Developer: Casey Donnellan Games
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Action, Adventure, Simulation
Publisher: tinyBuild
Kill It With Fire! 2 is the ultimate co-op hunting spiders experience! This game is developed by Casey Donnellan Games LLC and published by tinyBuild. Recently, the game was released from Early Access as version 1.0, bringing the fun to the table. This review was conducted on Windows, but the game is also available on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
In Kill It With Fire! 2, you will be hopping through different dimensions, either by yourself or with up to four friends, to wipe out a full-on arachnid plague. You will liberate locations like a creepy manor, a town in the Wild West, and more, using ridiculous, otherworldly weapons to boot these nasty freaks out of the multiverse. You do have to start the game solo at first to unlock co-op, but that basically acts as a quick tutorial for what’s coming next and sets the scene of you getting abducted by aliens.
This is 100% a multiplayer game at its best. We played as a group of three from totally different regions of the world and had zero lag or connection issues, which was super impressive. There is no built-in matchmaking system for the campaign mode, so someone has to host a session, but honestly, this was not an issue at all. Playing with friends is where the chaos really shines. You can go solo, and it is still a good time, but the mayhem with friends hits a whole different level.
The art style is cartoonish but still freaky in all the right ways. The spide designs and all their different ‘species’ are so well done that they actually give you the ick. I am not even a big spider person, but watching them explode into green guts is weirdly satisfying. The dimensions have awesome details too. My personal favourite was the Godzilla-style leve where the spiders literally scream while running for their lives. It is both empowering and absolutely hilarious. And watching your friends sprint around slapping spiders with a clipboard is gold. Just beware of the jump-scare spider lunges; when they land on your face, it definitely gives you the spooks. It even feels like a spider is crawling on you (Screaming is encouraged, as your friend will come save you as soon as possible).
Controls and mechanics are super easy to pick up, but the weapons are what make this game wild. The full 1.0 launch added a final content update called “Spider Hell,” which is a huge Doom-inspired level where you get crazy-powerful guns to fight the eight-legged menace. You can use anything from a nail gun to a hairspray ‘flamethrower’, to a comically oversized newspaper, which is all surprisingly effective. Having such a massive arsenal keeps the gameplay exciting nonstop, and everyone is able to find their preferred item.
The main premise of the game is that you travel to different dimensions, which have different themes, and try to collect as much Compound X (almost like a currency), which is used to upgrade and unlock hangars in the ship. When arriving at the dimension, you will be within a space, and to unlock doors, bridges or the next area within that location, you will be required to kill a certain number of spiders. As you kill spiders and unlock new areas, you will unlock new quests that will give you items and help you further progress. Collecting Compound X also comes with completing several quests within the location to make the game more interesting and amusing. The quests can be anything from killing several spiders to completing puzzles or collecting items. The gameplay loop is fun and does not die out, which makes it more amusing. What is so great about this game is that people can follow the checklist, and no one needs to be doing the same thing. You can embody exterminators and take on different tasks or areas of the location, and do your challenges or work together, which makes it more amusing.
Kill It With Fire! 2 also has a great sense of humour. The narrative, references and goofy moments make the whole experience feel fun and chaotic in the best way. It definitely leans into the idea that if you see a spider, you are grabbing anything nearby to get rid of it. Even if that means burning down the whole room. Some locations are filled with funny gags that make the gameplay exciting. For instance, back to the Downtown Arachnotopia (Godzilla), you will see spiders holding briefcases or wearing chef’s hats that make it seem like they’re real people. Not just that, but whacking the spiders would pop up with newspaper headlines with funny segments, or you would notice weird yet oddly amusing advertisements on billboards that truly bring to life the setting of each location.
Besides just the campaign mode, Kill It With Fire! 2 also has a PvP mode, where you can host a game similar to prop hunt, where you get to take on the role of a spider. You can have a lobby of up to 8 people, which has the ability to be opened to the public, so you can play with randoms, which makes the lobby more enjoyable with more people. The PvP mode is quite a nice break from the campaign mode, where there are hunters who are against spiders that hide. The concept of being a spider is much more amusing than it may sound, as you can stick to walls, stick under chairs, and crawl sideways against the wall. The most freakish move is the lunging, which is deffo scary but super satisfying. This game is fun, where you can shoot webs at others and lure the hunters to just enjoy a fun game of hide and seek within a certain amount of time.
We are thankful to have been provided with codes to play with friends. One of the other players, Vroggo, had the following to say about the game: “Yes. Set everything on fire because why did the spiders move, look, and feel a little too real? Better yet, I loved the multitude of weaponry and upgrades offered to exterminate the little pests.
Aside from the internal jitters every time I saw a spider, I had a lot of fun playing the game. Game content is packed. For a game with such simple yet detailed graphics, it has a multitude of objectives, explorable maps, and lore locked behind a progression wall, and the atmosphere of the game sets up for a lot of fun moments throughout a play-through.
Kill It With Fire! 2 has such a good foundation that it offers just as good replayability. There also weren’t any bugs (other than spiders) or glitches to mention when playing co-op or solo.”
The other player, Moody, had the following to say, “Killing it with fire! 2 is a joyful, chaotic game. What I really like is that the game is ridiculous, lifting objects and throwing them around, to launching weapons and trying to obliterate the entire room, just to chase a spider is ridiculous. The game is an amazingly comedic game, and trying to play this with a group of friends is even better. Some missions did feel a bit repetitive, but it would be nice if they incorporated more puzzle-like challenges to break up the rhythm.”
If you are looking for a chaotic, hilarious, and slightly horrifying co-op experience, Kill It With Fire! 2 is absolutely worth jumping into. Whether you are bravely tackling the spider invasion solo or screaming alongside your friends while setting everything on fire just to squash one arachnid, every moment keeps you laughing and scrambling. With tons of dimensions to explore, a crazy arsenal and a PvP mode, this game delivers nonstop fun. So be sure to check out Kill It With Fire! 2, and hope a spider does not lunge at your face!
Overall: 9/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
