The Surge 1 & 2 are part of the same family, but entirely different beasts. With that being said, the same shadow looms over both of them, as it does with any game with a slight challenge to offer that just happens to be played from a third-person view. The good news is, where The Surge was slower and more methodical, the sequel is a much more death metal direction. Literally.
The Surge 2
Developer: Deck13
Price: $50
Platform: PC (reviewed), PS4, Xbox One
MonsterVine was supplied with PC copy for review
Playing the first game in the series is not required, a fact that could easily be lost upon a casual gaze. To boil it down to its most simple form, the player is encased in Exo-suits while laying waste to hulking robotic beasts, Exo-clad ruffians and the odd big boss fight. It’s a pattern established in the first game and enhanced in the sequel, albeit with more self-awareness the second time around. The Surge series wears its influences on its sleeve. From the combat, enemy placements and structure. Admittedly, this does mean both games felt formulaic, but The Surge 2 has a nasty edge to it, a streak of bad intent …in all the best ways.
Picking up swiftly after the end of the original, The Surge 2 moves from the isolated corporate facility of its predecessor to the neon-city-in-ruins-and-everything-in-between city of Jericho City. After enjoying a mid-flight chit chat with a young girl on a plane, said plane is struck by a rocket filled with nanites resulting in a crash. Fast forward to two months later, you awakened by the voice of the young girl…and then a giant creature attacks marking the start of the game.
This is where the first issue rears its head, the narrative. It’s generic sci-fi guff that can be easily consumed just as easily as it can be forgotten. Plot points meld into one another with efficiency, but fail to generate interest. Somewhere in there is an attempt to discuss reliance on technology leading humanity to doom, along with sprinklings of religion and prophecy. It fails to resonate, becoming a moment of rest than a moment to thrill.
The Surge 2 may fail to make an impact with its story, but the combat is a different story. Everything at the heart of the game is tied into the combat, an all or nothing approach that could have been a disaster. The ability to switch from a slow, heavy-hitting, gargantuan style to a savagely relentless approach gives The Surge 2 a wonderful sense of variety. Much like its predecessor, weapons dictate the playstyle with variables providing a wealth of options. From Axes, flamethrowers, claws, drills and everything you can meld into your exoskeleton, the size of the arsenal is impressive. Further depth can be found in weapon damage types which can chain into damage over time abilities (e.g. poison) or stuns from electrical damage.
Obtaining fresh weaponry, and indeed armour, is achieved by physically taking it through force. So much force. The limb targeting system from the first game returns, just with added flare. If you fancy a piece of armour or weapon donned by an enemy, simply target the limb it’s equipped too and slash away. Upon inflicting enough damage, a button prompt engages the removal of said limb, never in a gentle fashion. Heads roll, arms torn, bodies eviscerated. It’s so over the top that a gleeful shape creeps over the face witnessing such silliness.
The results of the whole bloody affair are the ownership of plans for items, which can be crafted at one of the numerous hubs dotted around the game. Low-grade equipment can be forged with the basic currency earned from killing enemies, with more advanced projects needing rarer materials. Most of the high-grade materials drop from harder enemies or scrapping items dropped by foes. The ecosystem works in a smooth current, feeding into each aspect of the core game. It never feels too taxing to progress gear, nor does it feel too shallow for more dedicated players.
Limb targeting isn’t exclusive to offensive play, far from it. The Surge 2 features a wonderful directional parrying mechanic that truly adds spice to every encounter. Button-mashing and wild swings may earn a victory or two, but mastering parrying is where the true glory lies. As the game progresses, the requirement to learn becomes more intense. It’s a harsh, but fair class that rewards patience and observation with additional damage and further heavy metal carnage. The entire parry system flows with a sense of bravado and swagger, and rightly so. It’s a fantastic addition to the established idea of what this ‘genre’ of games should offer in terms of combat.
Depth is a point that The Surge 2 is seemingly making big strides to address. Every piece of equipment in the game has some use, to the point where an entire character builds can be forged for certain zones and situations. Wanting to grind out mechanical enemies? Build up a set that stacks armour, stun resistances and stamina regen. Battling numerous humanoids? Combine two sets together to increase damage and meter to execute more often. That’s even before we get into the implant system that goes far beyond anything offered by the first game in the series.
Implants offer an extra dimension to the core gameplay, allowing the creation of some truly terrifying builds. From increased HP, attack damage and finisher meter, to more aggressive effects like increased damage while under negative statuses.
A bold claim would be to compare The Surge 2’s item depth to that of Diablo 2. A system that is so open and packed with options that theory crafters would sit for hours crafting builds and setups. It’s truly impressive that a game, at least on the surface level, which looks so straightforward is packing some of the most robust character building seen in the last few years.
Though it may succeed in a lot of places, The Surge 2 does present some issues that can derail the experience. An unfortunate curse has always struck games that hail from the *whispers* Souls DNA pool is their struggle to identify challenging and cheap. Deck 13, the studio who created both The Surge 1 & 2 along with Lords of The Fallen, have historically wrestled with this very issue. While this outing is progress, it’s a lesson clearly still be learnt.
Enemy behaviour, in general, is a curious case of inconsistency. For every hyper-aggressive zealot with a rusty fist, there’s a slow and meandering gun user with a slow trigger finger. It’s still a huge improvement from the first game, with far more range among foes. Each of the enemy types can be broken down into various factions and states, feeding into the idea that The Surge 2 takes place in a city in chaos, rather than a number of levels in a game.
It’s clear a great amount of time and effort has been poured into making The Surge 2 a fantastic game to play. A genuine feeling of power and satisfaction grows with every victory and defeated boss, made even sweeter of failures once suffered. The problem is, the world still lacks that certain something. Jericho City is a solid theatre for the ultraviolent play, but it rarely struggles to feel truly interesting. Winding streets weaved among decaying docks and grim visions of the future, aren’t enough to make the world compelling. Perhaps it’s down to the poor story, or maybe even a lack of personality from the NPCs (who shockingly can be spoken to in a rather forced aspect of the game), or even a mix of both issues.
It’s rare to play a sequel that truly improves upon everything the original did. The Surge 2 does exactly that. From the visuals, art direction, combat, and story (issues included), Deck 13 have stepped up their game (no pun intended, maybe) yet again. The Surge 2 hosts some of the best combat and customization seen in the genre it inhabits. That alone makes it worth the admission price, even for those less inclined to more challenging video games. Slick, vicious, fun. Much like wrestling a greasy bear.
The Final Word
It’s rare to play a sequel that truly improves upon everything the original did. The Surge 2 does exactly that. From the visuals, art direction, combat, and story (issues included), Deck 13 have stepped up their game (no pun intended, maybe) yet again. The Surge 2 hosts some of the best combat and customization seen in the genre it inhabits. That alone makes it worth the admission price, even for those less inclined to more challenging video games. Slick, vicious, fun. Much like wrestling a greasy bear.
– MonsterVine Review Score: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
