Curious Expedition 2

Real ambition in an expanded set of systems

Curious Expedition 2 earns credit across a portion of this review base for genuinely expanding on its predecessor's scope. "The idea of roguelite exploration in a fantasy-victorian era world seemed so appealing to me," reads one review, going on to detail a large, interlocking set of systems spanning characters, dice, combat, inventory, supplies, sanity, sponsors, and unlockable content. This review credits that ambition as genuine: the developer clearly aimed to build something meaningfully larger and more systemically dense than the original game, and for players willing to invest the time to learn it, several reviewers do credit the dice-based tactical core as satisfying once its many moving parts click into place.

An extremely consistent complaint from fans of the original

What dominates the critical portion of this review base overwhelmingly, and distinguishes it clearly from ordinary sequel disappointment, is how consistently reviewers who loved the first Curious Expedition report this one as a step backward specifically. "I loved the first one. I instantly bought the second as soon as it was available because the first one was done so well," reads one review that goes on to detail a long list of specific downgrades. Another states the comparison bluntly: "Curious Expedition 1 had better flowing gameplay, better art, better variety and had a better interface... it just seems like a pale imitation of the first with fewer options, fewer play[styles]." Checking a broad sample of negative reviews, this exact complaint — that the sequel's new art style, slower pacing, and simplified combat represent a genuine downgrade from a beloved original rather than a lateral change in direction — recurs with remarkable consistency, making it by far the single most repeated and best-corroborated theme in this review base.

A well-corroborated complaint about overcomplicated systems

Separate from the direct-comparison complaint, a consistent criticism concerns the game's sheer systemic density on its own terms. "Liked the style and the premise, but it feels horribly overcomplicated. There is an absolute mountain of systems," reads one review, and another notes the onboarding problem specifically: "a better tutorial is desperately in need. I almost lost on turn 3 due to wildlife attacks, party went insane basically immediately after." This review treats the complaint as fair: reviewers across this sample consistently describe a genuine gap between the systems' depth and how clearly the game teaches them, distinct from whether those systems work well once understood.

A consistent complaint about difficulty balance

A further complaint concerns how the game scales challenge across its difficulty tiers. "It has the potential to be great fun, but even the easiest difficulty is too hard when it comes to the three skull (difficult) level adventures. They really need to make easy EASY," reads one review, and a separate reviewer reports a similarly abrupt spike: "After 12 hours of chill game full team was one-shoted with one trap." This review treats the complaint as fair and well-corroborated: reviewers consistently report difficulty swings that feel disproportionate to player decision-making rather than a smooth, fair curve, a meaningful design concern for a game whose core loop already asks players to manage substantial risk.

A smaller but concrete complaint about bugs

A further, more concrete complaint concerns stability and progression-blocking issues. "Had my first expedition unwinnable as the objectives weren't spawned in correctly. While I'm all for unwinnable games, they're supposed to tell you that, not lead you on," reads one review. This review treats the complaint as fair and specific: a roguelike's core social contract depends on losses feeling earned rather than the result of a broken run, and at least one clearly documented case of that contract being broken is worth flagging directly.

Genuinely sustained, substantial post-launch investment

This review checked Maschinen-Mensch's own update history directly and found remarkably sustained support well beyond a typical indie post-launch window: numbered patches continued from 2021 through 2024, alongside paid expansions including Shores of Taishi and Robots of Lux, and a free "Cultist" DLC pack as recently as June 2024, more than three years after the game's original release. That's genuine, verifiable evidence the developer continued investing in addressing the game's thinner-content complaints over time, and the studio has since gone on to release a new title, Mother Machine, in 2025.

A specific alternative some reviewers recommend instead

Notably, several reviewers in this sample don't just criticise Curious Expedition 2 in isolation but point specifically toward a different, similarly themed game they consider superior. "If you like this type of game, there's a much much better one you should play instead - Renowned Explorers: International Edition. Very similar in that both are tactical RPGs where you play colonial ex[plorers]," reads one review. This review treats that recurring recommendation as a useful data point in itself: when critical reviewers consistently name the same specific alternative rather than simply expressing general disappointment, it suggests the genre and setting still have real appeal, even where this particular execution falls short for them.

Repetition in maps and events over a longer playthrough

A further, distinct complaint concerns content variety across a longer campaign rather than any single system's design. "The game itself is too much repetition on maps and events," reads one review, and a separate reviewer frames the same concern around recurring patterns noticed by the end of a full campaign: "I played through the campaign once, and by the end I'd seen recurring patterns that made it feel more like a slog than a story-driven adventure." This review treats the complaint as fair, distinct from the overcomplication and difficulty issues above: even players who work through the learning curve successfully report the procedural variety thinning out over a longer single playthrough, which is a meaningful consideration for a roguelike whose appeal depends on repeated runs feeling fresh.

Final verdict

Curious Expedition 2 pursues genuine ambition in expanding its predecessor's systems, backed by remarkably sustained multi-year developer support that this review credits honestly. What keeps the score from climbing higher is an extremely consistent, well-corroborated complaint from fans of the original that this sequel represents a real downgrade in charm and pacing, compounded by overcomplicated systems and unevenly balanced difficulty. This is a worthwhile roguelike judged on its own terms, especially with its accumulated DLC content, but longtime fans of the tighter, more charming original should approach it as a different game rather than assuming a straightforward improvement.