You're stranded on a hostile planet, and the only way off is the Teleporter. You pick up items along the way, and a lucky pile of them turns a scrappy survivor into the thing the planet should be afraid of.
Three games share that loop. Risk of Rain started in 2013 as a roguelike platformer where death is permanent. Risk of Rain 2 took it into 3D with a third-person view, arriving in Early Access in 2019 and as a full release in 2020. Risk of Rain Returns remade the original in 2023. In all three you pick a survivor, go solo or bring friends, and every run plays out differently.
- Developer
- Hopoo Games
- Publisher
- Gearbox Publishing
- Release
- Risk of Rain (Windows): 2013-11-08 · Risk of Rain 2 (1.0, Windows): 2020-08-11 · Risk of Rain Returns (Windows): 2023-11-08
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
Risk of Rain gameplay tips
- Start with Risk of Rain 2 if you've never played the series. It's the 3D game with 21 survivors, and four expansions have kept adding more.
- Watch the clock more than the loot. In the original and Risk of Rain 2, difficulty rises with time, so the longer you linger on a stage, the harder the enemies you meet afterward hit.
- Pick Returns over the 2013 original if you want the same 2D game with more to play: 15 survivors against the original's 12, overhauled multiplayer and fan-favorite content from Risk of Rain 2.
- Gather a squad. Returns and Risk of Rain 2 both take up to four players online, and Returns also plays on the couch, so mixed survivors can cover each other's weak spots.