Risk of Rain Returns News

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Hi everyone! No lengthy intros today - I know what you’re here for...



[h3]Release Details[/h3]

Risk of Rain Returns will release on Steam and Nintendo Switch on November 8th 2023 - the exact 10 year anniversary of the release of the original Risk of Rain!

The suggested retail price of Risk of Rain Returns will be $14.99 however for a short period at launch there will be a -15% discount down to just $12.75

All of us at Hopoo Games want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for both following along during the development of Risk of Rain Returns and all the support you’ve given us over the last ten years. It’s been a wild ride and we have plenty of plans for the future…

…but that’s a story for another day. For today, let's take a look at the final new Survivor joining the roster for Risk of Rain Returns.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1337520/Risk_of_Rain_Returns/



[h3]Pilot[/h3]

Revealed in the intro cinematic, the Pilot of the Contact Light is joining the survivor roster for Risk of Rain Returns - bringing with him a highly mobile and context-sensitive playstyle unlike any other survivor in the game.



The workhorse of Pilot’s kit is his standard attack Clusterfire - a triple burst shot where the third shot pierces enemies.

Great for damaging groups of enemies to set them up for your other abilities or to finish them off once you’ve already rained damage upon them from the skies..



…speaking of which the key to success when playing as Pilot is mastery of his utility ability - Rapid Deployment.



Launch into the air and deploy your parachute to glide while unleashing your full arsenal of weapons on the enemies below.



Your secondary attack Target Acquired is a diagonal blast dependent on your current airborne status. If you’re in the air it will auto target on the enemies diagonally below you. If you’re on the ground it will auto target airborne enemies.



Don’t worry about there not being as many flying enemies in the game - your special ability Airstrike can solve that particular problem.

Dropped below you if airborne - or placed at your feet with a backwards dash if you’re grounded - the Airstrike hits multiple times both damaging enemies and launching them into the air.



This gives you the perfect chance to juggle them with Target Acquired and finish them off with Clusterfire.



As with all the other survivors Pilot has three alternate abilities to unlock and discover when the game is released on November 8th.



Check out the video Dev Thoughts above for an extended gameplay clip of Pilot in action.



[h3]Festival of Gup[/h3]

The release of Risk of Rain Returns will not be the only way we're celebrating 10 years of the franchise - we will be taking a walk down memory lane and looking back at what got us here - and our friends at Gearbox will also be talking about what’s ahead!



This 10th anniversary Showcase will be a celebration of the Risk of Rain community, and the big lovable orange blob - If you are a fan of Risk of Rain, or blobs, this is not to be missed so make sure you're following Gearbox on Twitch!

www.twitch.tv/GearboxOfficial

Risk of Rain 2 fans do not want to miss this showcase...



[h3]Risk of Rain Returns OST Vinyl Pre-Order[/h3]

As you’re hopefully aware by now not only has Chris Christodoulou returned with some special guests to produce some new music for Risk of Rain Returns, he has also remastered the original tracks to perfection.



Chris will be releasing a 4-Vinyl set including some great bonus content (contained on a Ukulele-shaped USB stick!) early next year but those pre-orders usually sell out quick so make sure if you want one, you grab one ASAP - the pre-order is available right now!

https://blackscreenrecords.com/products/risk-of-rain-returns




[h3]And That’s Not All[/h3]

One last bit of news - for all you *very patient* console fans out there I am also very happy to announce that the Risk of Rain 2 Expansion: Survivors of the Void will be arriving on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch on… you guessed it…. The 8th of November!



We’re all very excited for you to finally get your hands on Risk of Rain Returns and we really want to know what you think! The best way to give us feedback is by joining the Risk of Rain Discord where we will be opening a Returns-specific feedback channel - and we’ll also have channels for you to find groups for multiplayer along with dozens of voice channels to use.

https://discord.gg/riskofrain2

The whole Hopoo Games team will be there and we’ll be eagerly reading all your feedback, so please join us for the release of Risk of Rain Returns on November 8th!

Cya then!

Jonathan
Hopoo Games
Community Manager

Hey!

Get ready for more exciting news about the release of Risk of Rain: Returns!

Set your notifications to join us on the Hopoo Twitch channel on October 25th, at 12:00 pm CT. We will FINALLY be revealing the highly anticipated RELEASE DATE, along with the NEW SURVIVOR joining the lineup.

You’ll want to stay tuned for a bit longer as we’ll have another announcement after the survivor reveal, along with survivor gameplay. 10 year anniversary is coming up, so something is bound to be cooking. 🔥

As always, thanks for the amazing support - and we can’t wait to share what we have planned with everyone on October 25th over on the Hopoo Games Twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/hopoo_games. Hit “Remind Me” on the event to be notified when we’re going live. See you then!

[h2]Recap of Previously Announced Survivor: Drifter[/h2]



Back in July, we got to see the brand new survivor debuting in Risk of Rain: Returns! Drifter is a resourceful brawler, who got a bit more than she bargained for when she stowed away on the ill-fated Contact Light. However, Drifter has some unique skills that help her handle the dangerous inhabitants of Petrichor V. Along with these skills, she also has some tools to empower herself and her fellow Survivors (unless she takes all the items for herself, but who would do that…right).

Who will be the final survivor joining Drifter in Risk of Rain: Returns? You’ll have to tune in on October 25th at 10:00 am PST time to find out!

To learn more about Drifter, and to check out an interview with Chris Christodoulou, you can see a recap of Dev Thoughts 31 here.

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Hey!

Thanks again for joining us for the Dev Thoughts, today we're going to take a look at a brand new survivor for Risk of Rain Returns and talking to Hopoo Games composer Chris Christodoulou about the soundtrack.

The majority of this content, along with the great new survivor trailer, are contained in the video version of the Dev Thoughts linked above, so make sure you watch it so you don't miss out!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1337520/Risk_of_Rain_Returns/

For the words-n-gifs fans among us, let's get acquainted with Risk of Rain's newest survivor...



[h3]Drifter[/h3]

The first brand new survivor debuting in Risk of Rain Returns is Drifter. This resourceful brawler got more than she bargained for when she stowed away on the ill-fated Contact Light - luckily she has some unique skills to not only handle the dangerous inhabitants of Petrichor V but she also has some powerful tools to empower herself and her fellow Survivors.



Key to Drifter’s power is her ability to utilise Scrap generated by her primary ability Blunt Force. This may appear as useless rubbish to the other survivors - but to Drifter it’s a valuable resource.



Blunt Force is a 3 hit combo melee attack that hits enemies in a wide area - each successful hit generates lumps of Scrap which litter the floor near Drifter - gather these quickly to fuel your more powerful abilities.

Blunt Force isn't the only way to generate Scrap - Drifter’s Utility ability Suffocate also fills your meter without having to collect Scrap from the environment - This large melee strike stuns and does 200% damage - any enemy below 20% health when attacked with Suffocate is immediately consumed and converted to Scrap.



Once you have gathered Scrap you have everything you need to fuel Drifter’s other two abilities - including her secondary attack Cleanup. This ability tosses out some of your Scrap as piercing projectiles in a short-range burst - imagine a trash powered shotgun that makes mincemeat of even the toughest enemies.



Finally her special ability makes her a true powerhouse on the battlefield - not only to herself but her allies - when your Scrap meter is 75% full you gain access to Salvage.

Salvage allows Drifter to generate 4 temporary items - these can then be collected by any player making her the survivor with the strongest support abilities in Risk of Rain. Have your teammates not been as fortunate as you when rolling the dice at chance shrines? Create some temporary items to share among your team before facing the tough challenges that await you.



Of course there is nothing stopping you from just taking all the items for yourself and becoming the most powerful Survivor on the planet - key to success as Drifter is to keep churning out temporary items as quickly as you can - they only last a short time in your inventory so continuing to replace them as they expire will maintain your strength.



Like all the other survivors, Drifter has a trio of alternate abilities to unlock, but I won't spoil those for you today, you can discover them yourself when Risk of Rain Returns is released later this year!





[h3]Chris Chrisodoulou Interview[/h3]

I interviewed Hopoo Games composer Chris Christodoulou about his approach to the Risk of Rain Returns soundtrack - what changes he has made to the original OST, the approach he has taken to the new tracks coming in the game and much much more! .... You still here? Expecting some more words-n-gifs of a video interview?? Go watch the video Dev Thoughts linked at the top of the page! The interview is there!!



Thanks again everyone for your continued support, all of us at Hopoo Games are very excited for you to play Risk of Rain Returns soon! In the meantime don’t forget to join our Discord and follow us on Twitter, Twitch, Youtube or TikTok to keep up to date with the latest on the game - next time we’ll be taking a look at the final new character dropping into Risk of Rain Returns…



Cya then!

Jonathan
Hopoo Games
Community Manager

There was a specific satisfaction in Risk of Rain that I could never get in its fantastic sequel: putting my back to the wall as the riot cop-esque Enforcer, planting my shield in the ground and tanking an endless stream of enemies for my entire co-op squad. That just didn't work in 3D, which is maybe why the Enforcer was one of the few characters not to reappear in the sequel. When I played a short demo of Risk of Rain Returns this week I immediately picked Enforcer and slammed my shield to the earth...
Read more.

Hi!

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Thanks for joining us once again for the Hopoo Games Dev Thoughts! Today we’ll be taking a closer look at the new game mode coming in Risk of Rain Returns: Providence Trials.

I’d recommend watching the video version of the Dev Thoughts as you’ll be able to fully appreciate the footage of the trials as well as seeing an exclusive gameplay sample at the end, but if the written version is your cup of tea let’s dive in and take a quick look at the big guy himself…



[h3]Providence Fan Art[/h3]

A couple of weeks ago we reached out to the community asking for some fan art of Providence to celebrate the reveal of the Providence Trials, and as always you didn't disappoint! Here are some of my faves…

First up is the artwork by DragonRoIlZ that was so good I’ve used it as the header image for the Dev Thoughts, this fantastic piece of Providence and his Gilded Wurms:



Here's a fantastic piece by NF89 titled “Bulwark’s Mourning” - I wonder what Providence is upset about here, I hope he didn't do something completely diabolical with that teleporter…



And lastly this comic book inspired piece by w0ahdood really grabbed my attention:



Thank you to everyone who submitted fan-art, you’ve all been given a unique role on Discord to flex with!

If you want to see all the submissions make sure you join the Risk of Rain Discord and follow this link!

https://discord.com/channels/417739215355510784/559901517985873921/1088441451442086038

...and you can browse all the submissions! - and now on to the main event…



[h3]Providence Trials[/h3]

New to Risk of Rain Returns are the brand new Providence Trials - dozens of fun single player mini-game challenges each using a different Survivor with a different set of abilities, each on a custom stage.

Some trials test your mobility skills, others your combat effectiveness and others your survivability, all skills that serve you well in Risk of Rain Returns. Many of the trials even unlock alternate abilities for the Survivors for use in the main game, along with some other secret unlockables…



There are over 40 different trials planned for release - today I'm going to showcase three of my personal favorites with you, starting with a mobility-focused trial for Loader.

Racing against the clock the goal of this Trial is to gain points by collecting as many coins as you possibly can scattered throughout the custom stage while avoiding attacks from Swifts and Mushrooms.



Along with points you can also collect items to speed up your progress, a combination of Hardlight Afterburners, Hopoo Feathers and Backup Magazines can be found to aid you, along with some custom Bonus Stock pickups for your skills.



Utilise your grapple hook and your new ability Short Circuit to navigate the stage as fast as possible - A passing grade for this trial currently sits at 40 points - but the truly skilled can aim for the golden crown score of 70 points.

Next up, test your combat effectiveness against 4 rows of slowly encroaching enemies with this trial featuring Sniper.

Confined to a small section in the centre of the stage you must use your abilities carefully to inflict damage to as many enemies as you can while carefully prioritising which row you think poses the greatest threat - if any enemy reaches the centre its game over.



When you reach certain point thresholds, items (with a small degree of randomness) spawn in your cage to help you reach the higher scores.

As time marches on the enemies that spawn get stronger and faster making some real panic moments where a perfectly executed active reload can make the difference between success and failure.



Finally let's take a look at a strategy-focussed trial featuring Engineer. Set on a small custom stage the start of the trial is triggered by collecting either ATG Missiles or Prison Shackles from the center platform.

Once started, groups of enemies spawn on the stage in waves and you have full use of your abilities to defeat them. Between waves 2 new items spawn and you have to pick between them before increasingly difficult enemies start to spawn. If either you or one of your turrets dies before you achieve the target score, you fail the trial.



Will you increase your survivability by picking healing and utility items? Or will you focus on increasing your damage to kill the enemies as efficiently as possible? Pick carefully and plan your strategy to ensure success in this trial!



Don’t forget these are just three of the 40+ of Providence Trials coming in Risk of Rain Returns. We can’t wait for you to try them all later this year!



[h3]50 Facts about Risk of Rain Returns[/h3]

Hungry for more information about Risk of Rain Returns? Starting tomorrow on the Hopoo Games YouTube and Tiktok every few days I'll be posting a new mini video giving exclusive info on different aspects and content in Risk of Rain Returns.

There will be 50 videos in total each showcasing different parts of the game, new items, new monsters, new features and much much more - make sure you’re following us on the platform of your choice to not miss out!


YouTube
TikTok



A couple of reminders before we draw todays Dev Thoughts to a close:

Don’t forget to give the game a Wishlist on Steam -

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1337520/Risk_of_Rain_Returns/

Make sure you’re following us on our
YouTube and TikTok linked above as well as our Twitch and Twitter for the latest on Risk of Rain Returns

Make sure you check out the video Dev Thoughts at the top of the page for an exclusive gameplay clip featuring Artificer who is making her 2d debut after first appearing in Risk of Rain 2…

…and speaking of new Survivors, join us next time when you’ll get an exclusive reveal of the first all new Survivor joining the roster in Risk of Rain Returns…



Cya then!

Jonathan
Hopoo Games
Community Manager