GORN 2 Review: Physics-Fueled Fury Meets Mythic Style

GORN 2 drops players into a series of five mythic arenas, each governed by a child of the God of the Afterlife. You step in as a gladiator armed with everything from floppy medieval hammers to razor-sharp swords, and you’ll mix brutal melee swings with ranged shots and optional magical elixirs. Those potions can speed up your arms or transform your fists into hulking grappling hooks, adding a playful layer of tactical choice before each bout.

The sequel picks up the core concept from its 2019 predecessor—combat against waves of cartoonish foes—but injects a light narrative thread that carries you through each realm. Between bouts, brief character banter hints at why you’re hunting divine offspring, yet the heart of the experience remains the physics-driven chaos of crushing skulls and flinging limbs.

For newcomers to virtual reality, GORN 2’s controls feel intuitive: reach, grip and swing. VR veterans will notice sharper hit detection and smarter enemy pathing, though the real magic lies in how you can leverage environmental traps or bait opponents into impalement. Each encounter encourages experimentation—will you rush in sword blazing or hang back with bow in hand, triggering spike traps from afar?

This review aims to unpack how GORN 2 balances visceral action with a dash of narrative structure, guiding readers through its mechanical systems and player-driven moments.

The Mechanics of Mayhem

GORN 2’s core loop hinges on clearing successive waves of gladiators before facing a bespoke boss. Each arena launches you against grunts that swarm in numbers, archers peppering you from afar and shield-bearing heavies who absorb hits. As in indie favorites like Slay the Spire, you learn to read patterns—archers crouch before loosing, heavies telegraph overhead swings—and exploit openings. The real twist arrives when foes knock into one another or stumble into spike traps, turning enemy squads into unintended allies in your carnage.

Underneath the blood-soaked surface lies a physics engine that delights and frustrates in equal measure. Limbs detach with cartoon flair, ragdoll bodies flop against walls, and environmental hazards—grinding blades or popping floor spikes—reward spatial awareness. Compared with the tight hitboxes of a Soulslike, GORN 2 sometimes clips through targets, but that very unpredictability often spawns moments of spontaneous creativity: hurl a severed arm at a charging brute or bait a pair of foes into a spike pit. These emergent interactions echo the playful sandbox freedom of games like Octodad.

To spice up repetition, each level hides a bonus challenge—land three headshots with a bow or rip off an enemy’s head barehanded. Completing these grants new weapons, potent elixirs or cosmetic skins. This loop mirrors progression in RPGs such as Hades, where optional tasks unlock fresh tools and encourage players to deviate from brute-force tactics. Here, saving a super-speed potion for a later wave can turn a brutal boss into a fleeting target.

Boss encounters themselves demand more than wild swings. One might summon minions from elemental portals, another orients his heavy mace to crush your guard. Learning their timing feels as satisfying as exploiting spell cooldowns in tactical titles like Divinity: Original Sin. Each victory thus carries weight beyond spectacle, reinforcing the sense that you’re mastering a system—rather than merely mowing down faceless hordes.

Seamless Immersion

GORN 2 offers both room-scale and teleport locomotion, letting you choose full-body freedom or snap-turn comfort. In a medium-sized play area, you can stride between foes, duck under swinging blades and loop around obstacles. Teleport mode keeps the action accessible for those in tighter spaces, though it trades some physical thrill for convenience. Seated players may struggle with full arcs, but can still engage by rotating the headset and using shorter swings.

The input mapping feels natural: a firm grip to pick up weapons, smooth trigger pulls to fire bows and intuitive gestures to quaff potions. Holstering uses simple wrist rotations—no awkward menu fishing. Gesture recognition rarely misfires, and the haptic feedback punctuates every impact, lending weight to each swing.

Newcomers find GORN 2 instantly approachable. A brief tutorial teaches basic swings, grabs and potion slots, while clear visual prompts highlight interactive objects. Casual gamers can dive in without memorizing complex button combos, yet veterans appreciate the depth hidden in precise timing and positioning.

Physically, GORN 2 encourages brisk sessions. You’ll want at least a three-by-three meter area to swing safely, and matches tend to run three to five minutes each—ideal for bite-sized play. After extended bouts, some arm fatigue sets in, but the game’s pacing invites breaks between waves, keeping motion sickness and exhaustion at bay.

Arsenal of Chaos

GORN 2’s melee roster ranges from broad-bladed swords to bone-crushing hammers, spiked whips and absurd novelties like giant fish or oversize boxing gloves. Each weapon carries distinct heft and reach—swords slice with swift arcs, hammers demand slower, more deliberate swings—encouraging you to adapt your timing as you advance through the celestial realms. Compared with the tight timing of Dark Souls, GORN’s physics-driven heft rewards wild momentum over pinpoint precision.

Ranged tools include bows, throwing axes and makeshift projectiles pulled from the environment. Ammo is unlimited, but reloading between volleys introduces a moment of vulnerability. That brief pause echoes tactical breaks in RPG shooters such as Remnant: From the Ashes, where resource timing can tilt a fight.

Potion-based abilities add narrative flavor: gulp a “giant fist” elixir to rip foes apart barehanded, or chug a speed draught for lightning-quick combos. Deciding whether to use these immediately or stow them for a boss encounter mirrors meaningful choice systems found in indie RPGs like Undertale, where timing and restraint shape outcomes.

Each weapon comes tied to a challenge—land three barehanded decapitations or rack up headshots with a bow—to unlock subsequent gear. This structure nudges you away from repeating a single tactic and invites creative experimentation, reinforcing that your evolving toolkit is as much part of the story as the arenas you conquer.

Forging Paths Through Perilous Arenas

GORN 2’s campaign unfolds across five distinct realms, each offering three arenas before a bespoke boss showdown. Between battles, brief narrative beats hint at your divine quarry, lending context to the bloodshed without halting momentum. These story morsels feel earned, appearing only after you earn new weapons or potions.

Arena layouts layer traps—spikes that spring from the floor, grinders that slice at mid-torso and swinging blades that demand timing. Such hazards reward spatial awareness: a well-placed swing can send enemies careening into danger, turning the environment into an ally. These setups echo the clever map design of games like Hades, where clever placement of obstacles enriches each encounter.

Progress ties tightly to performance. Clearing bonus tasks—like stringing together three headshots or dispatching foes barehanded—unlocks fresh gear and elixirs. This pacing mirrors progression loops in indie hits such as Dead Cells, where optional objectives drive you to experiment rather than repeat a single tactic.

Boss fights shake up the formula. One realm’s champion summons minions via elemental conduits, forcing you to juggle adds while dodging charged hammer strikes; another taunts you with quips about “big stick energy” before unleashing shockwaves. These dialogue preludes set a cheeky tone, underlining that each boss is as much a theatrical performance as a mechanical trial.

Sight and Sound of Slaughter

GORN 2’s visuals lean into a cartoonish gore palette, with bright crimson blood splattering against stylized gladiator models. Each realm carries its own visual identity—icy caverns crackle with frosty mist, while magma-forged arenas glow ember-red—binding art direction to the narrative of divine offspring guarding elemental domains. This unity of style echoes indie hits like No More Heroes, where exaggerated aesthetics serve both tone and clarity in fast-paced combat.

The soundscape amplifies every strike. Weapon impacts deliver satisfying thwacks, hammers echo with metallic resonance and axes whistle through the air. Flesh-collapsing squelches punctuate dismemberment, while ambient cues—dripping water in flooded pits or grinding gears in trap chambers—warn you of lurking hazards. Such audio detail rivals the immersive feedback of Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, translating virtual swings into visceral thrills.

Boss monologues aim for humor but wobble between cheeky and childish. One champion’s rant about “big butt energy” can crack a smile, yet recording inconsistencies sometimes surface—voices that sound too distant or echo oddly, pulling you briefly from the fray.

Performance holds steady on Quest 3 and PC-VR, maintaining frame rates even amid hundreds of flying limbs. Hit detection can feel slippery—swinging inches from a foe and missing entirely—yet the occasional hiccup only adds to the unpredictable charm of GORN’s physics playground.

Endless Carnage and Custom Chaos

GORN 2’s Endless Mode tasks you with surviving unceasing waves of gladiators, each round ramping up enemy health, numbers and trap frequency. A global leaderboard tracks your stamina, encouraging repeated runs to climb ranks much like survival arenas in Dead Cells. This persistent challenge tests both your weapon mastery and adaptability under pressure.

Custom Mode unlocks a full scenario editor where you can tweak enemy spawn counts, select specific weapon pools, adjust gravity or speed and even place traps manually. Sharing these bespoke arenas with friends extends the game’s lifespan, mirroring community-driven mod scenes in indie hits such as Enter the Gungeon. Experimentation here becomes its own reward.

For those craving precision, Challenge Runs offer time-attack trials on individual arenas. Shaving seconds off your best clear promises cosmetic unlocks or potion boosts, tapping into the same mastery loop that fuels speedrunning communities.

Though the campaign wraps in roughly four hours, these extra modes amp replayability significantly. Quick five-minute skirmishes fit into busy schedules, while deeper custom battles and endless survival invite marathon sessions. Whether you seek a brisk showcase of VR’s thrill or a sandbox of your own design, GORN 2 delivers.