GORN 2

My first few minutes with GORN 2 ended with me checking my actual hands for blood. That's the game's pitch in a nutshell: a fully physics-driven VR arena brawler that leans so hard into cartoon ultraviolence and juvenile absurdity that it loops back around to being genuinely funny. Developed by Cortopia and Free Lives, published by Devolver Digital (who else), it dropped in April 2025 and carries the same anarchic DNA as its predecessor, just with more of everything crammed in. The structure is straightforward: fight through 15 levels spread across five distinct heavenly realms, each capped by a boss battle against one of the God of the Afterlife's five sons. Waves of rubbery, dim-witted gladiators shamble toward you and the game hands you a ludicrous arsenal to deal with them. We're talking cleavers, maces, axes, spears, katanas, swords that grow larger with each kill, and balloon-tipped arrows that send enemies sailing skyward. Over 35 weapons in total, and each one bends, flexes, and ragdolls opponents with that signature wobbly physics feel the series is known for. Killing enemies heals you, which nudges the combat loop toward constant aggression rather than any kind of defensive play. There is a basic parry system, but you'll rarely need it, enemies are dumb by design and will cheerfully walk into traps on their own. If you want a harder test, Hardcore Mode speeds enemies up and cuts your health pool, which transforms the experience noticeably. Where GORN 2 earns its goodwill is in how well it commits to the bit. Some levels introduce gravity distortion or resize the player mid-fight. Optional per-stage challenges push you to skewer hearts, decapitate foes with specific weapons, or herd enemies into environmental traps for bonus weapon unlocks. The Custom Mode lets you tweak crowd size, gravity strength, enemy types, and punch force, making it a decent sandbox for players who want to experiment after the campaign ends. Endless Mode is there for score-chasing, though reviewers broadly agree it runs out of steam faster than the campaign does. The cel-shaded art direction, bulky, rubbery character models, vibrant floating arenas, comic-book smoke bursts, holds up well across the five environments, which offer a genuine visual step up from the original's grimy pits. The honest caveats: the campaign wraps up in roughly three to four hours, the enemy AI is barely present, and the combat depth is, at best, ankle-deep. This is not a game that will challenge you tactically. Hitbox consistency has drawn criticism from some critics, and the humour leans hard into fart jokes and crude innuendo, if that sounds exhausting rather than charming, GORN 2 will not win you over. Veterans of titles like Blade and Sorcery or Undead Citadel, looking for something with mechanical weight and meaningful defensive options, will find the shallow end here. What GORN 2 does exceptionally well is pick-up-and-play immediacy: it's one of the best VR showcase titles around, the kind of thing you hand to someone who has never worn a headset and watch the chaos unfold. Steam user reviews sit at a strong 85% positive across several hundred reviews, which tracks with what the game is actually trying to do.

Alex · Scout Team

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