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Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2

PopCap Games didn’t just recapture their old thunder, they magnified it to Zeus-like proportions.
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 Game Cover
86%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
grinding, monetization
91% User Score Based on 22,861 reviews
Critic Score 82%Based on 32 reviews

Platforms

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Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 Game Cover

About

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is a single player and multiplayer survival shooter game with a comedy theme. It was developed by PopCap and was released on May 16, 2022. It received positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

The battle for Suburbia grows to crazy new heights in Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2! Deluxe Edition includes: - Plant class custom accessories pack - Zombie class custom accessories pack - Mystery character variant pack - PvZ Coins starter pack

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Play Modes
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 screenshot
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91%
Audience ScoreBased on 22,861 reviews
gameplay198 positive mentions
grinding108 negative mentions
  • The gameplay is fun, fast-paced, and strategic, successfully balancing accessibility for newcomers with depth for veterans, and offering diverse characters and multiplayer modes that keep matches fresh and exciting.
  • The game features vibrant, colorful, and cartoony graphics with imaginative, quirky character designs, complemented by an iconic, catchy, and nostalgic soundtrack that enhances the whimsical, playful atmosphere.
  • It provides extensive replayability through a large roster of distinct character variants, varied multiplayer and co-op modes, and a lighthearted, humorous tone with witty dialogue and charming interactions.
  • The game is heavily grindy, often requiring extensive time investment for unlocking characters and rewards, which can be tedious and overwhelming especially for casual players.
  • Optimization and technical performance are inconsistent, with frequent reports of lag, stuttering, crashes, and ongoing issues caused by anti-cheat updates, impacting the overall smoothness and enjoyment.
  • Persistent cheating, exploiters in multiplayer, intrusive microtransactions, and problematic monetization practices detract from the experience and frustrate the player community.
  • gameplay
    449 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2" is widely praised for its fun, fast-paced, and strategic third-person shooter mechanics, balancing accessibility for newcomers with depth for veterans. It offers a diverse roster of characters and modes that keep matches fresh and engaging, though some note occasional balance issues and the presence of hackers in multiplayer. Overall, it delivers an addictive and enjoyable experience with a strong community, despite some grind and monetization criticisms.

    • “The gameplay is amazing, the customization, character variants, and upgrades are great, and it's a masterpiece of a game.”
    • “Whether blasting enemies in objective‑based modes or battling it out in turf takeover, the game balances accessible shooting mechanics with strategic teamwork. Every match feels unpredictable and packed with action, keeping gameplay fresh and exciting. Despite the colorful, slightly cartoonish style, the gameplay is fast-paced and dynamic.”
    • “Plants vs. zombies™ garden warfare 2 delivers vibrant visuals, fun multiplayer, creative characters, and engaging gameplay, perfect for casual and competitive players!”
    • “Any PvP game with insta-kill mechanics is bad design.”
    • “Players must sift through layers of menus, currencies, and cosmetic items to reach the core gameplay, which itself feels less disciplined than before.”
    • “You spawn in and immediately die, awful, impossible to aim, hackers, and lots of other crappy game mechanics, and therefore to conclude how awful this game is I must say that selling this game for $30 is absolutely insane!”
  • story
    439 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story mode offers a humorous, light-hearted campaign with fun missions and charming characters, providing a decent single-player experience that complements the multiplayer focus. While some find the story short, repetitive, and lacking depth, the quests, side missions, and hub world exploration add engaging variety and replayability. Overall, the story is enjoyable but not the main attraction, serving more as a supplemental backdrop to the game's robust multiplayer and PvE content.

    • “I've been playing this game for years on my PS4 and the second I moved to PC I immediately bought this game. It has a myriad of different characters, variants, and missions that you can access with its very own campaign, that you can pour many hours into because of its fun and unique challenges.”
    • “The story-driven territory takeovers give you a solid reason to pick a side — either play as the plants to take back your streets, or as the zombies to hold onto the territory they’ve captured.”
    • “Alongside those hubs are missions that you can progress the story for each faction.”
    • “The singleplayer starts out dull and slow with meaningless fetch quests or spec ops (which get old after the first three times you've tried them because the enemy AI doesn't advance even with their heroes) matches for hours until you can unlock the star quests which have more variety but aren't worth the amount of time you had to waste to get there.”
    • “The open hub areas attempt to create a sense of exploration, but they are filled with fetch quests and minor challenges that lack narrative depth.”
    • “The storymode isn't that great; it is mostly the same for both zombies and plants.”
  • humor
    329 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is widely praised for its goofy, lighthearted charm, characterized by playful banter, quirky character designs, and comical animations that evoke a cartoon-like, Saturday morning vibe. Players enjoy the game's silly, fun moments both in story mode and multiplayer, highlighting its consistent comedic tone that enhances replayability and social gameplay. Despite occasional frustrations with hackers, the humor remains a defining and beloved feature that makes the game stand out as an entertaining and memorable experience.

    • “The original Plants vs. Zombies thrived on simplicity, humor, and clever strategic design.”
    • “The humor is consistent throughout—from goofy taunts and bizarre victory poses to the absurd voice lines and background props.”
    • “Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is the ultimate fusion of humor, strategy, and action-packed gameplay.”
  • graphics
    307 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 are widely praised for their vibrant, colorful, and cartoony art style that effectively captures the franchise's quirky charm and brings its characters and environments to life. While some users feel the graphics may overwhelm the screen or prefer the first game's style, most agree it holds up well even years after release, offering polished visuals and smooth animations. However, the game requires a dedicated graphics card (NVIDIA or AMD), with many reporting issues running it on integrated Intel graphics.

    • “The game excels in its colorful, cartoony art style, bringing the zany world of plants and zombies to life with exaggerated, fun visuals and humorous character designs.”
    • “Powered by the Frostbite engine, the graphics are fluid and sharp, with detailed animations that lean into the franchise’s quirky aesthetic.”
    • “From the moment you dive into the vibrant and colorful world of Garden Warfare 2, you're immediately greeted by an artistic masterpiece that effortlessly blends captivating visuals with inventive design.”
    • “I don't usually mind graphics in games, but Jesus Christ this is the ugliest game I have ever seen that I can't even play it!”
    • “Seriously wish more content from Garden Warfare 1 was carried over: for example, the graphics in one were far prettier and more vibrant than two's, and the maps from the previous game should have also been carried over.”
    • “The decline of artstyle is very visible in GW2, some things just don't fit in. GW2 artstyle is really, really repulsive in my opinion compared to GW1.”
  • grinding
    136 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players consistently describe the game as heavily grindy, often requiring extensive time investment to unlock characters, variants, and rewards, with some comparing it to a second job. Although grinding can be tedious or frustrating, many find it enjoyable and rewarding due to engaging gameplay, variety, and multiplayer features. Overall, grinding is a core but divisive aspect—appealing to dedicated players while potentially overwhelming casual ones.

    • “Perfect game, great characters, great cosmetics, and not grindy.”
    • “There are a ton of options here from PvE to PvP or grinding to no grinding.”
    • “You’ll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The game is waaaaaay too grindy for something that should be played casually after a 9-5.”
    • “Grinding for legendaries can feel like applying for a second job.”
    • “However this game is extremely grindy; it can take well over 50 hours to get a single legendary character and there are modes that you can no longer play, so you can no longer get all achievements like cat vs dinos or boss hunt.”
  • replayability
    86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players consistently praise the game's extensive replayability, highlighting its diverse and numerous character variants, vibrant multiplayer modes, and a robust mix of co-op and PvP content that keeps gameplay fresh. While some note the singleplayer campaign is light and certain gameplay grind can feel long, the overall abundance of unlockables, customization, and enjoyable mechanics sustain engagement over hundreds of hours. However, a persistent issue with hackers in online modes slightly undermines the replay experience for some.

    • “The sheer number of different characters makes this game incredibly replayable as well as most of them being quite distinct from one another.”
    • “With its variety of characters and variants for each character the replayability is endless.”
    • “The character variants also add significant replayability—many of them offer new ways to play familiar classes, adding effects like freezing, fire damage, or splash effects to basic attacks.”
    • “Lots of hackers but my childhood game is only a little replayable.”
    • “Was hoping for a better coop experience but instead it really only provides 1 horde game mode for plants and zombies which are not exactly that replayable.”
    • “DLCs like Torch and Tail are not purchasable on Steam which contains trial keys and two more playable characters.”
  • music
    75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its catchy, nostalgic, and iconic soundtrack that perfectly complements the playful, whimsical atmosphere and gameplay. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, often describing it as timeless, energetic, and integral to the game’s charm and replayability. Although some note that it doesn't quite surpass the first game's music, the overall sound design and score receive consistently high acclaim.

    • “The soundtrack is awesome and has some seriously iconic songs!”
    • “Audio design complements the visual flair, with playful sound effects, catchy background music, and character voices that reflect the game's offbeat tone.”
    • “From the delightful jingles in the backyard to the epic music that accompanies intense battles, the audio elements contribute significantly to the game's overall charm.”
    • “Every soundtrack in the first Garden Warfare was more memorable.”
    • “Music and sounds are serviceable, nothing notable or terrible on either side of the spectrum.”
    • “This is a good game by all means, but the amount of exploiters is insane; try to get in a public lobby of Turf Takeover and you'll be blasted by incredibly loud music, and get frozen in one place, unable to exit the game, with the only way of exiting being task manager.”
  • monetization
    67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's monetization is marked by prevalent microtransactions and a grind-heavy progression system, which some players find intrusive or predatory, though most agree that purchases are optional and not outright required to enjoy the content. While the presence of microtransactions is seen as a downside, many reviews acknowledge that unlockable content can be earned through gameplay without paying. However, criticisms remain about aggressive pricing, occasional pay-to-win elements, and EA's handling of the game as a cash grab with limited support and anti-cheat enforcement.

    • “It has microtransactions, but they don't feel forced upon you (unlike other games). Progression is fast and you're always unlocking new character variants; the single-player is incredible.”
    • “I've been playing this game since day one in 2016 and got it on Steam in December 2024. While the first Garden Warfare was an extremely good shooter, this improved on it in every way. This game was also made when EA were still innovating in the gaming scene, with all in-game purchases being optional and all items being unlockable for free.”
    • “The inclusion of microtransactions doesn't feel intrusive, and the progression system remains rewarding for players who choose not to spend additional money.”
    • “I understand that not liking the gameplay loop might just be my personal preference, but the awful monetization is inexcusable for a game that already costs 30€.”
    • “The design leans uncomfortably close to monetization tactics that prioritize retention metrics over player satisfaction.”
    • “By prioritizing excess over elegance and monetization over meaningful progression, it undermines the charm and strategic heart that once defined the franchise.”
  • stability
    63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely reported as buggy and unstable, with frequent crashes, server issues, and persistent glitches that impact gameplay and progression, including problems with cheating and unreliable matchmaking. Despite these technical flaws, many players still find it fun and enjoyable, often embracing its quirks and recommending it for casual or private play. However, ongoing lack of fixes and poor support from the publisher contribute to frustration among the community.

    • “Very fun to play when the game is not buggy or laggy when you do anything.”
    • “It still holds up visually and runs great.”
    • “Performance: shortly put, this game runs great on Steam Deck.”
    • “If this game just had a massive bug update to fix the rampant cheaters, servers being buggy, XP leveling not saving after games (this one is the worst because you can grind for 3 hours and have all of that wiped), you'd have a fun, super arcady shooter with lots of incentives to grind.”
    • “Almost all of my "2 hours" of play time are solely from troubleshooting and trying to get past the launcher, only being successful once out of roughly a hundred times reopening this game.”
    • “I've tried pretty much everything since then to fix the issue; reinstalled the game, reinstalled EA's launcher, reinstalled the anti-cheat (at least 20 times over the course of my troubleshooting), deleted the anti-cheat, deleted the EA launcher, updated Windows, updated drivers, updated some old versions of Microsoft Visual C++, and still nothing.”
  • optimization
    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Optimization for this game receives mixed reviews, with some users reporting excellent performance and high frame rates on powerful systems, while many others suffer from lag, stuttering, crashes, and poor optimization especially on lower-end hardware or certain platforms like Steam Deck. EA's anti-cheat updates have been criticized for degrading performance and causing compatibility issues, further impacting the overall experience. Despite occasional smooth gameplay, players frequently highlight persistent technical problems and underwhelming optimization efforts.

    • “Optimization: 10/10 (I get 300-500 FPS on ultra settings)”
    • “Amazing game, servers are good, optimized af, amazing gameplay, diverse characters and features.”
    • “Overall, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is a fantastic game that combines fun gameplay, regular events, stunning graphics, and smooth performance.”
    • “Constant performance issues all the way into crashing and it's kinda just dead now.”
    • “Game refuses to run properly, endless stuttering even with a rig miles above the recommended, tried everything I could think and find and nothing works.”
    • “Trash garbage, anticheat update did nothing except make cheaters run even more rampant, made performance 5x worse and removed all Linux players.”
  • emotional
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a deep emotional connection to the game, often describing it as nostalgic, heartwarming, and even heartbreaking due to its story and personal memories. Many recall moments that made them cry or feel profoundly moved, highlighting its ability to evoke strong feelings beyond typical gameplay. However, some emotional responses are mixed with frustration over technical issues and unmet expectations, adding a layer of complexity to their experience.

    • “Crazy Dave's and Dr. Zomboss' lore is deep, filled with one of the most devastating and heartbreaking betrayals in fiction.”
    • “I cannot think of any other game that made me feel the way I felt when playing this.”
    • “This game has brought me to tears several times and that is why it is winning the heartwarming and emotional awards respectively from me.”
  • character development
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is widely praised for its imaginative, quirky, and colorful character designs that bring a fun, humorous, and charming personality to the gameplay. Despite some criticism of specific characters and a perceived decline in updates, the roster and customization options remain a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's appeal and dedicated fanbase.

    • “The character designs, both on the plant and zombie factions, are imaginative and endearing.”
    • “From the quirky character designs to the witty dialogue, the game brims with personality at every turn.”
    • “From the character designs, their abilities, the well done and interesting maps, the remixed/unique soundtrack, the fantastic cosmetics this game grabbed the 'hero shooter' genre and turned it into such a unique, charming and addicting experience that I understand why the game has such a loyal dedicated fanbase.”
  • atmosphere
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features a bright, colorful cartoon style and whimsical soundtrack that create a lighthearted, wholesome atmosphere. Its witty dialogue, playful character interactions, and clever pop culture references make for a unique, engaging, and nostalgic experience. Overall, the atmosphere is widely praised for being fun and distinct.

    • “Bright, saturated colors, cartoon style, and detailed locations create a unique atmosphere.”
    • “The whimsical soundtrack complements the lighthearted atmosphere, enhancing the game's overall appeal.”
    • “The whimsical interactions between the characters, the witty dialogue, and the clever pop culture references create an atmosphere that's as delightful as it is engaging.”
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82%Critics’ scoreBased on 32 critic reviews
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52h Median play time
338h Average play time
7h Main story
104h Completionist
13-479h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 55 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is a survival shooter game with comedy theme.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

The main story can be completed in around 7 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 104 hours to finish. On average players spend around 338 hours playing Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 was released on May 16, 2022.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 was developed by PopCap.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Plants vs. Zombies, Plants vs. Zombies, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Battlefield 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and others.