Malignant Survivors 2 is making its Steam debut today, and if you like your horde survivors packed with loot, this one is taking things considerably further than the occasional weapon upgrade.
Developed by Eren Aydin and Serhat Yücekaya and published by Esnet Software, Malignant Survivors 2 mixes 3D horde survival with action RPG systems, throwing you into enormous crowds of enemies while you hunt for gear, experiment with different heroes, and try to put together something powerful enough to reach the Abyss.
There’s a lot of luck involved, though. With around 1,000 base items and more than 50 prefixes capable of changing what drops, finding exactly what you want could take a while.
The Horde Isn’t Going to Give You Much Room
The basic idea will be immediately familiar to anyone who has spent time with horde survivors. Pick a hero, head into battle, kill as much as possible, grab whatever useful loot you can find, and gradually turn your character into something capable of surviving increasingly ridiculous numbers of enemies.
Malignant Survivors 2 puts its own spin on that formula by leaning much harder into old-school action RPGs and dungeon crawlers. This isn’t simply about choosing upgrades whenever you level up. Equipment plays a major part in your build, and what you actually find during a run can completely change how things develop.
Sometimes charging straight into the horde might work, while other times running away until you find something considerably better sounds like the better option. Either way, the developers aren’t pretending this will be easy.
Almost Anything Could Be Hiding in That Chest
Loot is probably the most interesting part of Malignant Survivors 2. Drops aren’t predetermined, which means every chest and barrel has the potential to give you something completely different. There are approximately 1,000 base items to find, alongside 50+ prefixes that can add additional affixes when an item drops.
That creates an enormous number of possible pieces of equipment, and there’s even an item leaderboard where you can see what other players have managed to find. It should make opening a random barrel considerably more exciting than usual.
Crafting materials add another element to the loot hunt. These can be combined with recipes to upgrade and reroll equipment, giving you an opportunity to improve a promising item rather than immediately throwing it away when the stats aren’t quite right. The results aren’t necessarily predictable either, so there’s still an element of luck involved.
Sometimes One Item Is All You Need
With so much random equipment flying around, Malignant Survivors 2 is clearly expecting runs to develop very differently. A weaker build isn’t necessarily doomed if you happen to stumble across an exceptionally powerful item, while something that looked unstoppable on paper might struggle if the right equipment refuses to drop.
Death also gives you an excuse to change things up. Rather than immediately recreating the same setup, you can switch heroes, experiment with another build, and try different tactics against the horde.
That combination of horde survival and ARPG-style loot hunting should give players who enjoy tinkering with equipment plenty to dig into.
The Abyss Is Waiting
Malignant Survivors 2 launches as a single-player experience with Steam achievements, cloud saves, and leaderboards. Its Steam page also lists support for English, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Korean interfaces, with full English audio.
The real draw, though, looks to be seeing just how ridiculous those builds can become. With thousands of potential item combinations, crafting and rerolling, different heroes, and screens absolutely packed with enemies, there should be plenty standing between you and the Abyss.
Just don’t walk past the barrels. That useless-looking one might be hiding the best item of your entire run.