Piranha Bytes continues the trend of making its signature style of role-playing more digestible in Risen 2: Dark Waters, though in the process thins out too much of the series' fascinating density.
Disappointing character development options, sloppy combat and run-of-the-mill questing structures often make Dark Waters more of a chore to play than it should be, and exploration isn't nearly exciting enough to make up for its many flaws. If you desperately to role-play as a pirate, you certainly can in Risen 2, but you'll also find little that's memorable, and a multitude of poorly implemented ideas and missed opportunities.
After what happened to the first game on console, I'll be surprised if anyone is amped for the second one on console.