Intravenous
Intravenous
Game
Game2024
Intravenous 2
Developer Explosive Squat Games
Intravenous 2 is the ultimate blend of tactical gameplay and immersive storytelling. Will you embrace the shadows or confront your foes head-on? The choice is yours. Experience a new era of tactical stealth action. Save lives. Uncover secrets. Take vengeance. From the Steam store page
227 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
95
LovedLoved
184 positive · 10 negative
95% range 91–97%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 184 | 10 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 17 | 0 | 16 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Overwhelmingly Positive
2,853 of 2,988 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
95% recommend · 147 yes, 8 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 155 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (4,564 of 4,821 positive).
Players praise the game's deep stealth mechanics and freedom of approach. [1][2][3] Some reviewers find the stealth punishing due to loud guns and persistent enemy alertness. [4][5] The game is widely seen as a significant improvement over the first title. [1][6][7]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
Hyper-realism at the detriment of fun. The game encourages you to stealth and play tactically, even calling you "careless" if you don't. Unfortunately, just about every gun aside from the starting weapons are almost entirely useless in stealth. Even with subsonic ammo and suppressors, the guns in this game will aggro enemies from several rooms away, sometimes even off-screen. I attempted playing on lower difficulty …
- [1]
I had a lot of fun with this. A real iteration and upgrade from the first game. The highlights for me are the freedom in building your loadout, freedom in how you approach the stages, and that the guns feel very punchy and deadly. Two things I would really like to see added in a future update or even in a future game release: 1. The ability to go back and replay beaten stages. Make it a difficulty option whether or …
- [2]
A really good stealth game. Really, really good. I think the mark of a good stealth game, for me, is that you feel like a monster. The game makes you feel like how I imagine Batman feels. Stalking enemies in the dark, waiting for that moment when you can strike undetected. You'll take out maybe 5 to 15 guys before you notice something is wrong. They've noticed your presence, people don't check in over the radio and …
- [3]
Intravenous 2 is a masterclass in top-down stealth and action and it easily has some of the most impressive enemy AI I've ever seen in a game. The levels are incredibly well done. You have so much freedom to tackle situations however you want—crawling through vents, cutting the power at the circuit breaker, sneaking in during broad daylight or just going in guns blazing. The level design really supports both slow, …
- [7]
Top-down stealth-action excellence: Volume II. A very good sequel to an already great game. More and better. Simple as, really. Instant classic offering at least ~15-20hrs of tense, engaging and brutal action with a lot of freedom in chosen approach, supported by quite compelling personal, gritty, focused story about seeking justice, human nature and clinging to self-imposed moral compass in an intense revenge …
Summarised from 34 of the 187 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
95% of the 155 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Intravenous 2. The complaint that keeps coming up: guns are too loud for effective stealth. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 227 · most liked firsti like what the game represents but the story feels like it was written by a 13 year old
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →lured an entire security team into a bathroom before hitting the breaker box, blocking the door, and stabbing them to death. underwent enlightenment shortly after.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heyheypeopleman told me to buy it. Well, he wasn't wrong - it's surprisingly entertaining. Don't get turned off by the top-down perspective, give it a shot.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had a lot of fun with this. A real iteration and upgrade from the first game. The highlights for me are the freedom in building your loadout, freedom in how you approach the stages, and that the guns feel very punchy and deadly. Two things I would really like to see added in a future update or even in a future game release: 1. The ability to go back and replay beaten stages. Make it a difficulty option whether or not replayed stages allow you to extract weapons and earn money. 2. A…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This review is done right after finishing the game with all missions done, including side missions. I also would like to point out that I never played the first Intravenous, so I can't say what changed and what didn't. With that out of the way, Intravenous 2 is a pretty good game with lots of good points, hence why I clicked "yes" on the recommendation. Buuut... if possible, I would choose a "yes, but also no" option. First, the good points. Stealth, mechanically speaking, is pretty good in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Intravenous 2 might just be one of the best games ever made by virtue of the fact that it respects your time, It tells you what you need to know and puts you straight into the gameplay, as someone with increasingly less spare time that is a wonderful thing as is the fact that levels aren't particularly long even if you take it slow on the hardest difficulty you can likely get two levels done before brushing teeth and going to bed. The gameplay in question is punishing but usually fair, very…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An absolutely stellar experience. A perfect blend of old and new, arcade and tactical, and you can lean as far as you like into either side. Soundtrack rocks too, Precinct is my favorite. And since I know he reads these reviews, the only thing I can complain about is the fact that your loadouts and skills are not carried over to new game+ for whatever reason, and I would love if that were changed.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An excellent addition to the December 2025 Humble Choice selection for those of us that appreciate a nice challenging top down Splinter Cell/Hitman style twin stick shooter. The premise is pretty straightforward, you run kill missions for an organization that involves sneaking (or not sneaking) into compounds and other protected areas to assassinate targets while also progressing the plot based on some overarching events. However, the flexibility that the game provides in terms of allowing…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A really good stealth game. Really, really good. I think the mark of a good stealth game, for me, is that you feel like a monster. The game makes you feel like how I imagine Batman feels. Stalking enemies in the dark, waiting for that moment when you can strike undetected. You'll take out maybe 5 to 15 guys before you notice something is wrong. They've noticed your presence, people don't check in over the radio and the other goons get suspicious. The game totally flips from there and you have…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Few have tried to make a realistic, mil-sim, top-down shooter game. This is for obvious reasons. Mil-sim games are either total garbage, forever doomed to early-access development and subsequent abandonment, or they are good enough to gather a following like Squad, Ready or Not, and Escape From Tarkov. These games succeed because they have a multitude of extremely complex mechanics—at least in EFT's case—and bring the blend of realism and the comfort of the player to as close to al dente as…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If Hotline Miami had stealth mechanics, customization, and better attention to detail. Music is just as good if not better too. Worth every penny of $10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The short review: If you like stealth games, this is one of the best. The long review: I see a lot of comparisons to Hotline Miami in other reviews. Really, besides having a top down perspective and pixel graphics they share almost nothing in common. Intravenous 2 is a hardcore stealth game, direct combat often feels discouraged, and frankly you rob yourself of this game's many deeper mechanics by engaging in it. The better comparison is Splinter Cell and Metal Gear. Intravenous 2 has you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Intravenous 2 is a masterclass in top-down stealth and action and it easily has some of the most impressive enemy AI I've ever seen in a game. The levels are incredibly well done. You have so much freedom to tackle situations however you want—crawling through vents, cutting the power at the circuit breaker, sneaking in during broad daylight or just going in guns blazing. The level design really supports both slow, methodical stealth and pure, chaotic gunfights. But the real star of the show…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think that this game falls into a lot of the same trappings as other stealth games like Dishonored, the player has a lot of tools for going lethal- but actually using them in any capacity is grounds for either cleaning the map of enemies or on the higher difficulties instant failure and restart. I don't find the gunplay especially compelling or satisfying, and the ways the player can interact with the fixtures of the environment(picking up enemies, cycling guns for ammo, retrieving the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this with only 9 fingers when I had a finger injury back in 4th, July of 2024 from accidentally slicing my left-index finger's tendon and I was doing physical therapy around the game's release it was a good motivator and helped me practice during that time. It's fun, having to customize guns and become a one-man army in this, I highly recommend it including it's DLCs. I'm excited for the 3rd one and can't wait for it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great stealth action game with gadgets and gun customization. Sadly, it has performance problems on intel 13th / 14th gen but runs fine with 100 fps on my notebook with integrated graphics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic game. At first glance I mistakenly thought this was a spiritual successor to Hotline Miami, but it goes much deeper than that. Definitely some HM inspiration, but the AI is very fleshed out and surprisingly tactical/observant. Great mission variety and weapon customization, along with character skills that improve as you use and upgrade them. I had a blast with this and with the DLC that lets you play the first game in the second game's engine.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Top-down stealth-action excellence: Volume II. A very good sequel to an already great game. More and better. Simple as, really. Instant classic offering at least ~15-20hrs of tense, engaging and brutal action with a lot of freedom in chosen approach, supported by quite compelling personal, gritty, focused story about seeking justice, human nature and clinging to self-imposed moral compass in an intense revenge thriller told during a desperate attempt to do what's right in a hopeless…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR Fun fast paced game, but not without issues The Bad: - Lights get in the way of shooting, which makes no sense and is extremely frustrating. Why do you ALWAYS aim for lights at the ceiling, even when there is a dude literally a bit further in the exact direction you're shooting in? You have no control over this - Vaulting through a broken window requires really precise alignment, which is difficult to get right in the frenzy of combat, would love more tolerance there - Doors just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hyper-realism at the detriment of fun. The game encourages you to stealth and play tactically, even calling you "careless" if you don't. Unfortunately, just about every gun aside from the starting weapons are almost entirely useless in stealth. Even with subsonic ammo and suppressors, the guns in this game will aggro enemies from several rooms away, sometimes even off-screen. I attempted playing on lower difficulty to make it more of a MGS-like stealth sim, yet for some reason the guns are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you love Hotline Miami and are into stealth games, you should purchase this indie game. Despite the big, twin paragraphs of grievances coming right after this, I still think it's a must-try. Intravenous 2's gameplay mechanics are very in-depth and fleshed out, and it's fairly easy to intuit the big list of controls after a couple of levels. Another bonus is its well-made soundtrack. Also, the game has been taken care of post-release, with numerous patches. Props to Spy -- Intravenous 2 is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stealth games are a surprisingly niche genre. It feels like they constantly output great games, with several of the best games in history being stealth titles, but they are also fairly rare. They don't appeal to a lot of people due to being demanding games that require patience and an observational mindset to a very intense degree. Intravenous 2 continues this precedent, but does so in a refreshingly modern way. Rather than be first or third person like usual stealth games, Intravenous is a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolute recommend if you like trying stealth, failing, then going loud anyway. The enemies are pretty smart on all across the board, but their tactics are different between junkies and mercs. They are at the mercy of a good kill zone from a dark room, though hahaha. There's lots of guns and attachments to collect, it has new game + and several endings according to how you played, so the fun doesn't end with the campaign.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I just freaking love this game. It feels targeted towards me, it's called intravenous because I want it injected directly into my veins
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oiled up, buff men slipping and squirming into vents. Awooga, I am the target audience. "You're Intravenous? That's crazy, I'm Intravenous too..." Absolute cinema, a white tear ran down my leg.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Intervenius 2 is the kind of stealth game that reminds you why sneaking around in the dark is still one of the most satisfying things you can do with a keyboard and some questionable life choices. From the jump, the game nails that clean stealth loop: observe, plan, execute, improvise when everything goes sideways, and somehow still feel like a genius. The level design does a great job of giving you multiple routes and opportunities without turning into an overwhelming sandbox. It’s smart,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is easily one of the best stealth/tactical top down shooters you can get, and a good depiction of realistic suppressor usage where even a suppressed gunshot can be heard from a considerable distance, and is not a cheat code to stealth. The gameplay has plenty of replayability as you can go purely stealth, have a combination, or even going loud. Each playstyle requires a different mindset but is ultimately achievable, don't get tricked into thinking you ONLY have to do stealth. OST is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best videogames I have had the pleasure of playing in a very long time. Definitely worth trying out.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a fan of all the Splinter Cell games and having played almost every stealth game on the market, I can recommend this game. Not only is the game perfect when you play with stealth in mind, but also if you go guns blazing. The soundtrack, graphics, how the guns feel and sound, and AI are top notch.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Solid game but there are minor problems omo. 1. It ruins the run so many times when you cant see the goons outside of your range but they can see you, its quite frustrating. 2. I wouldn't recommend putting the knock out key on the pick up key, like there are so many times where i picked up a body or a can instead of knocking out the goon, so i recommend just spamming the close attack key and running into them. 3. Idk how its possible to this day and I even don't know if its only my problem but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If Metal Gear Solid and Hotline Miami had a baby... Absolute cinema. What a game. I didn't have any expectations buying this game other than "another cool-looking top-down shooter" but man, i was wrong. I had such a blast playing this well-crafted masterpiece! The story is really well written and deep, alongside a huge variety of missions and guns with tons of cool customization to fit your playstyle. You can either go full stealth commando or strap a drum mag on a glock and miss all your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pure kino from top to bottom. My favourite kind of stealth game, salvaging botched runs by the skin of your teeth is like mainlining adrenaline.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is exactly what it claims to be, which isn't for everyone, but if it is you will fall in love with it and accidentally rack up lots of hours. The gameplay dynamic has a learning curve if you're expecting hold your hand easy gunplay and a casual experience because this is not that. The AI is ruthless and you have to think critically and make smart decisions, though save scumming is actually encouraged giving you a lot of control over your playthrough. I was so impressed by how hard…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty fun game ! Basically something between Hotline Miami and Deus Ex. And maybe Punch Out as well, since the game becomes a boxing simulator whenever you need to avoid killing enemies. Although there are a handful of issues : - Botched FR localization with lots of typos and literal idiom translations that make no sense ("cat's out of the bag" > "le chat est sorti du sac", sorry but that doesn't mean anything in French except that an actual cat got out of an actual bag). - Can't do…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a fan of stealth games and tactical shooters I really like both Intravenous titles. I had only tried a couple of mission of IV1 when there was the giveaway, but I then finished the remaster through IV2. I liked the character switches, especially the first time it happens since I always go for a genocide run with Steve. Pros and Cons for IV1 and IV2: +Weapons customization is deep. -Weapons at the shop will be very expensive for most of the game, until you basically become rich, also…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I came across this game very recently while looking for alternatives to some other game that I honestly cannot even remember anymore - because IV2 consumed me completely. On the store page stealth is heavily emphasized, and the game supposedly takes cues from games like Splinter Cell, Thief, Jagged Alliance 2 (!!!) and a few other well known classics. And I did play it as a stealth game - at first. Mechanically it’s sound, AI is very good and realistic, and they will notice things that are out…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the things I like the most is that higher difficulties don't just increase their Hp and damage, but their A.i itself improves.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game from HB and I was little sceptical about this; it looked like some Hotline Miami clone with added small stealth elements. I was wrong... Sometimes it can become a fast frenetical shooter, but there's more than this. Positive: AI - enemies are most of time really smart! In stealth they react to noises, to open doors or turned off lights. And in fight? They use covers, they are making ambushes, sometimes they try to rush you. And if you leave them in the dark in combat - they can…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super satisfying. Very much in the realm of 'hard game that you want to get better at'. Big fan of the build flexibility and the push-pull between violence and silence.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finally, a game that captures my manchild fantasy of being a jacked up, revenge driven stealth assassin in modern day America! This game is amazing, it's like a 2D immersive sim (It's specifically influenced by Dishonored). The music slaps, the atmosphere is excellent and the gameplay is very enjoyable and allows you to approach the levels the way you want to. I can't recommend it enough!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quite possibly the greatest stealth action game ever made. If not, the third game certainly will be.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've only played this game for 7 hours (At the time of writing this review) But every minute, I've had so much fun. There is quite literally an infinite amount of missions you can play. There's so much vanilla content, but if you're on your 52nd playthrough and you're like, "Lemme play another persons mission" There is a steam workshop for making your own custom missions. It's super easy, too. You don't need to know how to code, you just drag and drop characters or props onto the screen, and it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Intravenous 2 is essentially the tactical shooter version of Hotline Miami. In short, the story was alright, but the rest of the game was great in all regards. Bonus points for including a remaster of the first game as a cheap DLC. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Detailed review: Story - 6/10 Simple but effective, it just serves as a support for the actual game as it should. Some interesting twists there and then. Content - 8/10 It took me 9 hours to go through both IV1 remaster…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →extremely solid mechanics, fluid and tense to play, beautiful to look at. feels like it was written by a teenaged 4chan addict
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its legit just hotline miami but way more tactical AND the AI is smart and doesnt just bum rush you
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game after watching the Sseth video that probably put it on a lot of other players radar. I watched the gameplay for maybe five minutes and immediately stopped the video, just to not have the game spoiled for me, I was SOLD. The first time playing I ended up locked in for like eight hours. The stealth gameplay is tight and takes account for even small details (A guard can notice a gun dropped by a goon you silently dispatched and hid). The straightforward combat is also incredibly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I probably put more hours into this game than I should have. It's pretty fun, but gets repetitive over time. There's a cool selection of weapons and attachments to choose from, but using the guns only punishes you. Enemies are forever chaotic once you've shot a bullet, so the best strategy is to just run around with nothing but a knife the whole time. I'm not personally a fan of the story, visuals, or the vibe as a whole, but that's just personal preference. If it looks like you'll enjoy it,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is in my top five stealth games of all time along with the first two Thief games and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. Yes, it's that good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing music, deeper gameplay and better looking than Hotline Miami
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I once climbed a mountain and got lost on my way, but luckily I met another hiker just like me. I asked him how high up we are, and he said "Intravenous 2". At that point, I knew we were at the peak.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →commit murder, sneak around to commit more, then alert the entire complex on accident because you forgot to hide the body in the local dumpster(tm) great game 10/9 can't wait for the third
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For a certain type of person this is a truly special and amazing game. It can be played a Splinter Cell style ghost sneak em up, a very good shooter with incredible enemy AI and build variety driven by amazing, indepth gun customization or, as I would recommend, with an Im-Sim sensibility stemming from games like DIshonored - start out outnumbered, commit to the run, mess up, stick with it and adapt, you're no longer ghosting and the enemy knows you're in the area but not where or how to find…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →story is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ terrible and i kind of wish they didnt bother writing it (sorry brother but you gotta get someone else on this ♥♥♥♥) but, playing stealth-ish, the rest of the game is phenomenal – the systems and feel are really fantastic. i wish it was slightly better on controller (you need to actually click on heads, optimally) but the fact this game has a full fat level editor is what really sells it. i bought it on sale but it's worth full price. if you're a fan of MGS1, you can get that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An incredibly engaging shooter with a superb soundtrack and a good story. Both the gunplay and stealth are equally viable and enjoyable on every IV1R and IV2 mission. The weapon customisation system is also very notable, and there is modding support for adding new content into the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Accurately self describing as "A LOVE LETTER TO TACTICAL STEALTH ACTION" Intravenous 2 is one of my top favorite stealth action games. Excellent gameplay keeps me retrying botched runs over and over again with joy. My only criticism is the writing is a touch uninspired. That is the only criticism I have for this developer. The thing is... if this game had a story with deeper more complex themes it could overshadow early Metal Gear titles. If I had the capital to invest in this developer I would…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game runs well on just about anything, with adjustments to settings of course. Its extremely fun with lots of replay value, the story and gameplay is incredible. Stealth and combat are difficult in fun ways. Its so good I bought it even though I could play for free in my family library.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like to walk into the level with my cool gun and grenades, and I just start shooting. I keep shooting until everyone is dead and all the lights are broken. Allegedly, there is a stealth component to this game, but I haven't found it yet. Oh well. Oh, and the soundtrack is really, really good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not only is this one of the best stealth games ever made, but once you beat the main campaign check out the steam workshop for all the incredible modded campaigns people have created! Hours of extra playtime on some super cool and challenging levels.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have played the first game remastered in this game. That alone has left me to recommend this game as if it is just as good as the first game, which is remastered in this game, then I will not be disappointed. Will update when I finish the actual game. PS: Play the game in True difficulty, it's worth it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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