River City Girls 2

River City Girls 2 beefs up its decades-old beat-'em-up formula with RPG elements, witty humor, and dense combat options.

River City Girls 2 is more River City Girls, feeling less like a full-fledged sequel and more like a RCG 1.5. Switch-related performance issues aside, it was still a great time to return to River City thanks to its phenomenal music and voice acting, sharp writing, gorgeous sprite work, fun new characters, and satisfying combo-based gameplay, but at launch it feels a patch or two away from greatness. If you loved the original as we did, you're bound to like this follow-up, and we hope the team at Wayforward gets more time and money to really expand the series for a third entry.

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.

River City Girls 2 is a fun game to knock out over a weekend, especially with a good friend, and I hope WayForward Technologies considers giving Misako, Kyoko, and friends another whacky adventure in the future.

Yet, I am once again hoping for another game, this time a River City Girls 3, that nails the landing and is awarded gold medals across the board. For now, River City Girls 2 is an enjoyable co-op romp with some rough edges that leaves me eager for more.

River City Girls 2 is a superb sequel that builds on the already brilliant original in small but meaningful ways.

If you love the first game then you should probably wait for updates and a price drop before picking up River City Girls 2. And if you never played the original game before - check it out first.

River City Girls 2 takes the series to the next level. More frantic fights and devastating combos, the game is a real improvement. The soundtrack is wonderful and you really have a good time. But we won't lie, the game is still expensive and suffers from loading, at least for the version on Nintendo Switch. If you're considering getting it, you might want to consider another version. Unless you don't mind. But know that having tested it on another console, the game probably would have deserved an extra half point. The fact remains that River City Girls 2 is a lot of fun, whether you're playing alone or with your buddies.

The open world levels that encourage players to invest in exploring them and very enjoyable local co-op multiplayer, as well as the gorgeous graphics and kicking soundtrack all help make this one of the best beat'em ups on the Nintendo Switch and one that fans of the genre will duly cherish.

River City Girls 2 almost ticks all the boxes: fun gameplay mixed with anime-style aesthetics and a humorous story. The jarring loading screens between each playable area annoyingly slow the pacing. It's enjoyable, it's just not as smooth as it should be.