River City Girls 2

River City Girls 2 is a rare sequel that improves on almost every aspect of the original, a must play for fans of the first game, and highly recommended to anyone who likes beat 'em ups.

83%Game Brain Score

story, music

optimization, grinding

85% User Score Based on 978 reviews

Critic Score 82%Based on 22 reviews

Platforms

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About

River City Girls 2 is a single player and multiplayer arcade hack and slash game. It was developed by WayForward and was released on December 14, 2022. It received positive reviews from both critics and players.

"River City Girls 2" is the sequel to the beat-em-up game featuring Misako, Kyoko, Kunio, Riki, and newcomers Marian and Provie. Explore River City with new abilities, environments, and day-night cycles, while teaming up in local or online co-op. Experience enhanced combat with new moves, items, and recruit defeated foes, with six playable characters, each with unique fighting styles and upgradable move sets.

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85%

Audience ScoreBased on 978 reviews

story28 positive mentions

optimization14 negative mentions

Expanded gameplay with additional playable characters, various side quests, and mini-games, enhancing the overall game volume.
Excellent quality OST (Original Soundtrack), pixel arts & graphics, and charming cartoon-style cutscenes.
Fun, funny, and amusing with tons of content, making it a highly recommended sequel.

Poor AI results in low tension and repetitive combat patterns.
Inability to effectively execute DPS through aerial combos, leading to frustrating gameplay.
Long loading screens and tedious backtracking disrupt the overall flow of the game.

story
228 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
85%
3%
The story of "River City Girls 2" picks up immediately after the first game, focusing on Misako and Kyoko's humorous misadventures as they confront a vengeful yakuza family. While the narrative features plenty of meta-humor and references to the original series, many players feel it lacks the charm and coherence of its predecessor, often becoming bogged down by repetitive fetch quests and disjointed plot points. Overall, the story is seen as serviceable but not particularly engaging, with some players expressing disappointment in its execution compared to the first game.
- “The story picks up just after the end of the last game when Misako and Kyoko defeated a yakuza boss thinking she had kidnapped their boyfriends Kunio and Rikki, the protagonists of the original River City Ransom game, just to find out they'd just gone to a spa to relax, so now the yakuza's brother and father of course want revenge and set it off by getting Misako and Kyoko expelled from River City High (though Kyoko reminds us she doesn't even go to that school, like she said in the previous game).”
- “The story is hilarious, the replayability is there and worth running through multiple times.”
- “But all together this game is amazing, the variety in each character brings out a new feel, the story is fun and interesting, the side missions give you more to do, and bringing back characters from the first game was an awesome touch, not to mention the double dragon references, and Marian.”
- “The main story is a step down from RCG1 at all levels.”
- “The story doesn't need to make 'sense.' The main issue with the story is that it lacks all the charm that the first game had.”
- “A story that mocks you for investing any mental energy into it is not a story worth experiencing.”
music
192 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
44%
3%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many praising the original soundtrack by Megan McDuffie as a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. While some tracks are reused from the first game, the addition of new music has been noted, although opinions vary on its quality compared to the original. Overall, the soundtrack is described as catchy, engaging, and integral to the game's charm, making it a highlight for players.
- “Seriously, the soundtrack alone sold these games for me!”
- “The soundtrack is great!”
- “The gameplay is absolute combo porn and very fun, the writing is hilarious and the soundtrack slaps.”
- “The music is shit and plays dumb Muze songs or whatever her name is almost every chance it gets.”
- “So it's a shame that sometimes you'll be stuck with the same song for ages and then the other extreme by the end of the game when you'll be moving so fast you'll rarely hear past the first minute of a piece of music.”
- “I have never seen an art asset and music team let down by everyone else on a project so hard since... well, the first installment.”
gameplay
145 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
66%
3%
The gameplay in River City Girls 2 is a mix of familiar beat-em-up mechanics with new features, including expanded character options, side quests, and mini-games that enhance replayability. While the combat system is praised for its depth and humor, some players noted issues with pacing due to loading screens and minor bugs that disrupt the flow. Overall, the game offers a fun and engaging experience, though some feel it lacks the charm of its predecessor.
- “The gameplay is addictive, and the sprite work, cutscene animation, and character portraits are top-notch.”
- “The visuals are as polished as ever, the addition of fun mini-games for side quests helps keep the gameplay loop refreshing, and the combat and combo system are vastly improved: a combo counter, two wall bounces, new moves, a new meter, air combos, new cancels, new ways to launch, and more gimmicks to set characters apart!”
- “The gameplay is absolute combo fun and very enjoyable, the writing is hilarious, and the soundtrack is fantastic.”
- “This disrupts combo and overall gameplay flow.”
- “I went into this game thinking I'd enjoy it, but to be completely honest, the gameplay needs more character and impact.”
- “However, the patch also did a lot of changes to the gameplay, physics, and flow, making the game feel very off to many players, myself included.”
humor
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
3%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with many players enjoying the witty dialogue, character interactions, and meta-referential jokes, particularly the nods to classic titles like Double Dragon. However, some critiques highlight that the humor can feel forced or overextended, leading to moments that fall flat, especially when compared to the first installment. Overall, while the humor adds charm and entertainment, its execution varies, with some players finding it less polished in the sequel.
- “The gameplay is satisfying, and the humor and tone of the game is very entertaining, as well as the character interactions.”
- “The story is hilarious, the replayability is there and worth running through multiple times.”
- “Super cute, super funny, it was an absolute blast and I heavily recommend playing it, with friends or alone.”
- “I wouldn't consider RCG2 a story-focused game, so I don't think it's fair to detract points from it just because I personally did not enjoy having my kick-ass gameplay interrupted by MCU-tier quips and unfunny jokes.”
graphics
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
47%
5%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their excellent pixel art, charming cartoon-style cutscenes, and vibrant visuals that enhance the overall aesthetic. Players appreciate the attention to detail, smooth animations, and the engaging art style that complements the gameplay, making it a visually appealing experience. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's enjoyment and appeal.
- “Graphically, it's amazing; I love the art.”
- “The original game was left in a broken state where some moves had bad graphical glitches; thankfully the community fixed it... the devs didn't.”
- “The pixels crunch, the combos are animated smoothly, and it all just feels right on the graphical side, even more so than the first game.”
- “There's a ton of detail on every screen, and less than 30% of any part of the first game has actually been recycled here without a graphical overhaul.”
optimization
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
55%
26%
The game's optimization has seen significant improvements following a performance update that addressed initial issues like 30 fps locks and stuttering, making it more playable for many users. However, some players report that this update altered game mechanics, affecting combos and physics, leading to frustration. While the beta version has been praised for resolving most performance problems, minor issues still persist for some players, highlighting a mixed reception regarding overall optimization.
- “Update: since writing this review, there has been a performance patch released that fixes the 30 fps issues mentioned in this review.”
- “The beta significantly improves performance, to the point where I wish that was the version that released first.”
- “The game is fantastic now that the performance on PC has been fixed; I can wholeheartedly recommend it to all beat-em-up fans out there!”
- “Performance is all over the place and makes the game unplayable.”
- “At release, this game ran at 30fps with constant stuttering on all platforms including PC, despite the original supporting uncapped high frame rates without issue.”
- “The game itself is fun, but the performance issues are too awful to be ignored...”
grinding
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
8%
89%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and overly time-consuming due to excessive fetch quests, backtracking, and a bloated moveset. While some appreciate the depth it adds to the brawler experience, others criticize the combat mechanics as punishing and lacking engagement, making grinding feel more like a chore than a rewarding endeavor. Improvements in the economy of money and healing items have made grinding somewhat more viable, but the overall sentiment leans towards frustration with the grind-heavy design.
- “I've collected all recruits and their special last 2 variants. All that's left is to collect all the achievements, and it'll be onto the dumb plays where it's all just deaths and not farming money and moves because of how impossibly fun this game's combat is.”
- “This game has maps (levels) that could be a cool 20 minutes beat 'em up style, but it extends to fetch quests and minigames that make it a tedious hour (looking at you, Ocean Heights).”
- “And this really sucks when you desperately need the healing items, but you can't get them because farming the enemies is really hard, tedious, and not fun.”
- “River City Girls 2 just cannot utilize modern action mechanics for anything other than brain-numbing grinding.”
replayability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
70%
10%
The game offers significant replayability due to its multiple playable characters, each with unique movesets, and the humorous story that encourages multiple playthroughs. However, some players feel that the lack of diverse game modes and limitations on story mode plays per save slot hinder the overall replay value. Despite these concerns, many find the simple mechanics and character unlocks engaging enough to warrant repeated runs.
- “This is an amazing and fun game, it has simple mechanics and yet they are quite fun and there is a lot of replayability with the extra characters you get if only to see the changes in attitude.”
- “The story is hilarious, the replayability is there and worth running through multiple times.”
- “What I want to point out is that what made the first game so fun and enjoyable was that it was a tight, short, and sweet game with tons of replayability.”
- “There are not any other game modes besides story mode at this time, so only allowing 2 story mode plays per save slot seems to limit replayability.”
- “Regardless, I think a linear map design would be better and more replayable, especially for multiplayer, than trying to be an underwhelming metroidvania.”
- “New minigames are not replayable (yet?) without doing a new run.”
stability
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
91%
Overall, the game's stability has seen significant improvements compared to its predecessor, with many players reporting no crashes or freezes during gameplay. However, some users still encounter minor visual glitches, frame-rate drops, and occasional input unresponsiveness, particularly in specific scenarios or settings. While the experience is generally stable, there are lingering issues that can detract from the overall polish of the game.
- “The game runs great on Steam Deck!”
- “The game runs great on Steam Deck!”
- “The game runs great on Steam Deck!”
- “It had a rough start due to constant frame-rate drops and glitches here and there.”
- “40 bucks for a broken, buggy experience.”
- “Update: the fps-fixing open beta game freezes every time I beat the first boss (right after the animation), I'm not sure whether it's a beta thing or not.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
37%
38%
The atmosphere of River City Girls is characterized by a light-hearted and playful tone that enhances its memorability, complemented by an engaging soundtrack. Reviewers appreciate how this carefree ambiance contributes significantly to the overall experience, suggesting a desire for more games that capture a similar vibe.
- “It's a perfect fit for the game's atmosphere and is largely responsible for making this game memorable.”
- “What I find special about River City Girls is its light-hearted atmosphere that doesn't take itself too seriously.”
- “We need more games with tone and atmosphere like this.”
- “Nothing beats the atmosphere and the music either!”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized for lacking microtransactions, with some users labeling it a "soulless cash grab." This suggests a negative perception of the game's financial model, indicating dissatisfaction with its approach to monetization.
- “There are zero microtransactions in this game, which is a refreshing change.”
- “I appreciate that there are zero microtransactions; it makes the experience much more enjoyable.”
- “I just can't with this soulless cash grab, dude.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is highlighted by its engaging character designs and strong voice acting, although some voices, like Hibari's, received criticism. Players appreciate the combination of entertaining gameplay, humorous writing, and a vibrant world that enhances the overall experience, making the characters feel dynamic and memorable.
- “The tight gameplay, the world, the funny writing, the immaculate OST and character designs make this game a must-play. I would literally buy this game twice—no, thrice—no, four times!”
- “The character design is great, and the voice acting adds a lot to the experience. There are so many fun moments that make the character development feel rewarding.”
- “The combination of entertaining gameplay, amazing combo mechanics, and cool art really enhances the character development, making each character feel unique and engaging.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional impact of the game to be profound and heartbreaking, highlighting its incredible potential. Despite current issues, there is a strong desire to recommend it once these problems are resolved.
- “It's even more heartbreaking because, as I said, I think this game is incredible. When it gets fixed, I have no issues recommending it.”

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82%Critics’ scoreBased on 22 critic reviews

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5h Median play time

5h Average play time

5-5h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

River City Girls 2 is a arcade hack and slash game.

River City Girls 2 is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 5 hours playing River City Girls 2.

River City Girls 2 was released on December 14, 2022.

River City Girls 2 was developed by WayForward.

River City Girls 2 has received positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

River City Girls 2 is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include River City Girls, River City Ransom: Underground, Wizard of Legend 2, Secrets of Grindea, RWBY: Grimm Eclipse and others.

River City Girls 2

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