If you enjoyed the first Risen, then you’ll probably love Risen 2 — the graphics are significantly more colorful and vibrant, the fighting is more organic, and the stories and factions that were in the first game are back in the second, still allowing you to do more and explore the world.

The one major change we got to see was that Pirahna Bytes has abandoned the sword-and-shield idea, and instead gone for a dual wield setup, letting you put a gun in one hand and a sword in the other. But even that isn’t really necessary — the whole point of a game like this is that you can do what you want, so if you want to just hack and slash or just shoot from a distance, that’s viable as well.

Which sounds good in theory, but in practice, Risen 2 seems to fall back down to the realities of game development. While the graphics look better, the gameplay still looks as frustrating and inaccessible as all of these other hardcore RPG titles, with various monsters assaulting you as soon as you step out into the world, and lots of complicated mechanics with not a lot of direction.