each run, a new survivor with a grappling hook, plus new monsters, bosses and items?
None of that fixes my main problem with the 3D roguelike, but as the ancient proverb goes, a grappling hook is a balm for all wounds.
]]>Maddeningly compelling co-op looty shooter Risk Of Rain 2 has just rolled out its first major expand-o-patch since it entered early access. Per Hopoo's earlier road-map, The Scorched Acres update adds the gorgeously golden-red hued Scorched Acres map, which are less on fire than the name suggests, a new boss called the Grovetender (who presumably keeps those trees looking lovely) and a new character to play as; REX, a bizarre quadrupedal plant/robot hybrid. Quite how it'll play the guitar I'll never know, but you can see it all in motion in the new trailer below.
]]>Co-op roguelike monster smash ‘em up Risk Of Rain 2 is getting its first big early access update this week. Scorched Acres will add a new boss, a new survivor to fight them with, a new stage, and more items and equipment to freshen up the monster squishing experience. Not all the details have been revealed yet, but the new survivor is presumably Rex, an adorable legged houseplant friend unveiled at E3 that you can see below courtesy of IGN.
]]>Hello person. This is the Steam Charts, the weekly round-up of the top-grossing PC games on the online store Steam. We write it cynically to collect your clicks, and then we take those clicks and we use them to poke innocent orphans in their stupid orphan eyes.
]]>Our former John (RPS in peace) has vanished in odd circumstances, last heard claiming he'll be flying through the sky in a big metal snake, so I'm taking over this week. Not even an employee anymore and he's still making work for me.
Join me for a stroll down the hit parade to inspect last week's top-selling games on Steam.
]]>Every roguelite needs bosses aplenty to test your newly formed character to the max, and the Risk of Rain 2 bosses do not disappoint in this regard. There are currently 8 different Bosses that can spawn in Risk of Rain 2 (not counting Elite variants), each of which has different attack patterns and viable strategies for countering them - all of which we'll go over in our Risk of Rain 2 bosses guide. By the end of this guide, you'll know all the best tips and tactics for countering the Wandering Vagrant, the Magma Worm, the Clay Dunestrider, and any other boss you might come across during your runs.
]]>From tiny wisps that hover in the sky and zap you from above to roaring bison that charge at you from the other side of the map, each of the Risk of Rain 2 enemies - much like those of its predecessor - presents a unique set of stats and behaviours which you must learn if you are to defeat them time and time again. And what's more, with the endless difficulty scaling of Risk of Rain 2, even the most meagre of enemies can grow powerful enough to kill you in a single shot if you aren't careful. Our Risk of Rain 2 enemies guide will walk you through these enemies one at a time, explaining how they work and how to deal with them even at the highest difficulty levels. We'll also give you some handy info regarding the Elite variants that you can come across and why you should be wary of these deadly upgraded monsters.
]]>Your initial choice out of the Risk of Rain 2 characters roster plays a very important role in the length and flavour of your run. From the Mercenary to the Commando, from the Huntress to the Engineer, each character comes equipped with a different series of attacks, skills, stats, and viable builds and strategies - all of which we'll go over in our Risk of Rain 2 characters guide. Below you'll find detailed information on each of the six survivors currently in the game, along with practical tips on how to get the most out of each character.
]]>The Risk of Rain 2 items list was where we all kinda figured Hopoo Games weren't going to disappoint, considering the stellar array of items that had been added to the first Risk of Rain. Just take a look at that image above. All those different colours, shapes, and functions, each awakening a different strain of morbid curiosity in the player. What about that creepy white mask, eh? Or that rusty old key - what does that unlock, exactly?
The answers to these questions and much more can be found just below, in our lovely and concise Risk of Rain 2 items and equipment guide. We'll walk you through not only every item and equipment type but also how you can come about these items, and what to look for when creating your next build in Risk of Rain 2.
]]>WARNING: If you're reading this, there is a very strong chance you're looking at news on your favourite game. Please, it's imperative you click on to discover crucial information.
]]>OK, two things on the agenda. Firstly, I'm heading off on my expedition to attempt to break the Curse Of Steam Charts for the next couple of weeks. I'm returning to Ursidae, Caniformia, to find that ancient temple once more and attempt to appease the enraged spirit of Horace. Hopefully we'll never speak again!
Secondly, Toby's back! This week's Steam Charts are brought to you through the filter of a four year old who was really excited about doing this again, but then got into a right grump about it as soon as we started. But his naming skills remain as excellent as ever.
]]>Haha, that was funny last week wasn't it! Remember how we did that whole bit where I had left RPS, but then I was still stuck writing Steam Charts? Heh, they do some good goofs at this site. Anyway, let's... [looks straight into camera]
]]>While there's some debate on whether Risk Of Rain 2 is an improvement over its two-dimensional predecessor, the co-op roguelike shooter is an undeniably popular game, even in early access. Today, developers Hopoo revealed their update plans, leading up to the release of version 1.0. Five big patches, one in June and four more spread over the rest of the year, leading up to a final launch in spring 2020. New characters, stages, bosses and items are planned, plus overhauls to the skills and artefacts systems. Not that anything will ever top MUL-T. No disassemble!
]]>Call them what you want - Environments, stages, levels - but it'd be doing a disservice to all these stages of Risk of Rain 2 to say they're simply the backdrop to your journey of survival and inevitable demise. Each of these Environments plays an important role in shaping your run, but to use them to your advantage you'll need to learn everything about them; their layout, their passageways, their variants, their secrets. Our Risk of Rain 2 levels and stages guide will walk you through each Environment in turn and explore all their hidden depths, leaving no stone, tree root, or pile of snow unturned.
]]>Risk of Rain 2 continues the trend of modern roguelites by locking a significant portion of its content behind numerous challenges which must be completed during your runs. Everything from powerful items and equipment to new characters with unique skills and playstyles must be unlocked by completing a specific challenge or achievement, and some of them are far from easy to obtain. But our Risk of Rain 2 challenges guide will ensure you're up to the task of 100%-ing this challenging game, showing you everything that is locked behind these myriad achievements, and how to go about unlocking everything Risk of Rain 2 has to offer.
]]>Hello, and welcome to RPS's weekly round-up of the top selling games on Steam for the last weeeeee...
WHAT?
]]>Risk Of Rain 2 is the second roguelikelike shooter that falsely declares itself to be about weather when it’s really about firing innumerable bullets at hellish demons. This one is in 3D, and some players have been frowning and muttering about various shortcomings, like bosses being “too grindy”. An update yesterday hopes to turn those frowns rightside-around, making one fiery baddie in particular a little more interesting to fight. The gargantuan magma worm is getting a small but important change in his snakey behaviour. Let's see what that means below the jump. But because I'm quite nosey, I've also asked developers Hopoo Games about other possible features, such as the ability to revive your mates when they die, which is something I want right now, wah wah wah, but a feature they’re still undecided about.
]]>Oodles of enemies, crazy item builds, and punishing difficulty; yep, Risk of Rain 2 ticks all the boxes of its predecessor and more. Each run, no matter how overpowered your item build, no matter how low you set the initial difficulty, will nearly always end up with hundreds of horrible beasties one-shotting you into oblivion. The trick is surviving as long as possible until that point - and that's where our Risk of Rain 2 guide hopes to help you. Below we'll show the ropes to newcomers to the series while providing useful and practical tips for all skill levels, from enemies and bosses to characters and item builds.
]]>It has happened. The day spoken of in legend. After two years, I am finally to be set free of the Curse Of Steam Charts. All its taken is entirely leaving my job in four days time to end this purgatory. The only decision left is to whom I shall pass this vexation. That, and how to avoid mentioning the actual games for one more week. And this time I've come up with a self-indulgent doozy.
]]>It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is about to drive his insectoid claws into your neck stump. When a sudden shower belted out the early access launch of Risk Of Rain 2, my first impulse was to go dancing in the storm.
Like its 2D predecessor, Risk Of Rain 2 is a sci-fi roguelike defined by ever-escalating difficulty, and an ever-growing pile of items that radically change your capabilities. Unlike its predecessor, it's in 3D.
I want to like it so much more than I do.
]]>As this is my penultimate edition of Steam Charts, before I return to nuzzle into the warm infinite belly of Horace for all of time, I thought it might be fun to take a bit of a look behind the scenes of Steam Charts, to see how this weekly column comes together.
So, hey, join me as we step behind the curtain, and learn a little bit about the magic of Rock Paper Shotgun.
]]>As time inexorably ticks away, its guttural screaming horror counting down the seconds until our infinite deaths, it's important we remember what really matters: that the game you like best isn't as good as the game I like best. The game you like best, the game you like reading about the most, is indicative of how foolish you are, how you're wasting your precious moments on this planet. Whereas I, liking my game, am making the most of it.
]]>The original Risk Of Rain was a game about big numbers - a platform roguelike with a thing for screen-filling, damage-number-generating projectile spam. Three-dimensional sequel Risk Of Rain 2 has just launched into early access, and is already doubling down on the multipliers, as players who pick it up by midnight PST on March 30th will get a second copy to share with a friend. While it expands into larger polygonal spaces, the sequel looks to be just as messy, but developers Hopoo reckon online co-op for up to four is easier to set up now, connecting directly through Steam.
]]>When I look at how long all of my friends have spent playing co-op platform shooter Risk Of Rain, a roguelike about biffing alien bads, I see a list divided. Maybe half have put in a few hours. Maybe they, like me, enjoyed the bullet-hell combat and setting down a seemingly endless path of item and character unlocks - but found that path guarded by enemies that felt too punishingly difficult.
The other half have anywhere from 20-40 hours in the game, and I'm jealous of their perseverance. From hearing some of them talk about it, I've missed out. So hopefully I'll be less intimidated by the time Risk Of Rain 2 comes out, which attempts to transplant the same formula into 3D. Based on the 10 minutes of pre-alpha footage the devs just released, it looks like they're succeeding.
]]>Hopoo Games have announced they are indeed making a Risk of Rain 2 [official site], and this time they're taking the action-roguelikelike into 3D. Adam, Brendan, and The Mechanic have all gushed about Risk of Rain so it's good too hear Hopoo are back for more after swerving to make Deadbolt. Almost everything about Risk of Rain 2 is unsettled for now but Hopoo do share some work-in-progress peeks and say they'll be gabbing away as development continues.
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