Hopoo Games, developers of Risk of Rain 2, have just released the anniversary update on Steam. It contains a whole host of new content such as a new survivor class, a new boss and much more.
Risk of Rain, a 3D sequel to the original game, follows a similar gameplay loop in which one to four players must progress several levels while killing enemies. On each level the goal is to locate a teleporter, randomly located on the level; once activated, the players must defend themselves from an onslaught of aliens, including bosses until the teleporter is fully active. Killing aliens gains experience and currency; the currency can be used to open chests that drop random items on the level. These collectible items offer a wide range of boosts to the players carrying them and provide both synergistic effects and the potential to stack their effects if multiple copies of the same items are acquired. However, the strength, difficulty, and numbers of aliens increase every few minutes, thus making the game harder the longer the players stay on any level.
Players unlock access to new playable characters, items, and game modifiers by completing certain in-game achievements; once unlocked, new characters (called survivors) or modifiers are available to select from at the start of the game, or the new items can start appearing randomly in-game.
This new update sees the return of the Bandit class from the original game; ‘Armed with a shotgun, dagger and smoke bombs, the Bandit stabs, blasts and slashes with the best of them’. It also adds in a legendary boss, Grandparent, on top of more items and skill variants for other survivors. These include a slow spinning ball of death, an egg that heals you when you’re attacked and a whole lot more in the whopping 115 new item additions.
New lore entries also flesh out the world of the game, as well as a new set of challenges and the largest logbook update in the history of the game; ‘Browse past runs and lifetime player stats – like favourite survivors, progress to completion, and favourite equipment – in the Logbook alongside 88 new lore entries.’
“This Anniversary Update is a huge ‘thanks’ for our fans who have been with us since the beginning, an opportunity to revisit a lot of the things we couldn’t finish up for the official launch,” said Paul Morse and Duncan Drummond, co-founders of Hopoo Games. “We’re now looking ahead to achieving console parity and finishing up the first major expansion later this year. The forecast is looking sunny for those updates, so stay tuned!”
Risk of Rain 2 is available on Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Nintendo Switch and Google Stadia. Stay tuned to Risk of Rain 2 on Twitter for announcements for the upcoming Anniversary Update for console platforms.
