You know that feeling when your favorite indie darling finally gets a massive expansion and everything just... breaks? That was the vibe when Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm hit the digital shelves. People were stoked. Gearbox had taken the reins from Hopoo Games, and players were ready to see if the soul of the franchise survived the corporate handoff. It didn’t go great at first. Honestly, it was a bit of a disaster.
But here’s the thing: beneath the bugs and the weird physics glitches that tied game logic to your frame rate, there is actually a pretty meaty expansion hiding in there. It’s weird. It’s buggy. It’s controversial. But if you’re still playing Risk of Rain 2 in 2026, you probably want to know if the "Storm" is actually worth weathering or if you should just stick to the base game and the Survivors of the Void DLC.
What Actually Happened at Launch?
The community was basically on fire for the first week. Because Gearbox decided to overhaul the internal codebase to unify the PC and console versions, they accidentally tied the game's physics engine to the FPS. If you had a high-end rig running at 144Hz or 240Hz, the game basically thought time was moving faster. Mithrix would teleport into the stratosphere. Items wouldn't proc right. You'd die to fall damage that shouldn't have existed.
It was a classic example of "fixing what wasn't broken" leading to a total collapse of the core loop. For a game that relies on precision movement and specific timing, this was a death sentence. Gearbox eventually patched the worst of it, but the sour taste lingered for a lot of veteran players. They felt like the "Hopoo magic" was being replaced by "Gearbox jank."
The New Survivors: Chef, Seeker, and False Son
Let's talk about the characters, because that’s why we’re all here. Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm added three very different flavors to the roster.
First up, we have The Seeker. She’s basically a mid-range brawler with a soul-collection mechanic. You’re punching things, you’re hovering, and you’re trying to build up enough "Tranquility" to actually be useful. Her big draw is the ability to literally resurrect dead teammates. In a game where permadeath is the whole point, that feels like cheating, right? Well, it’s hard to pull off. It’s high risk, high reward. If you mess up the sequence, you’re just a squishy target with no mobility.
Then there’s The False Son. He’s a tank. A literal lunar-golem-themed powerhouse who uses a club and a laser beam. He feels heavy. If you liked the Loader but wanted something that felt more like a "Boss" character, he’s your guy. His primary scaling comes from health and armor, which is a nice change of pace from the usual "stack glasses and hope for crits" meta.
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And then... there’s Chef.
Oh, Chef. People wanted Chef back from the first game so badly. In Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm, he’s... okay? He throws cleavers. He cooks enemies in a giant pot. But he feels a little clunky compared to the fluid movement of characters like the Mercenary or even the Commando. He’s a fan favorite for the nostalgia, but in terms of high-eclipse runs? Most pros are still leaning toward the classics.
The Path to the Colossus and the False Son Boss Fight
The new stages are gorgeous. Gearbox might have fumbled the code, but the art team absolutely crushed it. Helminth Hatchery and Reformed Altar are some of the most vertical, sprawling maps in the game. They feel massive.
The expansion introduces a brand-new path. Instead of just going to the Moon to fight Mithrix, you can now opt for the "Path of the Colossus." You find these green altars, offer some gold, and eventually work your way up to a fight with the False Son on a mountaintop.
Why the New Boss is Polarizing
- The Aesthetics: Fighting on a rainy peak while a giant golem tries to laser your face off is objectively cool.
- The Mechanics: He has phases. He has a "Lunar Spike" move that can ruin your day. He feels like a "Dark Souls" boss dropped into a roguelike.
- The Problem: The fight can feel a bit like a "stat check." If you don't have enough movement speed or enough DPS by the time you reach him, there isn't much room for "outplaying" his mechanics. It’s a gear check disguised as a skill test.
Items: The Good, The Bad, and The Boring
Items are the lifeblood of any Risk of Rain 2 run. Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm added a bunch, but the quality is all over the place.
Take the Warped Echo. It splits damage you take into two smaller hits over time. On paper, it sounds great for survivability. In practice, it often just messes up your "One Shot Protection" and gets you killed faster in late-game loops. It’s one of those items that veterans often look at and think, "Why would I ever want this?"
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On the flip side, you have stuff like Sale Star. This item is a literal godsend. It makes the next chest you open drop two items instead of one. It’s an economy booster. In a game where the clock is your biggest enemy, getting two items for the price of one is huge.
But there’s also a lot of "bloat." Items like the Electric Boomerang or Seed of Life just don't feel as impactful as the classic Survivors of the Void items like the Plasma Shrimp or the Polylute. It feels like Gearbox was trying to play it safe with the power creep, but in doing so, they made some of the new loot feel a bit bland.
The "Day One" Legacy and the Patch Cycle
If you’re looking at reviews for Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm on Steam, you’ll see a "Mostly Negative" or "Mixed" rating. Don't let that totally scare you off. A lot of that is from the launch week when the game was genuinely broken.
Gearbox has been working through the backlog of bugs. They fixed the FPS-physics tie. They fixed the bug where the game would literally delete your save file (yeah, that was a real thing). They're trying. But the community is skeptical. This expansion was the first time the game felt "corporate" rather than "indie."
The real question is: does it add enough to the core loop to justify the price?
If you’ve played 500 hours of Risk of Rain 2 and you’re bored, yes. The new stages alone breathe enough life into the game to make it feel fresh for another 50 hours. If you’re a casual player who hasn't even beaten Mithrix yet? You can probably wait for a sale.
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Actionable Advice for Your Next Run
If you do decide to jump into Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm, keep these things in mind to avoid a frustrating experience.
First, watch your frame rate. Even though Gearbox patched the physics tie, some players still report weird interactions when their FPS fluctuates wildly. Capping your frame rate to your monitor's refresh rate is still a good idea.
Second, prioritize the Green Altars. If you want to see the new content, you have to interact with the new shrines early. They cost a decent chunk of change, so don't spend all your gold on chests in Stage 1 if you're planning on taking the new path.
Third, don't sleep on the False Son survivor. Once you unlock him by beating the expansion's boss, try a "Health Build." Stack Infusions and Bison Steak (yes, even the lowly steak). He scales in a way that makes "bad" items actually feel viable.
Finally, manage your expectations on the Chef. He plays very differently than he did in the first game. He’s more of a "combo" character now. If you try to play him like the Huntress, you’re going to have a bad time.
The expansion isn't perfect. It’s a scarred, slightly messy addition to a legendary game. But for those of us who can't get enough of the chaotic, item-stacking madness that defines this series, it’s still more Risk of Rain. And sometimes, that’s enough.
Key Takeaways for Players:
- Check your settings and ensure your FPS is stable to avoid legacy physics bugs.
- Experiment with the Seeker’s resurrection in multiplayer; it’s a literal game-changer for long runs.
- Focus on unlocking the False Son early, as he offers the most unique gameplay shift of the three new survivors.
- Keep an eye on patch notes—Gearbox is still tweaking the balance of the new items to bring them in line with the base game.