Asterix & Obelix XXL 2 Review Summary

Enjoyable combat, gorgeous visuals, and a faithful Asterix vibe shine through, but severe performance issues, dated cutscenes, and repetitive gameplay hold it back.

Overall positive reception: Players widely praise the game as great, wonderful, and worth every cent, with a charming and hilarious experience. This broad satisfaction reflects strong overall enjoyment across many reviews.

Engaging combat system: Combat is described as good, energetic, and engaging, with satisfying beatings and enjoyable simplicity. Multiple clusters highlight both the fun and the satisfying feel of defeating enemies.

Abundant pop culture references: The game is full of references to other video games and films, including Pac-Man, Mario, and Sonic. These references are seen as cute and add to the fun.

Great graphics and visuals: Graphics are praised as great, pretty, and improved with better animations and clarity. Updated graphics please the eye and adapt to modern trends.

Authentic Asterix atmosphere: The game captures the classic Asterix and Obelix atmosphere, making it a small masterpiece that appeals to kids and fans. Humor from the original comics is present and can make even skeptics smirk.

Severe Performance and FPS Issues: Many players report the game runs at very low framerates, often capped at 30 FPS or below, with drops to 20 FPS or lower during combat. Optimization is widely criticized as terrible, even on high-end hardware.

Unremastered Cutscenes and Cinematics: Cutscenes are not remade and retain low-quality, low-resolution visuals from the original game, clashing with the remastered gameplay. Sound in cinematics is also not remastered.

Repetitive and Tiresome Gameplay: Combat and overall gameplay become repetitive and tedious, with many players finding the experience disappointing and lacking variety.

Camera Control and Angle Problems: The camera often behaves erratically, choosing awkward angles, getting stuck behind walls in tight spaces, and obscuring the character. Players describe camera handling as a nightmare.

Poor PC Port Quality: The PC version is frequently described as a shameful, poorly thought-out port, possibly one of the worst of all time. It requires third-party fixes and hex editing to achieve acceptable performance.

Action platformer beat 'em up: The game blends action platforming with beat 'em up combat. It is described as an old-school 3D action and platforming game.

Collectibles: helmets and postcards: Players can find collectibles such as golden helmets, diamond helmets, and postcards scattered across levels. Each location contains 5 diamond helmets and 4 postcards.

Fighting waves of Romans: Combat involves mass brawls against dozens of Romans, including a notable 1000-Roman fight. Players use combos and repeated hits to defeat enemies.

Easy exploration and puzzle solving: Gameplay includes exploring levels and solving simple puzzles. Platforming sections are minimal, and exploration rewards players with Roman helmets used as currency.

Switch between Asterix and Obelix: Players can freely switch between Asterix and Obelix at any time during gameplay. This core mechanic allows for varied character usage while beating up Romans.

Third-party fixes required: To achieve 60 FPS or playable performance, players often need to install unofficial patches or use hex editors to modify the game executable. The developers have not provided official fixes.

Widespread poor optimization: Many players report that the game is poorly optimized on PC, with performance issues even on high-end hardware. The optimization problems are severe and affect the overall experience.

Low FPS on high-end PCs: Even on powerful systems like RTX 5070 or RTX 3060, the game runs at low frame rates such as 20-30 FPS. This indicates severe optimization problems regardless of hardware.

Frame rate drops and lag: Players experience frequent frame rate drops, lag, and stuttering even outside of combat. The performance is unstable and detracts from the gameplay.

30 FPS lock by default: The game is capped at 30 FPS by default, requiring modifications to unlock higher frame rates. This limitation is a common complaint among players.

Asterix fans will enjoy: Many reviewers recommend the game specifically to fans of the Asterix and Obelix universe, including those who grew up with the franchise. It is a strong choice for nostalgia-driven players.

Good for casual play: The game is recommended for those seeking a light, comedic adventure without too much challenge. It appeals to younger players and those wanting a relaxed experience.

Emulator or original better: Many suggest that playing the original version or emulating it (e.g., PS2 on PCSX2) provides a superior experience compared to this remaster. This is a common recommendation.

Wait for a sale: A recurring theme is that the game is not worth full price, with many advising to wait for a discount or buy only on sale. This appears across numerous clusters.

PC version has issues: The PC version is frequently criticized for technical problems, performance issues, and poor port quality. Some recommend playing on console or emulator instead.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $15.00.

Game completion: 10.5h.

Story completion: 12.0h.

Asterix & Obelix XXL 2 is generally fun from the start with colorful action, enjoyable combat moves, and a sense of progression, but many players report that repetition and little gameplay evolution make it less engaging after the first few hours.

Friction: Mechanics are explained poorly or 2 hours too late; Combat can become repetitive quickly because unlocked moves are limited or not usable in every fight; Camera sometimes gets stuck behind objects; Old graphics style may not appeal to everyone; Performance issues until the game becomes playable; Local co-op expectations are not always met.

Unlock drivers: Special attacks, stuns, and crowd-control moves help keep encounters from feeling too repetitive.

Nostalgic Asterix & Obelix Fan: Plays for franchise fidelity, comic references, and nostalgic platforming/beat-'em-up action rather than difficulty. Motivation: To relive childhood memories and see the comics and original XXL 2 faithfully recreated. Stance: buy.

Achievement & Completionist Hunter: Uses guides, hunts achievements and collectibles, and aims for a single-playthrough 100% completion. Motivation: To efficiently complete all achievements and collectibles in a short, straightforward game. Stance: buy.

Old-School 3D Platformer & Beat-'Em-Up Fan: Plays with a controller, explores platforming stages, fights groups of enemies, and enjoys simple action-adventure pacing. Motivation: To enjoy classic 3D platforming, exploration, and satisfying beat-'em-up combat. Stance: sale.

Steam Deck: The audit of Steam Deck user feedback reveals that the game suffers from a default 30fps framerate cap, occasional crashes, and frequent hangs, indicating stability and performance issues. Controls are sometimes described as sluggish or error-prone, though controller support is praised. No evidence of required Proton Experimental toggling or external launchers was found. The stability issues justify a high friction score.

Linux and Proton: The available feedback indicates the game generally runs on Steam Deck/Linux but has some bugs, occasional crashes, and a default 30fps framerate limit. There is no evidence of Proton launch failures, anti-cheat/DRM blockers, or required Proton Experimental/GE tweaks. The issues are notable but limited, aligning with minor compatibility friction rather than broken Linux support.

Remaster of classic game: Many reviewers note that this title is a remastered version of an older classic game. This is a central characteristic mentioned across multiple clusters.

Comparisons to first game: Reviewers frequently compare this game to its predecessor, often finding it less impressive in setting variety, atmosphere, and music. Some note it is less beautiful but more fun than the first game's remaster.

Steam achievements and availability: The game includes Steam achievements and is available on Steam. Reviewers note it has no missable achievements and can be completed in a single playthrough.

Feature cuts from original: The remaster is missing several features present in the original game, most notably local co-op. It also lacks the ability to switch between modern and original graphics, unlike the first game's remaster.

Part of Asterix & Obelix trilogy: The game is part of the Asterix & Obelix trilogy and is a remaster of Asterix & Obelix XXL2. Some reviewers already own the third installment.