Kill It With Fire 2 Review: Flaming Spiders! (PC)

Out now on PC, Skitters Kill It With Fire 2, developed by Casey Donnellan Games and published by Tinybuild. In this first-person indie-action game, you must exterminate spiders across a collection of strange worlds. All the while using an even stranger set of items and weapons in a bid to save the multiverse from the eight-legged threat once and for all. Or at least until a third game comes out in a few years. Play alone, play with friends, or against them in online multiplayer games.

Kill It With Fire 2 is the sequel to the first game that I reviewed for this site back in 2020. And ever since I heard there would be a sequel coming, I knew that I had to review it when the time came. I’ve previously written a preview on it about a year or so ago. And I’ve been curious to see how the entire thing would turn out in the end. I largely enjoyed the game then. And I’m pleased to say that in the end. I feel the game has managed to stick the landing. Well, more or less. But with that said, on to the review!

Kill It With Fire 2 is out now on PC via Steam, and is available on PS4 and PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S.

Story – Otherworld Wide Web

Kill It With Fire 2 sees you once again playing as the silent Exterminator in their never-ending quest to exterminate whatever spiders they come across. Whilst not exactly picking up where the last game ended. You find yourself pulled up into a strange spaceship. You are tasked with helping the ship’s AI, Darwin, take down the spider threat once and for all. In a journey that will take you across the multiverse.

The story is told through short text interactions with Darwin. And through cassette tapes containing audio logs from those on the ship. And from the residents of some of the worlds you visit. This is a story that is told well. And I don’t think that it gets in the way of the action.

Kill It With Fire 2 starts almost where the last one ended.

I will be honest, I don’t think that the story is needed. I do think that the writing can be fun and funny, in all fairness. And it has a certain charm that feels somewhat lacking in some PC indie games I’ve played as of late. But this isn’t a narrative title. And given the tongue-in-cheek nature of the game, there is no good reason to sweat the story too much. It is wacky, it is silly, it is fun. And it adds to the game as a whole.

More so than it ever takes away from it. The writing is doing a decent enough job of justifying the adventure you are going on. As well as gives the game a strong personality that feels of its own. Yes, Kill It With Fire 2 has more than a few heavy references here and there. But it still feels like its own entity. And it is fun to see how it all evolves as the adventure goes along.

Gameplay – Earth Vs Spider

Much like the original game, Kill It With Fire 2 is a first-person action game where you must kill spiders with whatever tools you have, whilst completing a handful of side objectives to unlock new areas and equipment. These tools can range from frying pans and vacuum cleaners to shotguns and drones.

Each level requires you to complete a series of objectives to lead you to collect a key item. You then return to your ship to unlock the next dimension. Rinse and repeat. Though compared to the first game, there is more of a focus on the side objectives than on killing spiders. Though killing spiders is still the core of the game here.

Kill It With Fire 2 starts with normal environments, then gets crazy!

The controls and gameplay remain just as tight and enjoyable as before. Not to sound crass, but if you were looking for more of the same, but better, you get it! Kind of, the game feels more focused on completing objectives rather than killing a set number of siders. These puzzles involve brewing potions, blowing up buildings, and going into a virtual world.

All of these make for some great set pieces. With all the levels having a distinct feel to them that extends beyond just the aesthetics and soundtrack. But there are still plenty of strange ways for you to defeat spiders, big and small. And boy, some do get big.

Operation Spider

The variety of puzzles in Kill It With Fire 2 should be commended and is one of my favourite things I played during my playthrough for this review. There isn’t much repetition, though some puzzles are repeated in a given level. And the variety at hand is nice to see. And makes each world feel unique. Without it feeling like you are functionally playing the same level with a different coat of paint.

With you using a range of wild items, some returning, some new, all designed to help you blast the little blighters into next week. Some are more useful than others. But the variety is wide enough that you can build up a loadout that best suits your playstyle. However, I have to say that as a whole, the objectives you have to complete are a bit of a mixed bag.

Some are honestly a lot of fun; testing reflexes, problem-solving, and mental agility. The best ones almost weave into the worlds seamlessly; in the haunted house where you need to match items up with pictures or brew potions. Or just offer a different experience, like the wave defence challenges or the stealth sections that pop up.

They provide enough of a challenge to be compelling and yet don’t feel as though they are asking too much from you. Or at the very least, they give you something to goof around with. At worst, however, end up feeling like they are padding out a given level. This made the Wild West level feel like a slog to get through.

Into The Spider-Verse

The levels are larger than in the first game. At least for the most part. With it feeling like almost every available inch of the level has been utilised to some degree or another, nothing is just “there” for the sake of it, with objectives, hidden items, and spider hiding locations abound. And since the preview I played last year, new items have been added to the game. This helps give a reason to go back and see if you can find them. And even if you’re playing this fresh, finding more Compound X will unlock new areas for you to explore in earlier levels anyway.

This sequence goes on a little too long for me.

Increasing the size of the levels doesn’t always work for me. Like I say, the Wild West level, whilst there are a few areas of dead space, the entire level is set around a “Tower Defence” gimmick. And there isn’t much to do on either side of it; nothing to do before it or after it. And given how much of the level is built around it, there isn’t much to see or do once you’re done.

In that level, you place cowboy cacti to defend the saloon. But you also need to mine and farm resources, forage fruit, and upgrade tools. All from a limited pool of energy that can be spent in a day. When I got to that mission, it felt like I had wandered into the wrong game! And if you do something in the wrong order, well, you’re going to need to reset that entire challenge to get another shot at unlocking some areas

Big Web

Sadly, I have to say that I have mixed feelings when it comes to the greater scale that we get with Kill It With Fire 2. On the one hand, it keeps the experience fresh and provides you with levels with a fair amount of things to do. On the other hand, the game starts to feel less about killing spiders and more about solving puzzles. Or to put it another way, the first was very much about killing a set number of spiders, with wacky objectives largely as a side activity.

This one is about completing wacky objectives, with killing spiders feeling like a side activity. Sure, you might need to kill some to unlock a door or complete an objective. But it feels less important with time. With some of these objectives starting to resemble something like “feature creep”.

Powerwashing historical artefacts, as you do.

The mundane environments from the first game are largely gone. And instead are replaced by grander and more over-the-top locations. Which I will admit feels like the creativity peaks at the Kaiju level, and doesn’t get back to those heights. But all the same, what comes there after is still a great challenge, even if some challenges felt more tedious than others.

This isn’t to say that Kill It With Fire 2 was a slog to play through for this review. But here we are, moving from the almost twisted power fantasy of eliminating spiders in over-the-top ways in your home, to going on a sci-fi adventure, which feels like window dressing for the most part.

Here We Go Again

Whilst the focus of Kill It With Fire 2 feels as though it has shifted from the previous game, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy playing through the game for this review. Yes, I don’t feel that the larger-scale adventure works. But it provides a prince’s ransom of variety to the game that would never be there in more mundane settings. And the challenges and objectives this can provide are more fun than not.

I can’t comment on the multi-player component. But the single-player experience is sizable enough to give you more than enough to do. And all the while with something daft yet fun for you to come across and defeat. Kill It With Fire 2 comes close to being a fantastic sequel. And I think most issues I have are purely out of taste rather than objective problems.

Some levels can be a ton of fun.

Nevertheless, I do feel that there is much to enjoy here. And any apathy I have, I suppose, ends up coming down to having played the original so much. It was the first game I reviewed professionally, and the first game I wrote a guide for. So, it will always have a special place in my heart.

Kill It With Fire 2, whilst it isn’t the best game I have ever reviewed, it is one of the more imaginative and creative. And in this current media landscape, I will always have greater praise and appreciation of a game that didn’t quite land for me versus certain other titles I’ve reviewed recently. But if you’re a fan of the original or want a game to freak out your arachnophobic friends, then this is a must-have.

Graphics & Audio – Critter Skitter

The art style of Kill It With Fire 2 has shifted slightly from the first game. I say “Slightly” as, whilst some people’s tastes may vary, the graphics and art style feel refined, evolved, and enhanced. At its core, the slightly low-poly aesthetic remains. But with greater detail added to just about everything. Yes there are still some elements with largely flat minimalist textures. But they are utilised well. And all to create a pleasing series of environments for you to explore. And there are more polygons. Which feels like a statement right out of the 1990s come to think about it.

When reviewing the first game, I felt that the creepy atmosphere of walking through an abandoned town where only spiders now remained added something uncanny to it; not quite horror, but something in that neighbourhood. Kill It With Fire 2 goes in a different direction. Offering us a range of large set-piece locations and missions across a variety of themed worlds. And all credit to the developer.

These new locations don’t just feel like variations on a theme; it doesn’t feel like I’m just playing the same series of events with a different colour palette. Each level has a distinct pace and theme. Which oddly makes the whole “Multi-verse” idea feel more complete than other titles I’ve played where that is the case.

I can’t really complain about the game visually. As it nails its chosen art style. Giving the player the best possible version of it. All whilst having a level of character to it that makes exploring the levels and seeing the finer details enjoyable. Similarly, I have no complaints about the soundtrack. It more than perfectly fits the vibe and feel of the game. It has a tone that weaves into the environments and situations that you find yourself in. Being creepy when it needs to be. And thrilling and exciting when the moment calls for it. All with a top-notch production value that is hard to fault.

Kill It With Fire 2 was reviewed on PC.