Become a bear whisperer and overthrow the president in Streets Of Rogue 2 next year

Zombie outbreaks, military coups and, err, Stardew Valley simulation

Playable alone or in co-op, the follow-up is set in a “huge and seamless randomly generated world filled with cities, forests, islands, caves, and the occasional cannibal outpost.” As was the case with the last game, you can also pick between several wacky characters (farmers, hackers, bear whisperers) and several wackier weapons (banana peels, shrink rays, bear traps). Something for everyone, regardless of where you fall on the bear-loving spectrum.

All of those choices are maybe extraneous compared to the one choice that really matters: what do you actually want to do? Sure, the main loose goal is to overthrow an evil president, but the trailer shows off the usual distractions that come with any open worlder. You can randomly beat up mourning passersby in a graveyard, for instance. More interestingly, you can squint real hard and do your best to turn the game into aStardew Valley-like. I’m excited to see just how far Streets Of Rogue 2 can stretch.

Brendan Caldwell (RPS in peace) gave the original our Bestest Best stamp of approval in hisStreets Of Rogue review. “It’s a daft miscellany of violent mobsters and unseen assassins, criss-crossing feuds and small mistakes that snowball into bloody knife fights,” he wrote. “If you want a tiny, variedDeus Exthat will make you laugh, this is it.” The game’s messiness is so flexible, Sin Vegarecreated charactersfrom blaxploitation parodies, Wes Anderson comedies and a fugly toilet-dweller from The Ghoulies 2. We also have a guide tothe funniest co-op cocktailsin the game. Basically, the RPS Hivemind likes this soon-to-be series, is what I’m saying.