It’s been years since I played Smite, the decade-old multiplayer online battle arena from Titan Forge Games. I’m an avid League of Legends player, and my experience with Smite often arose between long grinding sessions; when solo queue had stripped away too much of my mental state.

When I found out about Smite 2, I was immediately curious. The climate for live-service games differs from when Smite was originally released in 2014; gamers appear to have less appetite for continuous experiences. Overwatch 2 is a cautionary tale on the consequences of a ‘half-baked’ sequel on a community.

After getting my hands on Smite 2, I was impressed. The experience reminded me of the fun I had with the game years before. There are plenty of transferable skills between League of Legends and Smite, so I was able to jump right into the action without worrying about learning a lot of mechanics. There’s also a handy auto-build feature, which now provides two alternate builds, so you can tweak your god’s playstyle.

‘The best MOBA since Smite’ is the mantra Titan Forge is operating under. In the two (lengthy) games of Smite 2 I played, I came away with the impression that the sequel is Smite with a new, shiny coat of paint. The visual advancements are obvious, with more detailed character models, sleeker environments and most visually impressive of all, new effects for abilities.

There are a couple of gameplay changes, too. Relics have been replaced with two powers, one which cleanses crowd control and one that places a ward. This is intended to simplify the pre-game for players. Abilities that were previously attached to relics have been shifted to buildable active items.

The item shop has been overhauled, with component items now feeding into more powerful items, similar to League of Legends. It’s not something I engaged with since I was happy to let auto-build take over, but I’ve seen folks excited about the potential for more build diversity.

In my quest to perform as well as possible without having to learn any complicated kits, I played Anubis in my first game and Kukulkan in my second. Both of these played like classic burst mages, you press all the buttons and if your aim is true and you’ve accumulated enough stats, your opposition will disappear. After racking up 50 kills in two games, I was ready to walk across the building, don a Styx Ferrymen jersey and take to the stage.

Smite 2 is no more complicated than an improved version of Smite. This isn’t surprising, dedicated fans of over a decade are already happy with their game’s core experience. The announcement of a sequel could have the synergistic effect of bringing new players to Smite 2 and then keeping them interested with a flashy new look. A common sore point I heard from developers was that Unreal Engine 3 and other archaic systems prevented Smite from looking like a modern game, which could be a deterrent to people looking to get into it.

The real benefit to players is going to be the ease at which Titan Forge can now create additional content in Unreal Engine 5. Tasks that would have taken significant manpower and time can now be achieved quickly and with fewer cooks around the pot. It’s clear to see that Hi-Rez and Titan Forge are treating Smite 2 as a base to build upon for the next decade of Smite, a prudent move considering the tech advancements we’ve seen since 2014.

An aspect of the Smite 2 announcement that has caused some controversy is the transfer of content from the original game. As explained by Titan Forge, it would take an incredible amount of time to port every skin from Smite to Smite 2. They’ve opted not to do that and instead provide compensation in the form of legacy gems and a new divine legacy system. Not everyone is pleased with this compromise, however.

Smite 2 is going to attract a lot of new players, and others who casually engaged with the original over the last ten years will return to try out the sequel. The core audience is going to come with Titan Forge to Smite 2, but will they be able to attract and retain a new audience? Only time will tell.