Shank 2 continues the tale of a man named Shank by providing more killing, more death, and more over-the-top gore that was a staple of the original title. At its core, however, is a side-scrolling brawler reminiscent of old arcade classics in which addictive gameplay is seasoned liberally with brutal difficulty to keep kids feeding quarters into the machines.

This is no longer the age of arcades, yet punishing challenge remains a main ingredient in this type of game. Of course, there's no point in having challenge without making progress, so Klei Entertainment has tried to implement some changes to the formula.