There's no denying that it hasn't been plane sailing for Smite 2 ever since it made its debut as an accessible alpha project. The initial debut felt very rough and considering it asked fans to purchase a Founder's Pack to access the build, it led to a fair bit of criticism about how developer Titan Forge was handling this MOBA sequel. But, that was quite a while ago now and in the months since the team has actually implemented a lot of feedback and made a huge amount of changes, to the point where today Smite 2 is a much closer example of what we expected. I say this as someone who ever since the big free-to-play update recently has been returning to the game to see how it shapes up in 2025.
First of all, it's worth saying that Smite 2, even as a free-to-play and easily accessible title, is still early in its development and this does mean that it has various elements that feel a bit rough around the edges. The graphics, while much more detailed, are often a bit uneven and the particle effects are occasionally too extreme to the point where it's difficult to determine what's happening. The UI and menus can be janky and stiff and there are bugs that slightly affect the gameplay, but it should be said that the game feels significantly better, and these criticisms are mostly noticed when compared to the much more polished product that is the original Smite.
After months of basically offering very little to the player, Smite 2 now supports several game modes and queue types, has 45 playable characters (which while that may sound like a lot is a fraction of the 130 in Smite), and a broad and varied list of items and buildcrafting options. There's not nearly the depth of the original yet, but it's a huge step forward that makes the game feel engaging and entertaining and also worthy of your time, even if it lacks additional desired supporting elements like a functioning profile tab and better ways to customise each god.
But that aside, the gameplay now feels top quality and refined. It's responsive and reacts to exactly how you intend to play, be it in slower moments or the action-packed heat of a team battle. It also flows in a way that isn't found in Smite 1, mainly because of the new effects and animations that make each character look more like they belong in the world and interact with one another in a more compelling way. It's overall just a smoother and more modern feeling, all while preserving the signature familiar sense and design of Smite.
However, I will say that some of the design choices seem as though they need a bit more attention right now. The damage scaling seems to be through the roof, with way too many characters acting like glass cannons, making it even harder to survive even as a tanky frontliner. There are a slate of additional tweaks that affect the gameplay, like Aspects, which just make the action more complicated without really enhancing the gameplay. This also applies to the item shop and builds, where the removal of Physical/Magical exclusive items and the merging of the two means that it can become even more challenging to determine which items serve your character best. Then there's the progression suite that comes across as needlessly complex as well, adding what are essentially permanent battle passes to each character and making unlocking cosmetics a headache to understand.
So, there are kinks in the game's armour, kinks that are beyond simple improvements and quality-of-life changes that you expect to be addressed as the pre-release phases progresses. Yet at the same time, after a period of being unsure if this jump to a sequel was the right path for Smite, it's now becoming very clear that Titan Forge's vision has a lot of potential. The next seven months will introduce a massive array of new and returning characters as well as a bunch of other desired changes, including beginning to turn the cosmetic wheel, which will no doubt delight veterans who have thousands of Legacy Gems ready to spend on skins and cosmetics.
Smite 2 has now reached a point where I'm beginning to find it difficult to choose between it and its predecessor. The sequel has tons of welcome additions and enhancements and massive potential, but it's rougher than the now stagnant and trapped original. I feel comfortable saying that the era of Smite 2 has either started or is about to begin, and for fans of this MOBA series, that's very exciting indeed.