Risk of Rain

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 315 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 244 out of 315
  2. Mixed: 45 out of 315
  3. Negative: 26 out of 315

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  1. artanis
    Dec 29, 2013
    10
    Difficult game, but once you master the controls it's a heck of a lot of fun. The low scores are people that likely didn't give it enough time, or are bad at games that require precise, quick control.
  2. NephilimRabagas
    Nov 16, 2013
    10
    Just give it a shot! The mechanics are amazing, the gameplay is incredibly tight and extremely rewarding. It is good for longer sessions or a quick playthrough. And I did not even try the multiplayer yet!
  3. hellhoundpro
    Nov 15, 2013
    10
    I LOVE this game. Holy crap is it hard but god after just 3 runs I begged for more. I think this is the only rogue like I've played that is based more around fluid combat then platforming rts elements rpg elements and bullet hell. And holy crap is it an addicting formula. I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes Spelunky and Binding of Isaac. Their is just enough random to makeI LOVE this game. Holy crap is it hard but god after just 3 runs I begged for more. I think this is the only rogue like I've played that is based more around fluid combat then platforming rts elements rpg elements and bullet hell. And holy crap is it an addicting formula. I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes Spelunky and Binding of Isaac. Their is just enough random to make every run different while not overdoing it and making it feel impossible. One thing I love about this game that is hard to say about a lot of roguelikes is that when I die, its my fault. I messed up somewhere and that is powerful, that puts the hook in you baiting you telling you to do better. Visuals are what they are, if you see screenshots you get what you see I personally think they could be a little sharper but they don't detract from the game and more importantly they NEVER overcomplicate things which can be a problem in other games. The sound, oh god the sound just listen to the soundtrack and tell me you dont want to be blastin baddies on an alien homeworld. The gameplay, well its hard to describe. Its a lot of Dip Duck DOdge dive duck whatever else their is and a lot of strategic use of cooldowns. Its really well done and I only have 2 characters (Both of which feel very different.) All in all I'd say go buy this game right now. Seriously buy it. Stop reading. Buy. Go to steam. Purchase. Enjoy.… Expand
  4. thebuttsatisfie
    Nov 16, 2013
    10
    This blend of many different genres is a fantastic play. I've been playing this both single player and with my roommate, and it's more than I'd hoped it would be. It'd be nice if the multiplayer wasn't your old-school "connect to someone's IP address" as opposed to a fleshed out lobby and open game selection thingamajig, but you know what? It's still a great game. 10.
  5. MaxWindowPayne
    Nov 26, 2013
    10
    I saw someone complain about the informal style of reviews on Metacritic, so here goes:

    Single player/multiplayer: 2/2-Alone or with friends, this game is as fun and as rewarding as you make it. Graphics 2/2: No complaints, beautiful art, in my opinion. It may not be to the liking of others, but do you honestly expect, or want AAA graphics from 2 students, who, in my opinion, di an    I saw someone complain about the informal style of reviews on Metacritic, so here goes:

    Single player/multiplayer: 2/2-Alone or with friends, this game is as fun and as rewarding as you make it.
    Graphics 2/2: No complaints, beautiful art, in my opinion. It may not be to the liking of others, but do you honestly expect, or want AAA graphics from 2 students, who, in my opinion, di an amazing job.
    Gameplay: 2/2: It's simple, and not as fiddly as I first thought, it may just take some getting used to.
    Music: 2/2: I liked it so much, as I write this review, I'm listening to the Precipitation track from the game.
    Replayability 2/2: 100+ Items, 10 classes, multiple levels and FREE future updates, what's not to like?    … Expand
  6. steakbq
    Nov 19, 2013
    10
    Wow. That is all I can say. I can not believe only 2 people made this game. The polish and fluid combat are off the charts. If you haven't tried this game yet you need to. Period.
  7. Teenyweeny
    Nov 23, 2013
    10
    This game has amazing combat system and has a lot of replayablilty. Best game i played in a long time. I love the art. The game is a lot of fun and i recommend it to anyone.
  8. BrainFish
    Nov 24, 2013
    10
    Risk of rain is super hard, but super rewarding and addictive. The strong points about the game are the difficulty meter, the itemization and classes. But also the neat gameplay and interesting design and not to speak about the music, it's amazing. Risk of rain is also a blast with friends, the inly downside is the need to port forward.
  9. qnnplmr
    Nov 25, 2013
    10
    Really, truly phenomenal fun. It'll take a bit to get into it as it takes hard work to unlock the best characters and it is quite hard, but the entire process is worthwhile. Easily the best of the whole rogue-lite genre that has been popular recently. Go buy it!
  10. alexcamillator
    Nov 27, 2013
    10
    Very pleasing game, run after run you discover new items. It's a mix between binding of isaac for the items and fun and Faster than light for re-playability and each run being a load of fun and discoveries.

    I really enjoy this game.
  11. CC11
    Dec 2, 2013
    10
    The only bad reviews i see for this are nitpicking. This game is fantastic for its price and for the fact that only 2 people made it. great soundtrack, fun combat and alot more fun in multiplayer when multiple classes are at use on one run. There is no such thing as a "bad" item, like in Binding of Isaac, and all of the items abilities are described on pickup so you know what you have.The only bad reviews i see for this are nitpicking. This game is fantastic for its price and for the fact that only 2 people made it. great soundtrack, fun combat and alot more fun in multiplayer when multiple classes are at use on one run. There is no such thing as a "bad" item, like in Binding of Isaac, and all of the items abilities are described on pickup so you know what you have. Sure, there is a luck based element on what items you get on a run, but the luck isn't nearly as impactful as games like Rogue Legacy and Isaac, you can still beat the game if you know how to properly use whichever character you're using. The game may seem dull at first, because you only have one class, but as you unlock the other 9 classes the replayability becomes more and more evident. For its price, it is a must buy in my opinion.… Expand
  12. fodschwazzle
    Dec 20, 2013
    10
    Taking serious notes from "The Binding of Isaac," this game kills the player unless the player can acquire a good set of equipment to prevent that from happening. The game will attempt to guile you into thinking that level ups are important- but the balance is, while you're still weak, to try and find the best supplies in the shortest amount of time.

    Because within 15 minutes, bosses    Taking serious notes from "The Binding of Isaac," this game kills the player unless the player can acquire a good set of equipment to prevent that from happening. The game will attempt to guile you into thinking that level ups are important- but the balance is, while you're still weak, to try and find the best supplies in the shortest amount of time.

    Because within 15 minutes, bosses start spawning. The enemies uniformly become stronger. Your best weapons are merely pinpricks in the tough skins of the monsters that follow from there. All this awareness of the impending end is buffeted by the shinyness of opening a box, or killing a boss monster. or stacking an item that you've already got one of and already love the effect. And then... like ashes in your mouth, your character is killed by an unusually hard mob.

    There are more characters to unlock. They ALL have benefits. Everyone will have their own favorite character- right now mine is the huntress for her ability to run and shoot. They unlock slowly enough that you'll be ready for a change. It will be a big change.

    The randomization of loot is not the downside, but the draw here. And after you visit later levels you can return and replay the set if you wish, before facing the final boss. It's this kind of New Game+ that warms the of my heart. By the time you reach the highest difficulty (factored by time) you will be facing large numbers of bosses simultaneously. And if you're careful, they'll simply be food for the war machine as you continue to acquire items.

    It is a lovely game. Every aspect pushes the fact that a two man team created this to the limit of achievement. Even the music has a polish not often heard in indie games (hated Spelunky's music).

    The low reviews have been created by 1 of 3 kinds of people.
    A.) Don't favor roguelikes.
    B.) Don't favor serious challenge in a game.
    C.) Expect massive studio polishing even when playing an indie game.

    Risk of Rain is a difficult game that slowly rewards your efforts. The payoff is sweet. And if the titanic pile of loot I gathered at the end of my last play session that allowed me to curbstomp anything and everything in my path is a kind of payoff from these two people who made this game, they are firmly entitled to my favorable review.    … Expand
  13. WashingTRON
    Jan 29, 2014
    10
    A retro masterpiece. Mechanics are great, music is awesome, graphics are cool as hell. Multiplayer support is limited so i suggest creating a virtual LAN with Hamachi if you're going to try it with friends. Play it, love it, recommend it.
  14. fireb4llz
    Feb 15, 2014
    10
    This game is vastly underrated it baffles me how this game didn't even reach a metascore of 80. Even COD: Ghosts on PS4 got a higher critic score.... Whats even better is that most of the reviews say almost nothing bad about the game and give it such positive feedback, yet end it with a 7-8/10... This makes no sense to me at all. I can easily consider this one of the best indies I've everThis game is vastly underrated it baffles me how this game didn't even reach a metascore of 80. Even COD: Ghosts on PS4 got a higher critic score.... Whats even better is that most of the reviews say almost nothing bad about the game and give it such positive feedback, yet end it with a 7-8/10... This makes no sense to me at all. I can easily consider this one of the best indies I've ever played and easily one of the very best games of 2013. 77 on matecritic is just bs... It deserves at least an 88-90.… Expand
  15. LordOfCthulu
    Feb 17, 2014
    10
    This game is amazing. I have only had it for just over two days and have already devoted 23 hours to is and have unlocked 4 of the playable characters. No, I am not a developer as some other reviewers have suggested and am in no way associated to this game aside from the fact that I play it. Yes, at first I did think that the controls were rather frustrating but all you have to do is goThis game is amazing. I have only had it for just over two days and have already devoted 23 hours to is and have unlocked 4 of the playable characters. No, I am not a developer as some other reviewers have suggested and am in no way associated to this game aside from the fact that I play it. Yes, at first I did think that the controls were rather frustrating but all you have to do is go to the controls configuration and change the jump key to up so that it shares a key with the climb function (trust me, this works really well). In contrast to what others have said, climbing ropes and ladders in this game works just fine and in no way involved jumping, you just hold the up key. This game is quite challenging if you play it for about 10 minutes or maybe even less depending on starting difficulty as time played=difficulty, meaning it continually gets much much harder. Also, abilities such as protect and serve (aka enforcer's shield) are in no way OP, as it only protects you from the front and greatly limits your mobility. Plus, later in the game, this doesn't even matter because many enemies have powerful projectiles that target you from behind and therefore get around the shield and there are also many enemies that deal splash damage, getting around your shield. The other ability that was suggested to be OP is the commando's dive roll which only makes you invincible for about half a second and has a cool-down of about 4 second. Overall, this game is great and ignore the negative reviews because they obviously have not devoted any time or effort to the game.… Expand
  16. TheCitrus
    Jul 9, 2014
    10
    This game is the ****

    It can be difficult, but with the available classes, all with unique, fun abilities, the game-altering artifacts, and the randomization that exists in the game is excellent, especially considering it was created by two students.

    And the best part is, I picked it up for around 2 dollars in the Summer Sale!
    Good, cheap fun. 10/10
  17. PlayBoyMan
    Feb 25, 2015
    10
    This is a very good game, that way too many people overlook. To those who are starting out, yes - this game is very hard, but with time and effort, you can play it like a boss.
  18. CanyonsGaming
    Jun 11, 2015
    10
    A great platformer, it inspired me to make a similar game. Before I used to stay away from this catagory but this game proved it can be onbe of the best genre's of games (in my opinion). I really hope there will be a sequel to this great game as it is one of the best of it's genre.
  19. joaoflsouza
    Oct 8, 2015
    10
    I can think of fewer games that leaves a taste of "I want some more" than Risk of Rain. A marvelous game from art to soundtrack. The characters play very different and the upgrades you get really gives you that sense of progression.
    It's hard, and punish your mistakes, but not to the point where you can call it bad game design. After some time, even the lore got me hooked up. If I can    I can think of fewer games that leaves a taste of "I want some more" than Risk of Rain. A marvelous game from art to soundtrack. The characters play very different and the upgrades you get really gives you that sense of progression.
    It's hard, and punish your mistakes, but not to the point where you can call it bad game design. After some time, even the lore got me hooked up. If I can really have to point a bad thing, it's that it doesn't have an on-line mode - but try playing it with some friends on local coop, the sensation of job well done that Risk of Rain gives you is one of a kind.    … Expand
  20. G4avemind
    Jun 14, 2016
    10
    fadedprophecy

    My review of this game is on the Steam community forums under general discussions. I've played this game more 650+ hours and it's amazing.... I have no clue what to say. If you have a GTX 970 or higher.... just calm down lol.

    Brandon J
  21. cygn_s
    Nov 18, 2018
    10
    I love this game totally and utterly. I have around 190 hours spent on it and I enjoyed every one. I like this game especially for the late-game stuff, the masses of enemies and the difficulty of evading them. For a project written by two students, the art, the sound (especially) and the gameplay are all excellent. I am excited for the sequel!
  22. AHappyGoat
    Aug 16, 2020
    10
    Risk of Rain is a challenging rouge like with rewards worthwhile.

    The incredible artwork and dedication the Developers have put in the game are deserving of recognition. The music is amazing well produced and made, motivating you to keep up with the fight and sucking you into the mystery of the world. Definitely one of the best soundtracks for a game. For collectors there are log books    Risk of Rain is a challenging rouge like with rewards worthwhile.

    The incredible artwork and dedication the Developers have put in the game are deserving of recognition. The music is amazing well produced and made, motivating you to keep up with the fight and sucking you into the mystery of the world. Definitely one of the best soundtracks for a game.
    For collectors there are log books that contain lore of enemies. It is a joy to read the journal entries of enemies to expand upon the world building. The items you collects by completing challenges and playing through the game also have log entries that help to explain the lore of the world before the events of the game.

    The rush and excitement of fighting through hordes of monsters and bosses to reach new stages keeps the pace up. The final boss is a fitting and fair end to the game. The challenge of the hard difficulty takes time to adjust to, but with practice the anger switches from anger to fun. The artifacts you collect can create new experiences that are worth experimenting with.

    The variety of characters and items can fit any player, the game doesn't force you to play one way but instead encourages experimentation. All characters are well balanced and unique.
    The more you play the bigger you're game gets as well as the players strength.
    Risk of Rain deserves the recognition of a great games that will hold up as an important inspiration for more rouge likes and games to come.    … Expand
  23. DANEger
    Nov 16, 2013
    9
    Excellent game a very fast paced game with a very unique way to play, the difficulty scales up with time so you have to make the choice of farm attempt to fight. It would be a legend in the SENS era and is is rock solid and exceptionally hard but always fair.
  24. Pureray
    Feb 11, 2014
    9
    9 = Must Try, worth the money unless if your expecting a AAA title, then this isn't the game for you since you know, some people just don't know what indie means.
  25. ibitato
    Aug 5, 2014
    9
    It¡s a solid rogue-like game under platforming scenario.
    Bunch of funny buff items and solid game-play.
    Some time frustrating, but, it's in the game nature to be so.
  26. Hallz
    Dec 31, 2013
    9
    A great rogue-lite! I don't usually like games that are timed (difficulty grows as time passes) but it works very well preventing you from farming. Quick paced action with many collectible items to keep the game from growing stale. I highly suggest this title!
  27. henry1232123
    Jan 3, 2014
    9
    This game is a hyper intense fight for your life survival game. I defiantly recommend it if you like games like terraria and such. There is a ton of replay-ability, and is just even more fun with friends.
  28. HazardXMediaz
    Nov 15, 2013
    9
    This was overall a great experience. While other games are held back by their lack of innovation and fun gameplay, this game suffers from none of that. Although the pixel art can use some work, and a few bugs need to be worked out, this is still an experience to not be passed up.
  29. yankesik
    May 7, 2018
    9
    Great action platformer with roguelike elements. Atmospheric music and 8-bit graphics which complement each other perfectly. Each design-whether we are talking about enemies, levels, characters or items, is very interesting. Each enemy type, and every item have it's own lore, or backstory of sorts. The number of artifacts (unlockable game changing modifiers), enemy modifiers (like those ofGreat action platformer with roguelike elements. Atmospheric music and 8-bit graphics which complement each other perfectly. Each design-whether we are talking about enemies, levels, characters or items, is very interesting. Each enemy type, and every item have it's own lore, or backstory of sorts. The number of artifacts (unlockable game changing modifiers), enemy modifiers (like those of champion/boss versions of Diablo monsters), items and unlockable characters, each with four unique abilities, do wonders for the game's replayability.

    The game is not without issues, however.
    Characters aren't perfectly balanced, on the contrary. Some of them are a lot harder to play, and don't do too well in the late game (Sniper, Acrid, Bandit), while others are a much easier to use and powerful at the same time, especially the Engineer, A.K.A. The Vending Machine of Doom. If you know what you are doing, you can also easily snowball out of control using specific artifacts and items, and even the Monsoon difficulty level becomes a Breeze, at best.
    Another problem of Risk of Rain is the game engine-it could be a little bit more stable. Also, while most players probably won't encounter this problem, when you get into sessions longer than 90, the number of enemies and projectiles on the screen is just to much for the poor engine-in game timer slows down, the game plays as in slow motion, and some effects disappear. The game remains playable, though. Last but not least, the multiplayer is unfriendly, and quite unstable.
    Still, I heartily recommend it, especially if collecting items while fighting off hordes of unrelenting enemies on a very alien planet sounds appealing to you.    … Expand
  30. Manablight
    Nov 16, 2013
    9
    Lots of fun, I'd recommend playing Co-op as the interaction with classes can make for some fun moments. The randomness can be your downfall or make you Overpowered for a time, but fighting against the clock usually evens things out or overtakes you.
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Awards & Rankings

97
#97 Best PC Game of 2013
83
#83 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
74
#74 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    May 16, 2014
    80
    Heaps of fun, dirt cheap. The game keeps coming up with entertaining challenges and enjoyable surprises. [Issue#241]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Feb 24, 2014
    70
    Incredible work went into the design of almost every element of Risk of Rain, shame that the gameplay couldn't have been more inspired. [March 2014, p.60]
  3. CD-Action
    Feb 10, 2014
    70
    Last time I had so much fun with characters built of handful of pixels was probably in the Lemmings era. [02/2014, p.71]
See all critic reviews »