No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Reviews

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is ranked in the 75th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10
Nov 5, 2020

A fine sequel, Travis Touchdown's sophomore effort turns the mania up to eleven for an unforgettable blood-soaked thrill ride. While it's a little more generic in terms of its narrative, it makes up for this wholesale with brilliant pacing, fantastic minigames and a whole brace of new, ingenious assassins to cut to pieces. As confident a follow-up as you could ever want, this is Grasshopper at the top of their game. Another fantastic port of a fantastic title.

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Nov 18, 2020

A superior sequel in every way, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle takes everything that made the first installment so memorable and gets rid of everything else. It also tells a more focused and mature story, though it doesn't shy away from extreme bloodletting and ridiculous humor. It's truly fantastic from start to finish.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 30, 2020

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is satirical, nonsensical, and just plain weird. It's also fast, bloody, impactful, and a few other things that I am not sure I can or should put into words. It sometimes makes the original title feel more subdued, which is strange to say since that the first game wasn't exactly tame. Given its much-improved gameplay loop, interesting side-quests, insane boss fights, and hilarious gameplay, NMH2 is indeed a wild rollercoaster ride that must be seen to be believed. If this does not get you hyped for the series' third entry, nothing will.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 6, 2020

When it comes down to it, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle improves upon so much of what the first game started. It might not be perfect, and even a tad bit too easy, but it’s still an enjoyable experience. With a campaign just shy of 10 hours, it’s not a long one, but it’s well worth the $20 price. It’s raunchy, absurd, and incredibly crazy, but it’s an exciting rush of adrenaline that will likely excite fans for No More Heroes 3.

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90 / 100
Nov 23, 2020

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle visits Nintendo Switch with a set-up similar to that of the first part. Everything we said for No More Heroes is applicable here, from its charisma and point of madness, to its powerful staging. Although the news passes only through the adaptation of the control and the visual update, it is still the best - and only - way to return to Santa Destroy in search of revenge and to prepare for the long-awaited third installment of No More Heroes.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Dec 3, 2020

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle improves on its predecessor in nearly every way imaginable. Successfully maintaining what made No More Heroes so adored, all the while improving on the original without sacrificing the heart and soul of the game: having fun.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 12, 2020

Still, Desperate Struggle is a great action game. It has some fantastic one-liners, the end boss is a sight to behold, and there are a lot of cool moments peppered throughout. If you fully analyze the good and bad, it's no better or worse than No More Heroes. Play them both back to back while awaiting No More Heroes III.

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Simon Brown
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Dec 4, 2020

Extremely well put together remasters that stay true to the original games. Travis' brash personality is fun to inhabit and the combat is still extremely satisfying. The series is well worth your time, especially if you missed out on them originally.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 9, 2020

No More Heroes 2 is definitely much better than its predecessor in pretty much every single conceivable way. It looks nicer, its gameplay is more fluid, its soundtrack is more iconic, its voice acting is nowhere near as irritating as before, and the lack of pointless filler makes the game feel a lot more fluid as a result. I’m finally starting to understand why people love this franchise so much, even if I still think No More Heroes and Travis Strikes Again are massively overrated.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 14, 2020

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle has features that make it unique, but the various elements of its narrative are dated and may not appeal to all players. Its arcade proposal matches very well with the portability of the Switch, along with that, the renewed graphics and motion controls make the port for the hybrid the ultimate experience, which makes the Nintendo Wii version obsolete.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

8 / 10
Nov 16, 2020

GREAT - Bigger and bolder than its predecessor, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is a fantastic sequel to the Wii cult classic. Now, the game looks better than ever and thanks to the Switch there are plenty of ways to play and stay faithful to the original’s motion controls.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2020

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle has some great gameplay moments, even though it misses the mark on what the original did so well. The adventure hosts some great boss fights, a responsive combat system, and an unlockable difficulty mode that makes the entire experience even more enjoyable with the addition of a kick-ass soundtrack. Still, it remains in the shadow of its predecessor. It’s less goofy and more absurd and ends up being a heavy-handed retelling to correct the original’s plot. If this weren’t a sequel, I would have been praising it far more, but it spends most of its time desperately struggling to figure out what its own identity is.

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4 / 5.0
Nov 30, 2020

I’ve had more fun with No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle than many of the games I’ve played this year, which speaks volumes to the quality Suda51 and team continue to release; despite all my frustrations, the franchise is still one of my all-time favorites. If you’re set on picking up No More Heroes III in 2021, it’s pretty much a requirement to brush up on No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. And for $19.99? You could do a hell of a lot worse. So grab both and take a souped-up bike ride down memory lane — you won’t regret it.

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8 / 10.0
Jan 11, 2021

This game certainly changes things and while some tedium is erased, the attention on the story isn’t really worth it. Still the adrenaline pumping action fun is here along with some banger tracks.

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8 / 10.0
Jun 21, 2021

Although it’s not as crazy as the first one, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is still one crazy one of a kind video game and everything else about it is better than the franchise starter. The removal of the half-baked open world is the real hero here which gives us a tighter and more enjoyable experience.

Review in Persian | Read full review

Oct 20, 2021

All told, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is a worthy successor to the original game, and the PC release feels well put together and worth the price of admission, perhaps even more so than the first. It’s not without its blemishes, but I’ve found the improved pacing and enhancements to the first game’s design to be meaningful enough gains to justify recommending the PC release as a great way to play and experience No More Heroes 2 for the first or fiftieth time.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 28, 2020

It’s a tough thing to make a follow-up title to a game that is revered in part because it breaks the mold...

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7.5 / 10.0
Jul 19, 2021

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is a game that takes the formula of the first game and greatly improves upon it. The action is amplified, and while the minigames are more interesting this time around, they aren't necessary if you want to beat the game. The overall streamlining keeps the gameplay rhythm going, as the pacing is much better, but the story is more straightforward and less ludicrous than before. It remains a well-done game, but it would've been better if the options for PC players were up to modern snuff.

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7.5 / 10.0
Nov 28, 2020

No More Heroes 1 and 2 have aged like a fine wine. These cult-classics have found a new life with the definitive way to experience them on the Nintendo Switch.

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7.4 / 10.0
Jan 23, 2021

Before the Switch ports of these games, I didn’t have much interest in No More Heroes 3 or the franchise at all but now I’m eager to see where Travis Touchdown ends up.

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