Kill It With Fire 2 Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Switch & PC)

Kill It With Fire 2 might still have the same eight-legged skeletal frame as its predecessor, but that isn’t to say that it’s the same arachnid that’s been mindlessly tormenting us since the series’ inception. No, the second bout in the infectious inferno-based romper stomper is of a different breed—an elder kin that, while still with the same furry legs and temper tantrums as its forefather, has a few additional strand marks to call its own. It’s bigger, bolder, and above all, more satisfying to hit with the back end of a spatula. Well, sort of.

Let it be said that, while the world that the sequel has in its web might be a little stickier and less cluttered, it is still in receipt of the same generic hooks and fundamental gameplay elements. There’s squashing, and oh — there is a wealth of collectibles for you to mindlessly steal and hoard. It just so happens that this entry in the two-piece anthology has a few extra bells and whistles, pincers and prongs. And if you don’t have the slightest clue as to what we’re talking about, then be sure to read on for a few more details.

Don’t Let the Flames Die Out

Kill It With Fire 2 is a first-person action-collect-a-thon hybrid game that pits you and a swarm of eight-legged menaces against one another in a chaotic world where rules simply do not apply to the warring forces. The idea, mind you, is as simple as one might expect it to be: a fledgling exterminator with access to a trove of makeshift weapons takes to the battlefield with the intent of pulverizing a fistful of mischievous spiders. That, sadly, is about as far as it goes. Alas, there are no hidden meanings behind this, and there are no secret endings for you to unlock. There are, however, a ton of things for you to find, which, honestly, is both the game’s greatest strength and weakness, weirdly.

As it turns out, Kill It With Fire 2 is more about finding collectibles as it is about splatting spiders and simply moving on to the next dimension. See, while the majority of the career involves utilizing one of forty-five weapons and nifty gadgets to exterminate the eight-legged know-it-alls, the seven chapters—levels that cover a wide range of multiverse worlds, including a hellish arachnid utopia, a Wild West tumbleweed town, and a “mysterious” manor—do often require you to complete other fetch quests and generic tasks in order to gain access to new areas. For example, you often need to collect x amount of audio logs, compact, or specific tools to unlock doors. To add, you occasionally have to complete irrelevant tasks to usher the campaign forward, like ‘smash x amount of windows’ or something vaguely similar.

Don’t get me wrong, the act of unleashing your wrath with a bouquet of random weapons and tools is still a lot of fun, as is the process of exploring the multiverse and sweeping its crags and crevices of all the goodies and secrets. However, once you mop up the initial batch of spiders and collectibles, this same process sadly becomes a little, I don’t know, stale. Before long, it more or less transitions into a bit of a slog, one in which you either have to complete the same objective, or explore every nook and cranny for that ever-elusive collectible to nudge the job in the right direction. It isn’t that it’s boring; it’s that it’s all rather predictable and transparent.

No Spiders Were Harmed, Apparently

The good news is that the sequel, despite having a lot of the same gameplay elements as its counterpart, has a lot of great features, including a souped-up co-op mode, a sizable solo campaign, and all of the ripe quality-of-life upgrades to make several of its original weaknesses more accessible. The multiverse, too, is a great addition to an otherwise dull format, with its unique levels and themed departments providing a good foundation for a slew of potential future DLCs. With all of that in its web, you can definitely expect more gadgets, more weapons, and plenty more opportunities to wreak havoc on a pixel-crafted world.

Frankly, the best thing here is the challenges. Aside from the general squash-and-scorch spider baiting malarkey that eats up most of your time in the sequel, you also have the option of engaging in various side quests in each of the multiverse biomes. For instance, in the manor biome, there is a job that requires you to play hide and seek with a sentient stone sculpture of a spider. A strange concept, for sure, but one that also adds a bit more variety to an otherwise linear format.

When all’s said and done, Kill It With Fire 2 does make for a perfect poster child for arachnophobia. Graphically, it isn’t all that scary. And yet, it’s the little things that make you reach for the back of your neck — the unsettling violins that chime in when a spider bolts out to hug your face, or the subtle yet disturbing squeaking effects that compliment a passing spider as it tiptoes across your feet, for example. There’s a lot of that. A blessing and a curse, really.

Verdict

Kill It With Fire 2 builds on its eight-legged torch-and-tantalize arachnid archetype with a surprisingly more-ish collect-a-thon progression hook that, while still largely lacking in post-endgame replay value, keeps the inferno blazing for a lot longer than the original incarnation. The base game, while still being in receipt of a lot of the same generic mechanics and components, also features a ton of larger-than-life environments and some great incentives to keep the fire alight and your momentum flowing. It’s still the same ol’ Kill It With Fire, but with bigger levels, more collectibles, and handfuls of additional weapons and means to dismantle the arachnid hierarchy. It’s a 2.0 with a lot of extra bang for your buck, basically.

Of course, if you did enjoy blazing through the first chapter in the two-piece series, then it’s highly likely that you’ll get a kick out of scorching through the sequel. It’s an acquired taste, I’ll give it that. Having said that, it is one that also doesn’t require much prep work or skill to enjoy, so to speak. Granted, it doesn’t offer much replay value, as it more or less pours its heart and soul into the initial session and then opts to disembark upon the final chapter with little to no post-game perks for you to acquire. For the asking price, though, I’d say it does just enough to keep you immersed for the long haul. Thanks, spiders.