Rune II: Decapitation Edition is an entirely new game rather than just an update of last year’s release. It may look like it’s competing with Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla for your Viking gaming time but it is a very different experience. At its best in co-operative multiplayer, Rune II is a throwback to the chaotic and brutal combat of early third person ARPGs and offers a blood-soaked alternative to the clinical and focus-grouped approach of many games. So gather a band of your most loyal friends and prepare to set sail – this Ragnarok isn’t going to end itself.

Rune 2 is an impressive game that has a lot to offer casual and RPG fans. With its simplistic inventory and crafting system, it’s easy for players to grasp. It often feels like a bunch of stories and ideas packed together to attempt to make a cohesive story. Along with the bugs and glitches, it was hard to get a consistent feeling of where the game wanted to go. Maybe with a few updates the game will offer a more consistent experience.

I wish I was able to play the original Rune II to see how bad it truly was and get a better sense of how much Rune II: Decapitation Edition improved it. At its core it’s a fun Viking hack and slash looter, like a third-person Borderlands set in the Viking age. It doesn’t achieve true greatness as it stands, with the technical issues not helping matters. But those aside, Rune II: Decapitation Edition is a fun, accessible game that’s better with friends, with potential to improve with future patching. The degree Studio 369 has improved the game isn’t something that can be personally ascertained, but it can faithfully be said that they did turn it into a game that’s not without its issues, but one where a good time can be found.

Rune 2 is an incomplete game and a sad end to the Human Head Studios story.

Quotation forthcoming.

Rune II lacks the imagination, experimentation and fleshed out mechanics that would have made stomping through the Viking end times a fun experience.

19 years in the making, Rune II comes as a massive disappointment to fans of the original.