When comparing Alien Swarm vs Risk of Rain, the Slant community recommends Risk of Rain for most people. In the question“What are the best 4-player local multiplayer games on Steam?” Risk of Rain is ranked 15th while Alien Swarm is ranked 26th. The most important reason people chose Risk of Rain is:
Imagine a small set of DOTA or LOL. These 10 characters can be tankers, DPS, supporters, rangers, carriers, etc depending on your skill and level of use. And they're hard to unlock which makes the challenging to get them even more.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Easy to pick up and play, even for beginners
The game consists of tried-and-true top-down shooter mechanics that will be familiar to most players; it is reminiscent of older arcade and console shooters.
Pro Anyone can download and play the game as it is free-to-play and open-source
The game is completely free and has no microtransactions or ads.
The source code is also free and accessible, so the game can be easily modded.
Pro Easily play with up to 4-players in online co-op
Alien Swarm allows for up to 4-player online co-op, which makes for an easy way to play with a small group of friends or strangers.
Pro Convenient offline LAN support
Alien Swarm offers offline LAN (local area network) support, meaning that the game can be easily played locally with each machine connected together in the same place.
Pro 10 unique characters
Imagine a small set of DOTA or LOL. These 10 characters can be tankers, DPS, supporters, rangers, carriers, etc depending on your skill and level of use. And they're hard to unlock which makes the challenging to get them even more.
Pro Replayability is high
The levels are generated very randomly making for a unique experience every time the game is played which in turn makes for a ton of replayability.
Pro Time equals difficulty
It gets tougher as time passes by. That means by minute 40, you are playing at hardcore difficulty. This makes for an experience that is good for learning the mechanics as once you can not advance due to the difficulty you will die which means the game has to be repeated which help learn the ins and outs more and more each time it is done.
Pro Fun local and online co-op modes
No need to compete as the multiplayer is all cooperative where each player has to help the other survive the harsh world which is a fun setting for friends as it leaves out any competitiveness.
Cons
Con Can get a bit repetitive
The gameplay doesn't change much from mission to mission; you’re generally just shooting aliens over and over again.
Con Gameplay is too short
The main story only takes about three or four hours to complete, which means you could beat the game in one sitting pretty easily.
Con Unlocks unclear
The game explanation of how unlocks unlock is not very clear or intuitive making for wasted time trying to figure them out.