Finished Risk of Rain 2? Where our group went next
Risk of Rain 2 is one of the best co-op games our group of three has played. A run takes about an evening, every run is different, and by the end your character is either wildly overpowered or about to be overwhelmed. Usually both.
Sooner or later, though, you’ve unlocked every survivor, seen every stage and want something new. This is what we did, in order.
Step one: mods
Before moving on, it’s worth getting more out of Risk of Rain 2 itself. It has a huge modding community, and mods are easy to install. Most people get them from Thunderstore (opens in a new tab) and use its mod manager, which handles downloading and setup, and everyone in the group needs the same mods for co-op.
Mods range from small tweaks to whole new survivors, items and enemies. We’ve played it both as it comes and with mods, and mods are a great way to make a game you know well feel new again. Some also change how co-op works, for example by letting more than four people play.
Step two: Gunfire Reborn
When we wanted the same feeling in first person, we went to Gunfire Reborn. It’s the closest match to Risk of Rain 2 we’ve found that still feels like its own game, and our matching agrees: it’s the top fan favourite for Risk of Rain 2, and the other way round.
It’s a roguelite shooter for up to four players. You choose a hero, each with their own abilities, and fight through stages collecting weapons and upgrades that change how your run plays. Runs are structured as a series of levels with a boss at the end of each act, rather than Risk of Rain 2’s ever-rising difficulty timer. It’s brighter and lighter in tone, too.
It’s a good game to have on hand when someone in the group prefers first-person shooters to third-person.
The hidden gem: Roboquest
Roboquest is our hidden gem. It’s a fast first-person roguelite shooter with a great sense of speed and movement, and its matches are exactly what you’d expect: Gunfire Reborn and Risk of Rain 2.
The catch is that co-op is two players only. With three of us, we couldn’t play it as a group, and that’s the only reason it isn’t in our main rotation. If you’re a pair, put it at the top of your list. We’ve written more about why Roboquest is so good.
Newer games to try
We haven’t played these yet, but they’re the newer roguelite shooters our matching rates closest to Risk of Rain 2, and they’re reasonably well reviewed on Steam:
- LORT: a looter roguelite shooter for up to eight players, so it suits bigger groups.
- Gatekeeper: an action roguelike for up to four, with the strongest reviews of the newer bunch.
- Atomic Picnic: a third-person roguelike shooter for up to four.
The games like Risk of Rain 2 page has the full list, with the tags each game was matched on. If you’ve played the rest of the genre and fancy a complete change, our guide for groups of three covers what else our group has enjoyed.