Monaco 2

About

Monaco 2 is a single player and multiplayer casual action adventure game with a thriller theme. It was developed by Pocketwatch Games and was released on April 10, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Get your crew back together The crack team of hackers and masterminds at Pocketwatch Games is in the backroom planning out Monaco II, the sequel to the hyper-stylized heist hit that PC Gamer called “one of the best co-op games of all time.” The vision to pull off this job is simple. Bring in a new rogues’ gallery of skilled thieves and infiltration experts to play. Let them loose in an intriguing…

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69%

Audience ScoreBased on 137 reviews

story8 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

The game retains the chaotic charm of the original, making it a fun experience, especially in co-op mode.
The graphics and level design are visually appealing, with a more detailed 3D environment that enhances immersion.
The character abilities and upgrades add depth to gameplay, allowing for varied strategies and approaches to heists.

The gameplay feels more linear and less creative compared to the original, with many levels having only one clear path to complete objectives.
The multiplayer experience is lacking, with a very low player base online, making it difficult to find others to play with.
The camera perspective can be jarring and makes it hard to navigate levels, often obscuring important elements like coins and objectives.

story
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
79%
7%
The story in Monaco 2 has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it less engaging and coherent compared to its predecessor. While the game features lively comic book-style cutscenes and a fully voice-acted cast, the narrative is criticized for being rushed, with unresolved plot threads and underdeveloped characters. Overall, the story lacks the charm and depth that made the original game memorable, leaving players feeling disconnected from the heist experience.
- “A fully voice acted cast comes in to tell the story through lively comic book-style cutscenes and keeps the gameplay entertaining with funny situational quips.”
- “I like the new graphics, story, music, and voice acting.”
- “The story and writing is just bad.”
- “The last five missions or so feel very rushed, as there's a lot of plot threads you don't get a resolution on.”
- “While the first game also wasn't a narrative masterpiece, it still did far more interesting things with its cast and the whole 'tell the story from multiple perspectives' and ended up being a more satisfying game.”
gameplay
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
61%
9%
The gameplay in Monaco 2 has received mixed reviews, with some praising its chaotic fun and character diversity, while others criticize its lack of proper tutorials and balance issues among characters. Players appreciate the new mechanics and the cooperative experience, but many feel that the level design and overall execution fall short compared to the original game, leading to a sometimes tedious and confusing experience. Despite its flaws, the game offers potential for enjoyable moments, especially in multiplayer settings.
- “The gameplay is well crafted; the maps feel large and complex enough to pose a real challenge while still offering plenty of potential approaches and strategies.”
- “We love the new 'scoping out' mechanic before each round begins; it really captures that 'planning a heist with your friends' feel.”
- “The fact that now each character has special perks to unlock and you can choose one at a time can significantly change their gameplay and give you access to even more strategies.”
- “A lot of mechanics are not properly tutorialized (smoke bombs are way more powerful than just losing guards, explosives can destroy doors and lasers, you can pick up sleeping guards and store them in hiding places to remove them from the map, etc.).”
- “Even just setting design philosophy aside (which is subjective, yes), Monaco 2 is nowhere near what Monaco 1 delivered on; the levels are much more contrived and oftentimes messier, there's no tutorial for updated/new mechanics to ease players into the levels, enemy AI has questionable and confusing logic at times, the characters are severely unbalanced, tools (such as the smoke bomb) are arguably half broken and don't function as they should, the collectibles blend in too much with the environments, and overall sometimes it just feels like there's too much going on at once.”
- “The gameplay itself feels like it’s trying to be quirky for the sake of quirkiness, but instead lands squarely in the realm of nonsense.”
graphics
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
56%
11%
The graphics in Monaco 2 have received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the new stylized 3D isometric look and increased detail compared to the original's pixel art. However, the forced perspective and busier visuals have been criticized for obscuring important gameplay elements, making navigation and item identification more challenging. Overall, while the graphics are visually appealing, they may detract from the gameplay experience for some players.
- “I was somewhat reserved about the idea of the new art style and all that, but I have 0 regrets!”
- “Though different, I rather do like the new graphics direction.”
- “It both manages to keep graphics stylized and readable most of the time, while still bringing in a lot more detail than what you found in the first game.”
- “The graphics here are an actual hindrance to what is going on.”
- “The graphics make it hard to find what you need - eg. the safes are hard to see as opposed to the old game where you can immediately figure out where you need to go.”
- “It's got the same charm as the first, but I do think the visual style is more cluttered and causes more confusion than the art style of the first game.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
10%
10%
The music in the game has received high praise for its excellent sound design, featuring reactive jazz that intensifies with the action. Many players appreciate the soundtrack, noting its catchy themes and stellar composition by Austin Wintory, which enhances the overall experience and evokes nostalgia for the original game. While some have mixed feelings about the game's transition to a more cartoonish style, the music remains a standout element that contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere.
- “Sound design is once again excellent, with reactive jazz music that ramps up as the action escalates.”
- “Special shoutout to the OST by Austin Wintory, which is just stellar.”
- “The music is similarly excellent to the first game and the gameplay goes from controlled and tactical to pure panic at the drop of a hat!”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
Overall, the game's optimization is severely lacking, with frequent stuttering, crashes, and performance issues that hinder the experience, especially in multiplayer settings. While some players find enjoyment in the gameplay mechanics and speedrunning aspects, many reviewers cannot recommend the game until significant performance improvements are made.
- “And if you like scoring and leaderboards, it's still a speedrunner's paradise with crazy tactics and optimization to be had.”
- “There are a few other issues here (for one, the performance could be better) that will probably be fixed as time goes on, but since the level design is the core of the game, I can't imagine there's an easy fix for these problems without fundamentally changing what the game even is.”
- “However, performance is terrible.”
- “I can't really recommend it until they improve performance optimization.”
- “At the end of the fourth level, there was a cutscene that ran worse than a slideshow, with the character models stuttering and warping, and the only reason I could even understand what was going on is because of the audio.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been criticized for being buggy, with frequent issues such as players getting stuck in walls and occasional game freezes. While these problems can be frustrating, they do not significantly detract from the overall experience for some users.
- “I've asked on forums and troubleshooting pages, but I've never received an acknowledgment of the issue.”
- “It's pretty buggy, with the most annoying and frequent issue being getting stuck in the wall.”
- “I've encountered some random game freezes, but it's not too much of a hindrance to the experience.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a fully voice-acted cast and vibrant comic book-style cutscenes that enhance its humor, delivering entertaining situational quips and chaotic gameplay, especially in multiplayer. Overall, it is praised for its stylish wit and comedic elements that keep players engaged.
- “A fully voice acted cast comes in to tell the story for lively comic book style cutscenes and keeps the gameplay entertaining with funny situational quips.”
- “This leads to some hilariously chaotic gameplay, particularly when playing with friends.”
- “It's all just dripping with style, wit, and humor.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The atmosphere is noted for its strong narrative elements, but the initial planning stage feels unnecessary, leading to a sense of impatience as players are eager to dive into the action rather than engage in strategic preparation.
- “The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into the world and making every moment feel significant.”
- “The game's sound design and visuals create a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that keeps you on edge.”
- “Each location is meticulously crafted, contributing to an overall sense of wonder and tension that enhances the gameplay experience.”
- “The planning stage at the beginning feels pointless; it only serves to create a story atmosphere, which ultimately detracts from the gameplay experience.”
- “The atmosphere is overshadowed by a lack of meaningful engagement, making the initial planning feel like a chore rather than an immersive experience.”
- “While the game attempts to build an atmosphere, it often falls flat, leaving players feeling disconnected and unmotivated to explore.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's dynamic map generation enhances replayability by offering randomized levels, making it a worthwhile experience for players. However, this approach sacrifices some of the intricate, puzzle-like design that characterized the first game.
- “Instead of hand-crafted maps, each mission is dynamically built, which boosts replayability but sacrifices some of the clever, puzzle-like design the first game was known for.”
- “There's a lot of focus on replay value with this one too, with the randomized levels, so it's definitely worth the price, in my opinion.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is highlighted by enjoyable and tropey character designs, along with engaging new abilities and upgrades that enhance gameplay once mastered.
- “The character design is fun, and the new abilities (and upgrades) are a lot of fun once you get the hang of them!”
- “The character design is good if you enjoy tropey character design.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious due to the large and expansive stages, which require them to repeat entire levels after failing a heist. While the setpieces and art style are praised, the repetitive nature of the gameplay detracts from the overall experience.
- “Because stages are so huge and expansive, failing a heist becomes tedious because you have to repeat the entire large stage again.”
- “Fantastic set pieces with an art style I personally find appealing, but it just feels a bit tedious on the gameplay side.”