Monaco 2 Review Summary

Class-based stealth heisting with distinct abilities and three-player co-op shines, yet steep difficulty spikes, bugs, technical issues, and poor enemy AI and combat hurt it.

Class system with distinct abilities: The class system returns with distinct abilities that make teamwork essential. Different characters lend themselves to different gameplay styles.

Fun with friends: Playing with friends is repeatedly mentioned as very fun and a lot of fun. It is considered the most fun way to play.

Visual upgrades improve experience: Graphical updates enhance the visuals compared to the first Monaco. The new art style is stylized and readable with more detail.

Excellent music and sound: The music is great and on another level, with a stellar OST by Austin Wintory. The dynamic and adaptable soundtrack enhances the experience.

Co-op is the heart: Co-op is the heart of the experience and shines brightest when playing with friends. It emphasizes teamwork and coordination.

Steep difficulty spikes and unbalanced gameplay: Difficulty increases abruptly, particularly at the Prison level, with overpowered turrets, overwhelming enemy density, and unfair mechanics. Players find the progression frustrating rather than challenging.

Excessive bugs and technical issues: Numerous bugs were reported, including getting stuck in walls, crashes, softlocks, and multiplayer connection problems. These issues severely impact playability and often force players to restart levels or quit entirely.

Enemy AI and combat issues: Enemy AI behaves strangely, with guards sometimes ignoring players or becoming stuck, while combat options are limited and often feel unfair. Turrets and snipers are particularly overpowered.

Multiplayer and co-op issues: Online co-op is unstable, with disconnections, inability to rejoin mid-game, and low player counts making it hard to find matches. Spectators cannot join in progress, and latency issues further degrade the experience.

Confusing map readability and navigation: The 3D environments and cluttered visuals make it hard to distinguish objectives, coins, and safe zones. The blueprint map is small and requires slow scrolling, unlike the clear overhead view of the original.

Co-op supports up to three: Players can team up with up to 3 friends in online or local co-op, while solo play remains fully supported. Many reviews highlight flexible group sizes and couch co-op as key features.

Stealth heisting gameplay: The game mixes stealth mechanics with heisting, where the main goal is to steal loot from locations. Reviews emphasize the heist simulator aspect.

Procedurally generated levels: Levels are procedurally generated rather than handcrafted, with some linear layouts. This design choice appears in multiple reviews as a defining characteristic.

Eight color-coded characters: There is a roster of 8 color-coded characters, each with unique special abilities, but only 4 are playable per mission. This selection system is frequently noted.

Distinct powerful character abilities: Characters possess unique and powerful abilities that are more specific than generic skills. Reviews highlight the variety of tools and strategies each character brings.

Technical bugs and glitches: Bugs include getting stuck in walls, black screens, unresponsiveness, and random assertion errors when joining lobbies. VRAM usage is not monitored, leading to crashes.

Frequent game crashes reported: Players encounter full crashes, unexpected crashes, and crashes potentially caused by prediction errors. Some crashes occur at critical moments, erasing progress.

Stuttering during gameplay: Stuttering is a common issue, affecting gameplay and cutscenes. It can also occur in multiplayer sessions, especially with cross-region players.

Online connectivity issues: Players experience disconnections during play, server lag, and instability in online co-op, particularly in Asia with timeouts and disconnect issues.

Long loading times: Loading times are excessively long, with one report of 4.5 minutes for a single screen. The loading animation is also choppy.

Positive General Recommendations: Despite criticisms, many reviewers give positive recommendations, calling the game enjoyable, fun, and worth the price. Some highlight it as one of the best purchases they've made.

Technical and Polish Issues: Numerous players report performance problems, lack of polish, and other glaring issues that prevent them from recommending the game in its current state. Some advise waiting for patches, sales, or keeping the refund option ready.

Polarizing Compared to Original: Many reviewers compare the sequel unfavorably to the first Monaco, stating that almost every part is done better in the original or that it is an unworthy successor. This divide often hinges on preferences for carefully designed levels versus increased randomness.

Requires Friends for Multiplayer: A recurring theme is that the game is best enjoyed with a group of friends, and solo play is not recommended. Many reviewers cannot recommend it unless you have a dedicated group to play with.

Positive for Series Fans: Fans of the original Monaco often find the sequel a worthy successor and highly recommend it to those who enjoyed the first game. Some even suggest playing both games, as they offer distinct but great experiences.

Community fair range: $20.00 - $25.00.

Session length: 1.0h.

Endgame: 150.0h.

Monaco 2 often requires patience: early tutorial gaps and punishing solo play create friction, but the game improves after Prison and is most fun in co-op with friends. Some players enjoy it earlier or never click with it, so the time-to-fun profile is mixed.

Friction: lack of a proper tutorial; first four missions do not explain updated mechanics; early difficulty and assumption-driven confusion; solo play feels punishing and less entertaining; large procedural maps make failure tedious; online co-op instability in some regions.

Unlock drivers: sticking with the game; reaching after Prison with more items and less spareness; playing co-op with friends; planning and adapting to chaos with friends; using tools and exploitable guard AI to solve stealth; retrieving lost lives or being revived by allies.

Co-op Social Heister: Organizes online or couch co-op sessions, coordinates roles, and embraces emergent teamwork and mistakes. Motivation: Experiencing chaotic, social heist missions with friends. Stance: sale.

Monaco Veteran Purist: Compares mechanics to the original, expects handcrafted levels and classic class abilities, and is critical of design departures. Motivation: Revisiting and preserving the classic Monaco heist experience. Stance: no buy.

Solo Stealth Heister: Plays single-player, attempts full stealth, methodically explores levels, and dislikes losing progress without mid-level saves. Motivation: Stealthy solo infiltration and overcoming the heist challenge alone. Stance: sale.

Worse than Monaco 1: Many reviewers feel the sequel fails to live up to the original, with cluster 1, 3, 8 and 45 all expressing disappointment in gameplay, art, or overall quality. The first game is preferred for its tight gameplay and clear design.

Sequel refines original formula: Several clusters (2, 12, 103) describe the game as a worthy sequel that evolves the original's mechanics, with cluster 2 calling it a refinement and expansion. This positive view contrasts with the more critical clusters.

Multiplayer player base dead: Multiple clusters report extremely low player counts, with cluster 16 citing only one concurrent player and cluster 37 noting barely ten players. This makes online co-op effectively unplayable and forces many to play solo or with friends only.

Dynamic soundtrack praised: Clusters 47, 63, and 64 highlight Austin Wintory's return as composer and the 100% dynamic, adaptable soundtrack. Cluster 81 also says the music is similarly excellent to the first game.

Missing keybinds frustrates players: Clusters 32, 33, and 34 highlight that customizable keybinds are absent, a feature present in Monaco 1. The issue remains unacknowledged by developers despite forum posts and Discord feedback over months.