Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void Review

As if Risk of Rain 2 by itself wasn’t one of the most rewarding and entertaining roguelike experiences of all time, the developers decided to one-up themselves and released what I think is one of the most worthwhile expansions you could spend money on.

Titled Survivors of the Void, this new piece of content expands on the base game significantly and introduces a bunch of new enemies, locations, items, bosses, and even new playable survivors. And when taken as a whole package, it effectively adds dozens of hours of replayability to the entire game.

So join us now as we dive deep into this incredible expansion and talk about what makes it truly great.

Story And Setting

Like the base game, the plot of Survivors of the Void is a bit hard to pick up on if all you do is go into it for the sake of gameplay. But if you take the time to read up on the multiple lore entries like I did, a premise does take shape and it’s pretty interesting at that.

Basically, a gateway to The Void has opened up and it is now influencing the planet Petrichor V, where the entire game takes place.

The plot of Survivors of the Void is a bit hard to pick up on if all you do is go into it for the sake of gameplay.

New creatures are coming through, existing ones are being corrupted, and the entire world is being engulfed by this mysterious force from beyond.

I think this serves as a very interesting premise for all the new content that we get to see with the expansion. And for the most part, that’s enough context unless you really wanna go ham with the log entries.

Gameplay

For the most part, the core foundations of the gameplay are the same as they were in the base game. You run around stages killing enemies, unlocking chests, collecting items, and then using those items to help you defeat the boss at the Teleporter.

Survivors of the Void then supplements that loop by introducing a bunch of new locations and populating them with brand-new enemies and items. And yes, I will fully admit that the enemies themselves are not the real draw here for me. When bullets start flying and the screen is covered with explosions, they all sort of blend together.

What really sold the expansion for me are the 40+ new items you can find, including the awesome new Void Items. These can be found in Void Cradles, and opening them costs 50% of your health to start with.

So right from the get-go, opening them is a tactical decision that can cost you dearly on the harder difficulties. I also really like that apart from your health, they don’t require any special currency like Lunar Coins, only your health,

But in my opinion, doing so is almost always worth it. Because not only are the Void Items contained within corrupted versions of items that already exist within the base game, but they also go on to corrupt all others of their type in your inventory and radically change their effects on your builds.

Survivors of the Void then supplements the gameplay loop by introducing a bunch of new locations and populating them with brand-new enemies and items.

To sell you on this, let’s consider the Bustling Fungus, a common item in the base game that lets you regenerate health when you stand completely still. Any experienced player will tell you that while it can be extremely useful, standing still in Risk of Rain 2 for long periods is never wise and can more often than not get you killed.

Void Cradles however drop the corrupted Weeping Fungus variant of this item, and it lets you heal when you sprint instead. So now, staying on the move heals your Survivors instead, encouraging you to adopt a run-and-gun style of play.

Additionally, the expansion also introduces two brand new characters to the roster; the Railgunner and the Void Fiend.

As soon as I got my hands on the Railgunner, she immediately became my favorite Survivor. Her incredibly high damage output, combined with an emphasis on long-range sniping is something I always wanted from this game.

Her utility skill, the Concussion Device, took a decent while to get the hang of. But once I learned to master it, reaching higher ground and propelling myself along the ground became second nature, and I fell in love with her even more.

As soon as I got my hands on the Railgunner, she immediately became my favorite Survivor.

I cannot say that I resonated with the Void Fiend as strongly though. None of its skills particularly clicked with me, and I thought that the Corruption passive, which is a meter that fills up and changes the way the character’s skills work, was a bit too unpredictable for my playstyle.

Still, I cannot deny that it can be a very effective Survivor in the right hands. I simply am not the target audience for the Void Fiend, and that’s fine with me. I’ve never clicked well with characters like Rex or MUL-T either, so I simply stick with what works for me (I love you Acrid).

Performance And Visuals

Performance-wise, Survivors of the Void runs the same as the base game with no changes to speak of at all. This is the same excellent experience that we all know and love.

Visually though, the expansion features 5 beautiful new locations, each of which is absolutely bustling with life and personality. From the gigantic trees that touch the sky in the snow-covered Siphoned Forest, to the lakes of deadly acid that populate the Sulfur Pools level, there is a lot to love here.

The expansion features 5 beautiful new locations, each of which is absolutely bustling with life and personality.

And while these are still beautiful in their own right, they don’t hold a candle to the two distinctly Void-themed levels leading up to the new final Boss fight.

I’d hate to even show images of them for the sake of avoiding spoilers, but they are without a doubt the most interesting locations in the game to date. The Planetarium in particular, with its intense platforming challenges, was simply the best thing the expansion has to offer.

Verdict

In conclusion, Survivors of the Void is a phenomenal piece of content that turns an already great game into a roguelike masterpiece.

With the sheer amount of content it brings to the experience, it effectively adds dozens upon dozens of additional hours of playtime and extends the life of an already incredible game well past its regular life cycle. The new items, characters, and levels are all incredible.

My only real complaint is that I would have liked to see more Void bosses, but even that is not something I feel very strongly about. I’m more than happy with what we have here, and fans of the game owe it to themselves to pick up the expansion.

This has been our Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void Review. While you’re here, consider checking out some of our other articles. 

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