Intravenous 2

About

Intravenous 2 is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Explosive Squat Games and was released on August 15, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Intravenous 2 is the ultimate blend of tactical gameplay and immersive storytelling. Will you embrace the shadows or confront your foes head-on? The choice is yours. Experience a new era of tactical stealth action. Save lives. Uncover secrets. Take vengeance.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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97%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,230 reviews

story120 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

Intravenous 2 is a significant improvement over the first game, with enhanced gameplay mechanics, better AI, and a more engaging story.
The game offers a variety of approaches to missions, allowing players to choose between stealth and loud combat, which adds to its replayability.
The weapon customization system is extensive, providing players with the ability to tailor their loadouts to fit their playstyle.

The enemy AI can sometimes be overly reactive, leading to frustrating situations where players are overwhelmed by enemies after a single mistake.
Some mechanics, such as the interaction system for picking up items, feel clunky and less intuitive compared to the first game.
The story and dialogue can be lackluster, with some players finding it dull and not as compelling as the gameplay.

story
520 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
73%
4%
The story in "Intravenous 2" has received mixed feedback, with some players finding it engaging and well-integrated into the gameplay, while others criticize it as dull or lacking depth. Many appreciate the branching paths and choices that affect the narrative, enhancing replayability, but some feel the dialogue and plot are uninspired or overly simplistic. Overall, while the story may not be groundbreaking, it serves its purpose in supporting the game's mechanics and atmosphere.
- “I've never lost track of time when playing a singleplayer game; yet, the first time I played this game, I stayed up till 5 in the morning getting completely lost and engrossed in the mechanics, as well as the story; admittedly, I set my expectations low for it (assuming this would be a game that almost entirely disregards story for gameplay), but it ended up being really captivating and just another one of many things that I would praise about this game.”
- “The depth of the story is enhanced by the evolving relationship between the protagonists, making each playthrough a unique experience based on your choices.”
- “Set in a crime-ridden world inspired by classic noir, 'intravenous 2' tells the story of two unlikely allies on a mission of revenge.”
- “I will say though, the story and dialogue is the most boring drivel imaginable.”
- “The story is childish, tame, uninspired and there is nothing thought-provoking or interesting to be found.”
- “The story and dialogue are rough, but the gameplay is excellent.”
gameplay
364 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
65%
2%
The gameplay of this title has been widely praised for its engaging mechanics, offering a refreshing blend of stealth and combat that encourages various playstyles and strategies. Players appreciate the depth of customization, challenging AI, and the rewarding nature of mastering the game's systems, although some have noted that certain mechanics could benefit from further refinement. Overall, the gameplay is described as addictive and immersive, with significant improvements over its predecessor, making it a standout experience for fans of tactical stealth games.
- “Overall, though, the gameplay is what matters here and it does not disappoint.”
- “The gameplay is very fun with the stealth being quite challenging but very rewarding, and the overall combat is very risky but engaging.”
- “Both the stealth and combat mechanics feel excellent, giving the game lots of replayability by rewarding different playstyles.”
- “The gameplay design is quite poor.”
- “One other area of nasty gameplay design is doors.”
- “Imagine making a sequel to a fun, aggressive top-down shooter and adding escort missions with brainless AI/awful pathfinding (exacerbated by the bad quick menus) and an inconsistent tripping mechanic where enemies fall when shot, causing them to only be targetable by the fickle laser aiming for a couple seconds.”
music
186 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
52%
2%
The music in "Intravenous 2" has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its dynamic and engaging soundtrack composed by xtrullor, which enhances the game's atmosphere and gameplay experience. The soundtrack is described as "banging," "epic," and "goosebumps inducing," effectively complementing both stealth and action sequences, making it a standout feature of the game. Overall, players feel that the music not only elevates the gameplay but also adds significant emotional depth to the story.
- “The music also gets a special mention, and adds intensity to the story and environments that otherwise wouldn't quite be there with a text-only game using top-down cutscenes.”
- “The soundtrack is also one of the best I've heard in recent years; if you're going to buy this game, buy the supporter edition so that the composer gets his due for his hardcore track list and you get a downloadable copy of it for yourself.”
- “The soundtrack got a serious upgrade from the first title with tonally accurate, escalating tracks made by xtrullor.”
- “The soundtrack also puts some real soul into this game, bringing a sort of gritty and nostalgic presence to the entire game.”
- “Why would you make a stealth-based game and then make the loud music so fire?”
graphics
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
69%
5%
The game's graphics feature a blend of pixelated art reminiscent of classic titles like Hotline Miami, combined with modern shaders and dynamic lighting that enhance its darker themes. While many players appreciate the stylized visuals and detailed environments, some have noted issues with object discernibility and washed-out appearances on max settings. Overall, the graphics are considered engaging and functional, contributing positively to the gameplay experience.
- “Classic pixel graphics, reminiscent of the timeless side-scrolling titles many of us grew up on, provide a very fitting image for the game's darker themes when mixed with modern shaders and dynamic lighting that have very real gameplay functions.”
- “The artwork, especially on portraits, and the music is absolutely fantastic.”
- “The graphics for a top-down shooter are awesome.”
- “I'll start with the graphics which look completely washed out even on max settings.”
- “Visuals are fine, but sometimes it can be hard to discern which object is interactable and which is not.”
- “Actually a pretty good game, I just can't stand retro style pixel graphics.”
replayability
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
45%
7%
The game boasts high replayability due to its excellent stealth and combat mechanics, allowing players to explore various playstyles and approaches. With multiple endings, customizable loadouts, and branching paths, players can experience the game in numerous ways, enhancing its overall value. The combination of diverse gameplay options and a rich environment contributes to its infinite replay potential, making it a worthwhile investment for fans of the genre.
- “The fact that you can finish each level a million different ways makes the game infinitely replayable, and the top-down 2D visual style makes the game a great candidate for future workshop content that I simply can't wait to see.”
- “With multiple endings, various difficulty settings, and a rich array of gameplay options, it offers significant replay value.”
- “Intravenous 2 has even better replayability than the first installment, so for anyone who enjoyed the first game, I highly recommend purchasing this one.”
- “A lot of the time you just end up sticking to a specific playstyle that works best for you while ignoring a lot of the options the game gives you, though I guess that does give it more replay value in the end.”
- “It's a very typical yet serviceable action plot, and the choices you can make along with the multiple endings add replay value.”
- “The environment is beautiful and reactive to shots and explosions, the enemy AI is better than most triple-A games I've played, including their ability to wait for friends before clearing a room (properly too, so you can't just cheese them while they enter one by one, they will cover each other), the length and replayability is very high and the soundtrack is in my Spotify rotation since release.”
atmosphere
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
16%
17%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its gritty, realistic art style and dynamic lighting, which effectively enhance the noir aesthetic and create a tense, immersive experience. The soundtrack complements the overall theme, adding to the game's coolness and relatability, while the dark, atmospheric environments contribute to its replayability and engaging storytelling. Overall, players find the atmosphere to be a standout feature, elevating the game's appeal significantly.
- “Intravenous 2 is a tense and atmospheric stealth game when you are unspotted.”
- “Gritty, realistic art style with dynamic lighting and atmospheric environments that enhance the noir aesthetic.”
- “Incredible atmosphere, super replayable.”
- “The game feels like a blend of 'Police Story' and 'Hotline Miami 1 & 2' in its graphical style, with fairly large maps and a dark atmosphere.”
- “The game’s visual style and atmosphere are reminiscent of these influences, with a top-down perspective that immerses players in its dark, gritty world.”
- “Story & atmosphere: 11/10”
emotional
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, highlighting feelings of nostalgia for past gaming experiences and a sense of empowerment through skillful gameplay. The story, while not groundbreaking, is described as heartwarming, particularly in its best ending, leaving players with a wholesome impression of the characters. Overall, the game evokes a mix of nostalgia, empowerment, and warmth.
- “Made me feel nostalgic for the flash games I grew up with.”
- “After maybe like 3 years since I played the first Intravenous game, I was hooked on the series that made me feel powerful knowing I have to use my skills and tactics against my enemy, and Intravenous 2 hypes that up to 100.”
- “Update after finishing the game: the game was amazing, the story writing was not special but is really heartwarming in the best ending.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Overall, the game is well-optimized, delivering smooth performance even on older hardware, aided by a detailed options menu. While users report minor bugs and occasional pathfinding issues, these do not significantly detract from the overall experience.
- “Performance is really, really good, even on pretty dated hardware, helped in part by the fairly detailed and labeled options menu.”
- “Runs smoothly overall, though minor bugs and pathfinding issues can occur in specific scenarios.”
- “Absolute crazy music, clean graphics, optimized, replayed like 7 times.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be frustrating, particularly due to a lack of guidance and the tedious nature of exploration. The New Game+ mode is seen as underwhelming, offering little new content aside from carrying over items, while the finicky mechanics can lead to wasted resources and a sense of annoyance. Overall, the grinding experience detracts from the enjoyment of the game.
- “Grinding achievements can be a bit annoying without any guidance or reliance on saves; New Game+ can feel a bit underwhelming since it doesn't do anything new other than carry over your stuff from the previous game.”
- “Exploration is tedious, and I quit before I might learn that the extra $200 is worth the trouble.”
- “It's so finicky to the point that you have to make sure it's perfectly aimed at the thing you want to disable (e.g., I wanted to turn off one of the wall lights and ended up wasting the battery on it because I didn't remember to aim towards the specific target, which I personally think is so tedious for no apparent reason).”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its nostalgic 2000s flash game charm, featuring over-the-top dialogue filled with profanity and a polished attention to detail. Players find it both hilarious and rewarding to observe the AI's human-like panic in response to their actions, contributing to an entertaining experience.
- “The dialogue has hilarious 2000's flash game charm with everyone shouting profanity at you for no reason, and it's definitely clear that the developers put a lot of effort into small details that result in a polished and highly entertaining game.”
- “It is hilarious and rewarding to watch the AI panic in a human-like way to your terror.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been reported to have stability issues, particularly with buggy AI behavior and enemy interactions, which can detract from the overall experience.
- “The game can still be a bit buggy, especially with the AI.”
- “Enemies are buggy.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game is criticized for heavily penalizing players who attempt stealth gameplay, despite the game promoting itself as offering stealth options. This inconsistency has led to frustration among users who feel misled by the marketing.