GORN 2

A beloved VR brawler returns, to a genuinely split reception

GORN 2 brings back the cartoonish, ultra-violent physics-based gladiator combat of one of VR's most beloved melee brawlers, expanding the weapon roster and arena variety of the original. Based on the available English-language review sample of 465 reviews — 388 positive, 77 negative, landing at an overall Very Positive rating — the reception is meaningfully more divided than that headline score suggests, with a substantial and specific body of criticism coming directly from fans who loved the original enough to master it completely. "So I have 100% the first game and have several hours on it, well past the 100% mark. In this, I have done the whole first arena, 2 levels of the second, and the first level of the third and I have both good and bad comments," one such reviewer writes, framing exactly the perspective this review draws on most heavily: not newcomers judging the sequel in isolation, but devoted fans measuring it directly against a game they know intimately.

Some longtime fans land firmly on the positive side despite real reservations. "I cannot recommend Gorn 1 anymore now that Gorn 2 is here, it's incredibly polished, has a dozen more weapons, some with unique abilities... I've been playing it for my workouts, Amazing work as always Devolver Digital and free lives! I want my gloves tho," one reviewer writes, praising the expanded content while still specifically missing a removed feature. A separate reviewer frames the appeal in purely physical, comedic terms consistent with the series' reputation: "This is a very fun game! Almost more fun than the first GORN! Even the slicing mechanics are more realistic! Ps: The game has more humor."

Combat feel: the central, most consistent complaint

The single most damaging and most consistently repeated criticism across the negative review sample concerns how the core combat actually feels moment to moment, and it's raised with unusual specificity by reviewers who know exactly what they're comparing it against. "This game wasn't terrible it was just really disappointing, the hitboxes and physics of this game where nowhere near as good as the first gorn... also the hand-to-hand combat felt terrible," the most heavily upvoted negative review states. A separate reviewer breaks the complaint down into specific mechanical detail: "Blunt weapons and fists lack that punch you would get in the original Gorn, and I cannot consistently slice off limbs for my life." A third reviewer offers an even more precise, quantified version of the same complaint: "it takes 3 head shots to kill a guy, 3! Stabbing is a lot better in this game but slashing with any other weapon that isn't an axe is just ass." When multiple experienced players independently identify the exact same specific mechanical regression — weaker blunt weapons, inconsistent dismemberment, tankier enemies — that's a strong, corroborated signal of a genuine design or tuning issue rather than differing personal taste.

Missing tools that defined the original's identity

A related, more specific complaint concerns features present in the first game that didn't carry over. "Compared to the first game, its pretty good. Better level and enemy variety imho but worse boss fights. Also I miss the hand augments like the wrist crossbow or grappling hooks," one reviewer writes, a sentiment echoed directly by the reviewer quoted earlier wishing for the return of "gloves" — clawed or gun-arm hand attachments that gave the original meaningful build variety beyond simple melee weapons. Losing these tools isn't purely a content-volume complaint; several reviewers frame it as losing part of what made the original's combat feel distinct and expressive in the first place.

A serious complaint about FOMO in a single-player game

One specific, more concerning criticism deserves direct attention because it concerns a design philosophy question rather than ordinary quality feedback. "While the game is usually good and fun, the story is oddly interesting and all that. Have spent many hours in the game.... However they started putting in FOMO stuff in a single player game. Yes... they lock away weapons forever behind limited time events in your single player game. So if you bought the game late or you missed the event, you will forever have an empty spot in your inventory," one detailed reviewer writes. That's a genuinely unusual and worth-flagging design choice for a fully offline, single-player VR title with no live-service framing otherwise — permanently locking content behind a real-world calendar window is a mechanic more commonly associated with live-service monetization than a premium single-player purchase, and it's fair to treat this as a legitimate structural concern rather than a minor gripe.

The humor question, and what's genuinely improved

Beyond combat feel, tone draws real, split reaction. "GORN 2 is a game that feels outdated. Both in mechanics and humor, it feels stuck in 2016... Since 2016 VR melee has improved a lot, moving past floppy weapons and static arena play areas," one reviewer writes, arguing the sequel hasn't kept pace with how the broader VR combat genre has evolved since the original's release. A separate reviewer voices a similar frustration more bluntly: "it's painfully unfunny and just filled to the brim with" material that reviewer found grating rather than amusing. Set against that, level and enemy variety draw more consistent praise even from critical reviewers: "Better level and enemy variety imho but worse boss fights," as quoted earlier, is a pattern echoed by several others who specifically credit the expanded staging and environmental gimmicks as a genuine step forward even while everything else regressed.

The achievement data confirms real structural depth exists beneath the debate: across 30 total achievements, an early milestone sits at 99%, while hardcore-mode completion and specific high-kill-count challenges fall to under 1%, a wide spread consistent with substantial endless-mode and challenge-mode content existing for dedicated players even if the core campaign itself is comparatively short.

Where this leaves it

GORN 2 expands its predecessor's weapon and level variety while regressing, according to a large and specific share of returning fans, on the core physics-combat feel that made the original a VR standout in the first place — weaker blunt weapons, tankier enemies, and the loss of beloved hand-augment tools all recur independently across detailed reviews from players who know the franchise intimately. Combined with dated humor for some and a genuinely questionable FOMO-style permanent content lock in an offline single-player game, this reads as a sequel that expanded in the wrong directions for a meaningful share of its own dedicated fanbase. Recommended cautiously for newcomers to the series or VR-workout enthusiasts drawn to the expanded content; a much more mixed proposition for devoted GORN 1 fans hoping for a pure combat-feel improvement.