Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm Review Summary

DLC is now a quality expansion: The Seekers of the Storm DLC has undergone significant improvements and reworks since its initial problematic launch. Players now find it to be a solid, enjoyable, and worthwhile expansion that lives up to the quality of the base game and previous DLCs, with many considering it a 'must-have' addition.

Developers listened and fixed issues: Developers, particularly Gearbox, are highly praised for their commitment to fixing the DLC. They actively listened to community feedback, communicated transparently, and implemented extensive reworks and bug fixes across multiple updates, which has restored player trust and confidence in the development team.

New survivors are fun and unique: The three new survivors (characters) introduced in the DLC, along with their alternate abilities and skins, are now widely considered fun, unique, and well-balanced. They offer diverse playstyles and feel like strong, integrated additions to the game's roster.

Reworked items are fun and impactful: The items introduced in the DLC have been extensively reworked and rebalanced, transforming them from problematic or useless to engaging, unique, and often powerful additions. They now offer interesting synergies and contribute positively to gameplay variety, making runs more dynamic.

New maps are visually stunning and fun: The new maps and stages introduced in the DLC are consistently lauded for their aesthetic appeal, unique designs, and contribution to gameplay variety. They are considered visually stunning and enjoyable to navigate, enhancing the overall experience of runs.

Disastrous and Buggy Launch: The DLC and its accompanying base game update suffered from an extremely problematic launch, characterized by numerous game-breaking bugs, poor balance, and an overall unfinished state. This significantly impacted player experience, even for those who didn't purchase the DLC, and led to widespread community dissatisfaction.

Lack of Content and Value: Many players felt the DLC offered insufficient new content, especially when compared to the previous 'Survivors of the Void' DLC. This included a lack of new items, enemies, and stages, leading to a perception of poor value for its price.

Unsatisfying False Son Boss Fight: The new final boss, False Son, is widely criticized for being an unpolished, unfair, and uninteresting fight. Issues include poorly telegraphed attacks, ability-disabling mechanics, high damage, and a lack of engaging design compared to other bosses.

Mediocre and Unbalanced Items: The new items introduced in the DLC are largely seen as underwhelming, uninteresting, or poorly balanced. Many are considered either useless, overly situational, or contribute to item pool bloat, making runs less enjoyable.

Clunky and Weak Chef Character: The Chef character is consistently criticized for being clunky, weak, and generally unenjoyable to play. Despite reworks, players feel his kit lacks synergy, has poor animations, and is not viable on higher difficulties.

Rich New Content Expansion: The DLC significantly expands the game with a wealth of new content, including three unique and fun playable characters, new items, stages, and a challenging boss. This content is well-integrated and offers fresh gameplay experiences.

False Son Character & Boss: The False Son character and boss fight are central to the DLC, offering a unique and challenging experience. While initially having some jankiness and balance issues, reworks have improved the boss fight's fairness and the playable character's mechanics, making it a more enjoyable and intriguing addition.

Improved Item Balance & Variety: The new items have undergone significant reworks since release, addressing initial issues of being useless, confusing, or overly niche. While some items are still considered unbalanced (either too strong or too weak), many now offer interesting synergies and add variety to builds.

Visually Appealing New Stages: The new stages introduced in the DLC are generally praised for their beautiful aesthetics and unique layouts, adding much-needed variety to the game's environments. However, some players find certain stages too large or not fitting organically into the looping structure.

Seeker's Strong Support Utility: Seeker is a strong support character, particularly effective in multiplayer due to abilities like revive and healing. While some players find Seeker's utility overloaded or damage unsatisfying in solo play, alternate abilities offer versatility and can make them very strong.

Significant bug and performance fixes: Players report that many critical bugs and performance issues, including frame rate-dependent gameplay mechanics, frequent crashes, and various glitches, have been largely addressed through recent patches. While some minor issues may persist, the game is now considered much more stable and playable.

Netcode requires improvement: A specific concern raised by players is the need for improvements to the game's netcode. This suggests that online multiplayer stability or synchronization may still be an area requiring attention.

Sound engine issues with enemy spawns: There is an intermittent issue where enemy spawn noises sometimes fail to play due to a problem with the sound engine. This can affect player awareness during gameplay.

Halcyonites hitbox fixed: A specific bug related to Halcyonites' hitboxes has been resolved. This indicates a targeted fix for a particular gameplay element.

DLC is now highly recommended: After numerous patches and updates, the Seekers of the Storm DLC is now widely recommended by players. Many believe it offers significant value, especially for fans of the base game and those seeking more content. While some suggest waiting for a sale, the general consensus is that the DLC is worth its price in its current state.

Wait for a sale: While the DLC is now generally recommended, a significant portion of the player base still advises waiting for a sale. This is often due to the initial rocky launch or a perception that the full price might still be a bit high for the content offered, despite the improvements.

Mixed feelings on future DLCs: Players express a mix of hope and caution regarding future DLCs and Gearbox's involvement. Many hope that the lessons learned from Seekers of the Storm's problematic launch will lead to smoother releases for upcoming content like Alloyed Collective, with some still skeptical about Gearbox's long-term handling of the franchise.

Survivors of the Void is preferred: Despite the improvements to Seekers of the Storm, many players still recommend purchasing the Survivors of the Void DLC first. It is often cited as offering better overall value and more content, making it the preferred initial expansion for new players or those buying only one DLC.

Best for existing fans: The DLC is primarily recommended for existing fans of Risk of Rain 2 who are looking to expand their experience. New players are advised to first get acquainted with the base game and its mechanics before diving into this expansion.

DLC had a rough launch, now improved: The DLC had a notoriously problematic launch, characterized by bugs, imbalances, and a general lack of polish. However, subsequent updates have significantly improved its state, leading to cautious optimism and excitement for the upcoming 'Alloyed Collective' DLC and future content, with players hoping for a smoother release next time.

Gearbox's role in DLC's troubled launch and redemption: Gearbox, as the new IP owner, faced significant criticism for the DLC's initial poor state, with many attributing the issues to rushed development and corporate pressure. However, the development team, under Gearbox, is praised for acknowledging mistakes, actively engaging with the community, and dedicating substantial effort and resources to fix the DLC, rebuilding some trust.

Risk of Rain 2's high regard, but technical concerns: Risk of Rain 2 is highly regarded by players, often cited as a favorite roguelite or even overall game. However, concerns exist regarding the game's technical infrastructure, specifically the lack of dedicated servers and anti-cheat measures.

Strong fan base and lore appreciation: The game has a dedicated fanbase, with many players accumulating hundreds of hours and appreciating the lore. This indicates a strong core appeal that keeps players engaged despite past issues.

Mixed reception for 'Chef' character: Initial feedback on the 'Chef' character was mixed, with some finding it difficult or 'horrible' to play, while others found it amusing. This suggests a polarizing or challenging gameplay experience for the new character.