No More Room in Hell 2

No More Room in Hell 2 is the sequel to a 2011 Half-Life 2 mod, built by Torn Banner Studios with original mod creators Lever Games. It entered Early Access in October 2024 with a rocky start, then left it on August 11 with PS5 and Xbox versions, a new solo mode and, by the studio’s count, more than 8,000 bug fixes and optimizations. You play an emergency Responder dropped into zombie-infested locations with up to seven others, completing objectives and extracting with supplies.

Why permadeath works

The defining system is permadeath. A fallen Responder is gone, along with the gear and perks they’ve built up, and infection adds a second clock: bitten players must find pills or a gene therapy cure before they turn on their own team. Looting benefits the whole crew, but only a survivor reaps the rewards, and extraction rewards grow as more squadmates make it out. Several reviews call this what separates the game from the crowded field of undead shooters. One described permadeath as giving every bad decision teeth, another found it adds social weight to cooperation, and a third praised helicopter extractions in which players are hauled up one at a time while the rest hold the area. Around that sit six detailed maps on the US Northeast Coast, a horde that reacts to noise, scarce ammunition and a mix of melee, guns and improvised weapons.

From a botched launch to a Metacritic 79

Coverage of the 1.0 release is largely positive. One outlet said it finally feels like a complete game, another called it a surprisingly strong comeback, and GamingBible described the tide turning from a botched Early Access launch to one of the best co-op action games of the year. Reviewers credit the performance and stability work, level design they call some of the best the series has had, and a silence that does more work than any jump scare. Newcomers get a gentler on-ramp in the new solo mode, though it has no progression or permadeath.

Where it still breaks

The complaints are specific. The Escapist, which found the game bored it at beginner difficulty before growing on it at higher ones, reported server disconnections costing it and friends characters in private survival games, and said the game needs more stability before it can ask players to invest fully in permadeath. CGMagazine said a poor controller implementation holds back an otherwise great game on PC, and recommended playing with a mouse. Other reviews mention buggy menus, unremarkable visuals and shooting that doesn’t match the best of its inspirations. A few were harsher: one outlet said bugs, a dismal loop and awful permadeath implementation squandered the game’s vision. Steam reflects that unease. The all-time score is 71% positive over 10,056 reviews, but the last 30 days are 64% over 653, which Steam rates Mixed. I couldn’t confirm the cause, so I won’t guess.

Verdict

No More Room in Hell 2 has a distinctive take on co-op zombie survival, and the 1.0 release fixed enough of Early Access that most critics now recommend it. If you play with a regular group on PC and want stakes with your zombie killing, it is worth buying at $22.49 through November 2 ($29.99 afterwards). If you rely on a controller, or you can’t stand losing a character to a disconnect, watch the patch notes first.