Crashlands 2 Review (PC, iOS, & Android)

Crash landing on an alien planet should immediately be destabilizing. But not in Crashlands 2. Well, of course, because you’ve probably played the first game launched in 2016. But also because the planet of Woanope is the most adorable, hardly screaming incoming danger. It’s the biggest reason millions flanked over to play the first game. It simply was oozing in vibrance and charm; you couldn’t keep away. 

Even with its simplistic survival and crafting gameplay, Crashlands remains one of the best ways to spend a lazy afternoon. And, perhaps, the simplicity of it all is also one of the reasons the sequel has been exciting to get back into. But the question remains: Is it any better than the myriad of survival and crafting games out there? Why not play Don’t Starve, Forager, or Stardew Valley instead? 

While we can’t hold you back from exploring other games, we can at least give you an idea of what you can expect in our Crashlands 2 review below and leave you with the final decision.

Duty Calls

Flux Dabes returns from the first game. She’s an alien space trucker who’s been touring the galaxy on a publicity run for the Bureau of Shipping. It turns out that saving Woanope has its perks. However, several years later, Flux outgrows working for the Bureau. The idea of retiring sounds just about perfect at this point in her career. So, she returns home to live in peace among her alien friends. 

But once again, her ship crash lands into another section of the planet. While recovering from the crash and helping the local she crashed into rebuild his house, the new threat the planet faces is made vivid. The Bureau of Shipping has, after all, soiled its hands and is going after the planet’s precious resources. Flux can’t sit by, of course, having to jump to Woanope’s rescue yet again. And thus, a new adventure begins.

Learn the Ropes

Before you can bring the Bureau down for good, there are a few kinks to get out of the way. Crashlands 2 is, first and foremost, a survival and crafting game. This means gathering lots of resources to sustain yourself. You’ll explore and scavenge the world of valuables and dive headfirst into building a crafting station and base of operations. 

You can craft all sorts of weapons, tools, and gadgets with the resources you find in the open world. Crashlands 2 plays like a sandbox. So, you do have free rein over which places to explore. However, the game comes with a handy guide. It shows you the points of interest you can choose (not have to) visit. These places may have useful resources or quests you can take on. 

It’ll all start slow, with barely strong weapons to attack or defend yourself. Your base is a work in progress, and reinforcing needs to be done by collecting more resources and upgrades. But this is all standard in crafting games. The start is a slow grind to gather resources valuable enough to craft efficient tools and equipment to take on worse dangers.

Keep Your Head Up

If you can make it past the early slow grind, you’ll soon discover a more engaging playthrough. Here’s where “things to do” become plentiful. Not a moment goes to waste as you discover more secrets and quests the outside world holds. In your exploration, you’ll encounter NPCs who need your help with unique favors. You can bring them back home with you and cater to their individual needs, whether it’s sustenance or building and decorating their safe space. 

In return, more of Woanope opens up. More quests unlock, resources and upgrades, valuable enemy drops, and so on. You’ll reach points where you can progress from gathering resources from plants to farming, fishing, and mining. The controls for resource collection are rather simple. All you do is whip out your fishing rod, for instance, and proceed to pick up resources.

Plain and Simple

In fact, most of Crashlands 2’s mechanics are easy to grasp. Its crafting is not at all the complexity you might be used to. You won’t go on lengthy expeditions looking for that one specific ingredient to complete a recipe. Crafting a new tool or weapon is quick and easy. If anything, the non-straightforward element in crafting is that you can’t track the type and amount of resources you collect while exploring.

Only when you return to the crafting station can you look through all you have? At times, you may be asked to find a certain animal resource but not have the information about what it looks like or where to find it. But it’s all easy to forgive when the crafting requirements themselves are straightforward. Ingredients are often easy to find, and you’ll almost always have them on hand if you don’t already know where to get them.

Meanwhile, building a house is just as easy peasy. Simply put up a door, four walls, and a roof, and you’re good to go. At this point, it can start to sound a little too bland. But you’ll have to see the visuals to see just how adorable Crashlands 2 is. And not just cute and charming but also lively. Building a house may be simple, but the animation is exciting, and so is entering and leaving houses. 

Come Alive

Crashlands 2’s world feels alive and thriving. Even when busy minding your own business, alien species interact with one another. They start fights and behave as if they have minds of their own. Creatures and environments have been creatively designed so that they can take your breath away, figuratively and literally. Make no mistake: these alien creatures are brutal. Yet even in their brutalness, they remain a sight for sore eyes.

In a way, Crashlands 2 is a cozy game. None of the survival and crafting mechanics will feel too difficult to crack. Meanwhile, the planet has unique and diverse biomes that often suck you in. That’s not to say that you can’t die. During exploration, you may run into hostiles, whether alien species or the Bureau’s robotic foes. You want to be prepared to take them on with your weapon loadout at the ready.

Fortunately, Crashlands 2 has a surprisingly deep loadout system. You have weapons, armor, trinkets (accessories), tools, and gadgets. You can have up to five different loadouts at a time and switch them from the pause menu. While they can be near-useless at the start, gradually upgrading them gives you a fighting chance. You just have to know which types to combine.

Tooth and Nail

Your Juicebox robot companion might be useless in combat. But there are pets you can adopt. While exploring, you can collect eggs that you bring back home. When they hatch, they become the pets that you take care of, build a home for, and who can fight beside you. Or you can adopt orphaned alien creatures. In any case, pets have complex sidekick systems as well. A chew toy can upgrade your pet’s abilities, for instance.

Be careful, though, as some resources you allocate to your pet could have proven more useful allocated to your weapons and armor, for example. So, always explore all options. With the complexity of your loadout and upgrades, it’s a shame that the combat encounters themselves don’t live up to their potential.

Sure, you have your standard attack and dash and can dodge roll. However, the enemies don’t react to hits. Their attacks are well-telegraphed, with attacks having no impact. Once defeated, they explode into a pile of resources. And even then, it doesn’t feel nearly as thrilling as it should.

Verdict

Crashlands 2 returns are certainly better than the first game. With nine years in the making, it had better have returned with significant upgrades. The most notable are the graphics, which, my God, are stunning. It’s probably one of the most breathtaking environments and alien planets you’ll see in recent memory. And not just appreciate the vibrant color patterns and design, but the liveliness and interactivity of it all. 

Booting up Crashlands 2, though, you have to be certain it’s the type of game you’re looking for. Sure, it might be labeled as a survival game with crafting mechanics. But this is hardly your everyday survival game, challenging you to scavenge scarce resources and make tough choices. It’s rather straightforward enough to be played casually. 

Perhaps too straightforward and simplistic for gamers looking for a truly tough nut to crack. But Crashlands has never claimed to be anything but simple. It leans into its strengths and, in the sequel, doubles down on the adorable aesthetic and gameplay. Servicing the stunning art style is an engrossing story and writing packed chockful of corny and tongue-in-cheek humor, and at the same time, moments when it knows to take things seriously. 

Bit by bit, Woanope planet spreads its wings. It becomes not just a cozy game but one you can potentially lose yourself in for hours on end.