History Videogame / RiskOfRain

A sequel, ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain2'', was released on Steam Early Access on March 28th, 2019, and its full release came out on August 11th, 2020. On December 2022, Hopoo Games and Creator/GearboxSoftware announced ''Risk of Rain Returns'', a remake of the first game with new HD assets, new content, rebalanced gameplay, new music tracks, new survivors, new abilities for the original survivors, new items, new enemies, new stage variants, a new game mode and an improved online multiplayer. It is set to release in 2023 for PC and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.

* YouKilledMyFather: If a data log in ''2'' is to be believed the Parent enemies aren't mad with grief because you killed their children who were playfully attacking you, but that the small ones ''are the parents'' and the Parent enemies are trying to avenge them. It's also implied the Children [[BullyingADragon are smart enough to know how dsngerous you are and took the risk anyway.]]

* BittersweetEnding: The survivors manage to leave the planet... [[spoiler:but a part of the player character remains irrevocably changed. Some for the better -- CHEF gains sentience, the Loader gains a new sense of purpose in life, the Miner had the time of his life, and Han-D becomes half-robotic, half-organic -- and some for the far worse -- the Commando [[FaceHeelTurn loses his conscience and morality]], the Enforcer is mutated into a terrifying creature, the Bandit gains his treasure but [[PyrrhicVictory goes insane in the process]], the Huntress feels dead inside, the Engineer is a horrific hybrid of man and machine, the Mercenary realizes he will never be human again, Acrid has lost its aggressive nature and now seeks solitude, and the Sniper [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking has gone deaf.]] ]]

A sequel, ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain2'', was released on Steam Early Access on March 28th, 2019, and its full release came out on August 11th, 2020.

* ImprobableAccessoryEffect: While it's established than many items are magical, cursed, alien, or otherwise modified in a way, there's some that just don't make sense. A specific goat hoof that makes you move faster? Par for the course.

* SanitySlippage: Some characters [[spoiler:have their endings strongly imply they've gone insane, monstrous, mutated, or all three.]]

** The crowbar's description mentions that it [[VideoGame/HalfLife should last until the third edition.]]
** The Heaven Cracker is [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann a drill made specifically to pierce through heavenly materials.]]

*** It is also a reference to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', which features an evil wizard named Aghanim as initial antagonist. He does not actually wield a scepter, though [[spoiler:his true identity, Ganon, wields a scepter-like trident.]]

* BittersweetEnding: The survivors manage to leave the planet... [[spoiler:but a part of the player character remains irrevocably changed. Some for the better--CHEF gains sentience, the Loader gains a new sense of purpose in life, the Miner had the time of his life, and Han-D becomes half-robotic, half-organic--and some for the far worse--the Commando [[FaceHeelTurn loses his conscience and morality]], the Enforcer is mutated into a terrifying creature, the Bandit gains his treasure but [[PyrrhicVictory goes insane in the process]], the Huntress feels dead inside, the Engineer is a horrific hybrid of man and machine, the Mercenary realizes he will never be human again, Acrid has lost its aggressive nature and now seeks solitude, and the Sniper [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking has gone deaf.]] ]]

* ConvectionSchmonvection / LavaIsBoilingKoolAid: The lava in the Magma Barracks doesn't effect the character until they touch it, where it starts dealing periodic damage. However, it can still be outlasted with enough health, healing, and defense; in fact, you're required to stay in it for a minute to unlock an item, and [[spoiler:you must traverse it to find The Miner]].

* DeathWorld: For a planet that was supposedly peaceful before you came here, every single creature on it is remarkably good at killing things dead quick. [[spoiler: As it turns out, they are getting payback for what the last group of humans did to them.]]
* DegradedBoss: Inverted. Once the difficulty gets high enough, bosses will start spawning among the regular enemies... chosen from the same pool as the actual boss of the current level. Meaning you now have to kill two level-appropriate bosses before you can exit the level instead of one. Also, if you take the option to loop back to earlier levels before tackling the final one, you will encounter the bosses from the beginning of the game, but they'll be much nastier elite versions and/or come in greater numbers. Played straight, however, with smaller clones of the Wandering Vagrant boss who spawn frequently on the final level. Also, if you loop through the levels long enough eventually it'll just throwing out the normal bosses like candy, easily resulting in over a dozen bosses on each level... but you'll be powerful enough to wipe out even the elite bosses with ease. [[RandomlyDrops Maybe.]]

* DualBoss: While any boss could be fought alongside another, [[spoiler: the Gilded Wurms are always fought together]].

* GaiasVengeance: [[spoiler: It's all but stated that humans have actually been exploiting the planet in the past, and that the wildlife is only hostile because Providence has used his powers to unite them in defense of the planet. You were just in the wrong place, caught in the crossfire.]]

* SuperNotDrowningSkills: The survivors cannot drown, and neither can enemies -- but an achievement is unlocked for knocking 20 Whorls (nautilus-like enemies) into the bottomless pits at the bottom of the Underwater Catacombs map.

* UselessUsefulSpell: The Heaven Cracker drill turns every fourth primary attack into an unlimited range laser that pierces all enemies in its path. This is great for every character... except Chef, whose primary attack pierces enemies by default and then boomerangs, dealing ''more'' damage on the way back. On him, the item basically more than halves the power of every fourth attack.

* WarmupBoss: The Wandering Vagrant, who has only one attack that's easily dodged if you keep moving, and the Colossus, whose strategy amounts to "stay a bit away from the massive stone thing while it slowly strolls at you".

-->''[[spoiler:"...Why did we have a teleporter from this planet in our cargo hold?"]]''

* BittersweetEnding: The survivors manage to leave the planet... [[spoiler:but a part of the player character remains irrevocably changed. Some for the better--CHEF gains sentience, the Loader gains a new sense of purpose in life, the Miner had the time of his life, and Han-D becomes half-robotic, half-organic--and some for the far worse--the Commando [[FaceHeelTurn loses his conscience and morality]], the Enforcer is turned into a horrific mutant, the Bandit gains his treasure but [[PyrrhicVictory loses his mind in the process]], the Huntress feels dead inside, the Engineer is a horrific hybrid of man and machine, the Mercenary realizes he will never be human again, Acrid has lost its aggressive nature and now seeks solitude, and the Sniper [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking has gone deaf.]] ]]

* AdultFear: Those small little multi-colored spirits? They're innocent children, forced by some unknown power to attack you. The giants trying to kill you? Their parents driven mad with rage and grief.

* GameMod: Although the first game wasn't designed with mod support in mind, the GameMaker engine it runs on is quite flexible and ultimately allowed the community to create mods for it. Since the late 2010s, several mods have been developed for the game, among them ports of ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain2'' content, new characters and most importantly, the expansion-sized ''[[VideoGame/RiskOfRainStarstorm Starstorm'' mod.

* SpeedRun: Actively encouraged in the early levels, because the difficulty rises dramatically over time. Less so near the end since it mostly caps out after 40 minutes.

* AmbiguousGender: The Sniper's end quote uses "they", as opposed to the other human classes which are all clearly referred to as "he", or "she" for the Huntress. This use of they is most likely plural due to counting the Sniper's Spotter Drone as part of the character (there's no qualms about calling Acrid "it"), but has resulted in fan speculation that the Sniper may actually be robotic, intersexed, or just highly mysterious.

A sequel, ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain2'', was released on Steam Early Access on March 28th, 2019.

The game plays as a 2D roguelike platformer in which you play as one of ten different character classes, each with varying strengths and weaknesses. You must defeat alien creatures to level up and gain gold, whilst the difficulty steadily increases as time goes on. The main goal of the game is to find the teleporter and use it to summon the level's boss; after slaying the boss (and an accompanying horde of enemies) you may advance to the next level. Your ultimate goal is to make your way back to the [=UES=] ''Contact Light'' so you can take off and escape the planet.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The theme for the final level set on [[spoiler:the UES Contact Light]], [[http://chrischristodoulou.bandcamp.com/track/coalescence Coalescence]]. Fairly calm and peaceful -- despite the level itself swarming with hundreds of foes. A bloody fight ensues as the survivors must make their way to the end of the level.

** The sequel takes the opposite approach, with the button prompts and achievement all but confirming [[spoiler: your character is deader than dead obliterated from existence, but the game-over screen only says "fate unknown," implying differently.]]

** In the sequel, the Hellfire Tincture deals constant damage to yourself and allies, and deals 24 times that to enemies in an area around you for a short time.

** The sequel introduces the Crowdfunder, which spends gold in order to do damage.

** In the sequel, the Mercenary starts the game with a double jump.

* {{Jetpack}}: The Rusty Jetpack only increases jump height. The Photon Jetpack, on the other hand, gives limited flight. The sequel's Milky Chrysalis also grants limited flight.

A sequel, ''VideoGame/RiskOf Rain2'', was released on Steam Early Access on March 28th, 2019.

A sequel, ''Risk of Rain 2'', was released on Steam Early Access on March 28th, 2019. While mechanically very similar to the original game and a direct retelling of the events of it, the gameplay sets itself apart by being [[Videogame3DLeap in 3D]] and having a rebalancing of various mechanics to adjust, while also having vast improvement on the CoOpMultiplayer from the first game.

!!''Risk of Rain 2'' specifically contains examples of:
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* ApocalypticLog: Some descriptions in the logbook detail notes from the survivors of the ''Contact Light'' crash who tried to hold out on the planet, especially at Rallypoint Delta. Given that it's crawling with monsters by the time the player characters reach it, they didn't hold out long.
* BodyHorror: PlayedForLaughs, but some of the items that show up on your character include syringes stuck in their thigh, a dagger sticking out of their neck and various parasites growing on their body.
* {{Cap}}: Some items have a hard cap such as Lens-Maker's Glasses once you achieve 100% Critical Strike Chance or 10 Stacks. PlayedWith for other items which can stack indefinitely but have significantly diminished returns to the point where collecting more than 10 sees very little stat increases.
* CostumeEvolution: PlayedForLaughs. This time around items are not only displayed on your HUD but also attached to your character model in some way such as Lens-Maker's Glasses being worn as properly on your face or several Soldier's Syringes haphazardly jammed into the side of your character's thigh. By the time you've looped the game once your character will be unrecognizable due to the sheer amount of items they are wearing.
* EldritchLocation: The ''Contact Light'' itself is noted by some of the item logs from survivors to be an extremely strange ship with millions of artifacts that have been in transit for decades.
** The environments themselves are full of mysterious artifacts from an unknown civilization and as detailed in environmental logs, are quite strange. The mysterious rings on the Titanic Plains recreate rocks already weathered and old whenever they're removed from the plains, and the tar seeping through the Abandoned Aqueducts is contagious.
* ForWantOfANail: The game still centers around the crash of the ''Contact Light'' on an unknown planet, but the events are very different this time.
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: The Bustling Fungus item gives you a potent health regenerating aura for you and allies provided you stand still for at least 2 seconds. Sounds counter-intuitive in a game that punishes you for standing still however this effect applies to the Engineer's turrets too! The aura from all sources of Bustling Fungus stacks so you can have your turrets heal one another and anyone else who gets cozy with them in your BeehiveBarrier.
* HoldTheLine: Teleporters have been changed so that you have to stay within a certain radius from it to power it up, leading to the player having to survive the ensuing waves.
* PlaceBeyondTime: Places beyond portals lead to locations outside of time, and there's a mysterious alien who runs a bazaar in one of them.
* LighterAndSofter: Compared to the gloomy skies and backgrounds of the first game, the second game is definitely brighter.
* NecessaryDrawback: Lunar items, because they can be purchased with Lunar coins earned across any run and have really good effects, also come with hefty penalties to balance them out.
* NonStandardGameOver: Ordinarily, the game doesn't have an ending as of yet, but [[spoiler: reaching Rallypoint Delta a second time and going through the celestial portal at the end leads to an obelisk that the players can interact with to obliterate themselves, which is necessary to unlock the Mercenary and nets an achievement the first time it's done.]]
* OverlyLongGag: Since the difficulty is now measured on a scrolling slider, any difficulty beyond I'M COMING FOR YOU NOW is represented as an endlessly long [[EvilLaugh HAHAHAHA]].
* RegeneratingHealth: All characters are given this at the beginning to compensate for the inability to see every enemy and incoming attack in a 3D space. The Mercenary starts with the highest regen rate as well since he's currently the only dedicated melee survivor.
* TimeyWimeyBall: Only hinted at as of yet, but the Predatory Instincts item has a description that [[spoiler: implies that the events of ''Risk of Rain'' happened a long time ago, long enough that stories about the survivor who slayed Providence became a monster in legends, which implies that the repetition of the events in ''Risk of Rain 2'' are more than the direct retelling they appear to be]].
* TurnsRed: Bosses can gain an extra attack once their health drops low, like the Wandering Vagrant's telegraphed explosion.
* VideoGame3DLeap: A modern example. As a result, Huntress' previous niche, being able to move and shoot, is now a universal mechanic for all survivors. To compensate, she's the only ranged survivor that can sprint and shoot, and her Blink ability can be used in all directions, preserving her trademark mobility from the first game.

* HoldTheLine: Teleporters have been changed so that you have to stay within a certain radius from it to power it up, leading to the player having to survive the ensuing wave.

A sequel, ''Risk of Rain 2'', was released on Steam Early Access on March 28th, 2019. While mechanically very similar to the original game and a direct retelling of the events of it, the gameplay sets itself apart by being [[Videogame3DLeap in 3D]].

* ApocalypticLog: Some item descriptions detail notes from the survivors of the ''Contact Light'' crash who met up at Rallypoint Delta and tried to hold out. Given that it's crawling with monsters by the time the player characters reach it, they didn't hold out long.

* PlaceBeyondTime: Places beyond blue portals lead to locations outside of time, and there's a mysterious alien who runs a bazaar in one of them.

* TimeyWimeyBall: Only hinted at as of yet, but the Predatory Instincts item has an item description that [[spoiler: implies that the events of ''Risk of Rain'' happened a long time ago, long enough that stories about the survivor who slayed Providence became a monster in legends, which implies that the repetition of the events in ''Risk of Rain 2'' are more than the direct retelling they appear to be]].

* PlaceBeyondTime: Places beyond Celestial portals lead to locations outside of time.