This remaster of the original Risk of Rain keeps its oppressive climb where time ramps up the difficulty. Reworked pixel art and four-player co-op energize the whole. Tense, addictive, brutal once the clock pressure sets in.
Your verdict
Category
Roguelike4 players7+
Co-op
Description
Survivors crashed on a hostile planet face waves of enemies that grow stronger over time. Published by Gearbox, released worldwide in 2023. Stackable items with compounding effects, difficulty tied to the clock, varied heroes and co-op for up to four.
Risk of Rain: Returns review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
Gameplay
"Masterful"
The clock-driven tension, where difficulty climbs as time ticks on, gives the action an immediate edge. Stacking items with compounding effects until you become a ball of chaos remains an intoxicating loop. This remake adds heroes, modes and modern comfort without betraying the rough pixel art, and four-player co-op multiplies the fun further.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Starting fragile and snowballing into a walking tornado of stacked items makes the power curve here downright addictive. Every pickup compounds without limit, and late runs collapse into a joyful chaos of screen-filling effects. In co-op, surviving the monster tide becomes a hilarious epic you restart the second it ends.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Dying has rarely felt so tempting: every run of this roguelike lets you stack items that combine into giddy synergies, turning a frail survivor into an avalanche of damage. Difficulty scaling with the clock dares you to clear one more stage, and death instantly stirs the urge to retry with another class. The return to the original sprites rekindles the joy for veterans and newcomers alike. One caveat: without a lucky synergy, some runs can drift into repetitive farming.
Difficulty
"Easy"
Lifespan
"Long"
Technical info
💾0,5 GB📅08/11/2023
Published by Gearbox
Risk of Rain: Returns (Nintendo Switch) price, value & rarity
Roguelite hell condenses into fights where the screen drowns under projectiles and oversized enemies. Improvised builds, space management and instant reading of the chaos decide survival. The exponential rise in power on both sides turns every guardian into a frantic wall to topple before being overwhelmed.
Better with friends
With up to four, this roguelike turns survival into a frantic escalation: the longer you last, the more the screen floods with enemies and the tighter the team must close ranks. Co-operation grows from sheer urgency as you share items and positions to keep pace. One small snag, a latecomer can end up underpowered and fall behind. But when it all spirals and everyone barely survives, you're instantly ready to run it again.
Is Risk of Rain: Returns still worth playing in 2026?
Risk of Rain Returns is the remake of the first entry, and it recalls why the series marked the action roguelike, its clock-bound tension where difficulty climbs with time. Stacking items with compounding effects until you become a ball of chaos remains an intoxicating loop. This return adds heroes, modes and modern comfort that dusts off the 2013 original. The two-dimensional pixel art keeps its rough charm. Four-player co-op multiplies the fun. An excellent gateway to a formula that still electrifies.
