Breathedge 2

1. Summary

Breathedge 2 launched into Early Access as a single chapter, and the reviews keep coming back to one question: is a polished, funny first chapter worth buying now, or is it the old demo with a price tag? Most players (74%) recommend it. They praise a sequel that fixed the first game's worst chores, with tools that no longer break, stackable inventory, a much bigger oxygen tank at the start, a handy grabber arm, and a big, detailed, good-looking first zone that runs smoothly on everything from high-end PCs to Steam Deck. Many returning fans say the absurd tone is back.

Several of the most upvoted negative reviews say the paid release barely goes past the free demo from a year earlier, ends after roughly 5 to 10 hours, and points at a full release in 2028. In launch week, negative reviews complained most about Sui, the talking backpack robot, for both its voice and its nonstop, flat jokes. Some found the humor weaker and tamer than the first game's. On standard difficulty, hunger, thirst and rest drained so fast that some early players spent more time hunting food than playing. Patch 0.8.9 brought back the first game's voice actor in mid-September and won the developers some goodwill, while the complaint about content length remained.

2. What keeps coming up

What players praise

Quality-of-life fixes over the first gameHigh

Returning players list the same handful of improvements: base tools no longer break (only add-on upgrades wear down), materials stack in the inventory, you start with far more oxygen so you are not tethered to base every minute, and a grabber arm cuts down fiddly scavenging. Some call it better than the first game on mechanics alone, and several negative reviews concede these changes are real improvements. A few players object the other way: they miss crafting replacement tools and find the non-repairable, non-renewable upgrade slots discouraging.

Polished, stable and good-looking for Early AccessHigh

Several players report no bugs or only cosmetic ones, smooth performance on Ultra, 60 to 165 fps on mid-range hardware, and trouble-free play on Steam Deck and Linux via Proton. A few call it unusually polished for Early Access. Reported problems are isolated: a quest blocker ("Debug" task) that was hotfixed, heaters appearing to stop working, a brief inventory frame drop, a missing escape menu, and one or two crashes.

Exploration and a dense, handcrafted first zoneMedium

Positive reviewers enjoy drifting around a large, cluttered first sector full of environmental storytelling, secrets, collectibles and side quests, and like that achievements grant small permanent perks. Some compare it to Subnautica, and one review calls it "Subnautica in space". A smaller group finds the same density visually noisy and says the zone is really one crowded area you keep returning to.

Cheap Early Access priceMedium

Some positive reviews mention paying around $15 to 16 on the launch discount and call that fair for 8 to 15 hours, and a couple recommend buying it to support the developers.

Difficulty optionsLow

Players who struggled with the survival pacing say Story or Easy mode made it relaxing, and some praise the range of difficulties for accessibility. A few note that Story mode removes almost all survival pressure.

Where players are split

Humor and writing compared to the first gameHigh

Opinions on the humor divide. Many fans say the absurd, crude, reference-heavy humor is back and as good or better ("same man, same chicken"). Others say the jokes are flatter, repetitive and tamer than the first game's, and one compares it to Borderlands-type humor "where things are narrated 'at you'". The most upvoted negative review makes this point: the jokes no longer land. A few want it cruder. A few newcomers who never played the first game call the humor bland or say they had no idea what to do.

Sui the robot companion and the voice actingHigh

In launch week, Sui was the complaint negative reviews raised most. The backpack robot talks constantly and repeats lines, and its original English voice was hard to understand and often called annoying or grating (one review says "AI-sounding"). A few players say the voice made them stop or refund. Some also found Babe's role awkward or pointless, and a few mention characters talking over each other. Patch 0.8.9 restored the first game's voice actor, and several reviewers added updates thanking the developers for listening. Some negative reviews stayed negative anyway, saying the voice was fixed but the writing and the chatter were not. Plenty of positive reviews also find the robot annoying without calling it a dealbreaker; one says it is "not as bad as some people make it".

Survival pacing: food, water and restHigh

At launch, many players said hunger and thirst drained far too fast on standard difficulty, and resting consumed the food and water they had just gathered. Early hours turned into a hunt for rotten food, and one player noted that dying was the most efficient way to restore stats. Others say it settles once you repair the food and water machines, get upgrades, or lower the difficulty, and one noted a patch slowed the drain. Players are split on whether the tough start is a satisfying scramble or a turn-off.

Grind and resource huntingMedium

Supporters enjoy the scavenging loop. Critics describe a "space handyman simulator": fetch materials, repair the same kind of object, repeat. The same pain points come up across reviews: scarce aluminum, electrical tape and plastic that are hard to recognize, non-respawning nodes, alkaline fuel runs, and a 300-oxyworm quest. Some want found parts marked on the map.

What frustrates players

Too little content, and too close to the free demoHigh

Several of the most upvoted negative reviews are about this. Players finished the available story in about 5 to 10 hours (12 to 20 for completionists) and hit an end-of-content wall at almost exactly where the demo ended a year earlier. Many feel they paid to replay the demo with some polish, and for some the roadmap to a 2028 full release made it worse. One negative review puts the advice plainly: "Don't buy in this state. Just play the demo." Positive reviewers flag the short length too, while a few push back, saying the chapter has more in it than the demo did and the length is fine for the price. Missing systems (base building, vehicles, automation, planet surfaces) come up as the expected next step.

Poor onboarding and vague objectivesMedium

Some players describe not knowing what to do: quests that say "fix the radio" without hinting where the parts are, an unexplained upgrade system, no clear way to repair tools, hard-to-spot materials, and a flood of objectives popping up every few seconds. A few needed YouTube or a streamer to progress.

Movement, controls and comfortLow

A few players complain about sluggish, momentum-heavy walking on decks, a slow booster, no fly up/down rebinding or control remapping, no mouse-wheel hotbar scrolling and no FOV slider, and a few report motion sickness. Some also miss true omnidirectional zero-G movement.

No co-opLow

A few buyers expected multiplayer from the trailer or earlier talk, including one who bought three copies for family, and reviewed negatively when it turned out to be single-player only.

3. The player conversation

The tone is disappointed affection more than anger. Negative reviews often compare the game with a first Breathedge the writer loved, and some say they will wait for the full release. In negative reviews written within the first two hours, Sui and the survival drain come up most; those from reviewers with ten or more hours most often say there was not enough to do. Launch week (294 reviews, 74% positive) brought most of the voice and demo complaints. The rating edged up to 78% in week two, and after patch 0.8.9 restored the original voice actor in mid-September, complaints about the voice mostly stopped, leaving content length as the lasting grievance. The small final week (7 reviews) was mostly about the short content and waiting for more.

4. What the developers could do

1. Ship Chapter 2 sooner, or set clearer expectations about content length on the store page. Several of the most upvoted negative reviews complain about paying for what feels like the old demo, with a hard stop after 5 to 10 hours and a 2028 roadmap.
2. Keep reworking Sui's writing and how often it talks, now that the voice is fixed. Players credited the voice-actor swap, but some still ask for fewer repeated lines, better jokes, and an option to quiet the companion.
3. Slow standard-difficulty hunger, thirst and rest drain in the opening hours. Early players say survival upkeep crowds out the story and exploration, and resting currently eats the food they just gathered.
4. Improve onboarding and quest guidance. Players want hints about where quest parts and key materials like plastic and tape are found, markers on found parts, and a clear explanation of upgrades and tool repair.
5. Make key materials easier to find or renewable. Aluminum, tape, electronics and alkaline scarcity, plus non-respawning nodes, turn late-chapter progress into a slow search.
6. Sharpen the humor toward the first game's style. Returning fans who say the jokes are tamer and flatter include the author of the most upvoted negative review, and some asked for the old bite to come back.
7. Add control remapping, a FOV slider and faster traversal. Players who otherwise enjoy the game mention sluggish deck movement, fixed vertical controls and motion sickness.
8. Deliver the missing systems players expect, like base building and vehicles. Some reviews name these as the reason the current loop feels thin.