Magicka 2 doesn't mess much with the formula of the first title. If the hours you spent traipsing through Midgård before grew tedious, the sequel may not wield enough magic to hold your attention. However, if you dropped the first game quickly due to the plethora of game breaking launch bugs, or missed this gem of series altogether, it is more than worth your time for an excellently priced $15.

Much like its predecessor, Magicka 2 is a flawed game whose faults generally contribute to its charm. There’s something wonderfully engaging about a game that knows exactly what it is, doesn’t try to be anything more, and succeeds on nearly all fronts.

Magicka 2 is like its predecessor, in good and bad alike. Feels like Magicka 1.7, not 2.0. [Aug 2015]

Magicka 2 is Magicka refined - the same wizard-killing simulator co-op fans love with the fixes and improvements players craved. While it doesn't break new ground or surpass the original, it's a blast to play with friends.

Only intermittently better than its predecessor, if still every bit as frenetic. [Aug 2015, p.120]

Game’s derivativeness doesn’t diminish despite developer’s diligence: the humor is noticeably stale, and game situations lack variety. There’s just no progress in the series, which in itself is a step backwards. [Sept 2015, p.83]

It lies somewhere between a fully formed game in which would-be wizards learn to chain elements into powerful spells and a low-rent improv show, in which everybody just makes things up as they go.