The Surge 2 Released, Reviews
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The Surge 2, Deck13 and Focus Home Interactive's Dark Souls-inspired sci-fi action-RPG, is now available for purchase on Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game will set you back $49.99 or your regional equivalent and offer an adventure full of precise brutal battles against a variety of cyber enhanced enemies, a near future city to explore, and some mysteries to unravel. Here's what it's all about:
Overcome
On the way to Jericho City, your plane is shot down by a mysterious storm and crash-lands in the outskirts. You wake up weeks later in a derelict detention facility inside the city. Armor-clad soldiers enforce Martial Law, robots are on a rampage, and a dark, expanding nanostorm looms over the cityscape...
Survive
In a bid to survive, explore the sprawling, devastated city of Jericho. Fight its numerous, ferocious threats in brutal, unforgiving combat, slashing and tearing the limbs off your opponents to steal valuable equipment that will make you stronger - strong enough to face the most fearsome, imposing foes lurking in the city.
Upgrade
With an expanded arsenal of weapons, armors, abilities, implants, and drones to build your character, and a bigger, more varied and more ambitious world, The Surge 2 challenges you to survive and unravel its hidden secrets.
- Hardcore, brutal melee combat
- Face deadly foes and colossal bosses
- Cut off parts of the enemy you want to loot
- Rich character progression and customization
You may also be interested in checking out a few reviews for the game:
PC Gamer 79/100:
There’s a nice sense of urban chaos in Jericho City, as snipers take aim at you from the ruins and ambush squads lie in wait while lurid neon signs sardonically tout the erstwhile utopianism of the city.
However, it's a world lacking in personality. The Surge 2 lacks the subtleties of level design and world building that elevates From Software’s catalogue to masterpieces. But it’s kind of fitting that a game so industrial in its theming eschews more artful qualities in favour of the mechanical. In its combat and the open character-and-crafting system around it, The Surge 2 attains a level of mastery right up there with the best action games.
The steely smash-and-crunch of the combat merrily pushed me through its 20-hour campaign and beyond into New Game +, compelling me to ignore the rudimentary world and focus on those glorious moments where sparks, limbs and scrap metal fly with brutal abandon.
Deck13 has come a long way, welding together a solid, structurally sound Soulslike that adeptly showcases what makes this genre special.
WCCFTech 8/10:
The Surge 2 is a definite improvement over the original game in pretty much every possible way. Combat is much faster and smoother, with an offense-oriented focus that makes it even more engaging, exploration is much more interesting thanks to the improved world design and the story will keep players moving from one dangerous district of Jericho City to the next in search of answers. The technical issues currently found in the game, unfortunately, do damage the experience a bit, and so does the fact that, despite the changes, The Surge 2 doesn't offer anything substantially different from the original game.
Destructoid 7.5/10:
While Deck13 still has some work to do, The Surge 2 is a massive step up from its predecessor in just about every respect. For the first time, I'm actually excited to see what the studio is working on next
Fextralife 7.4/10:
The Surge 2 picks up where The Surge left off and inches forward in both quality and execution. If you are a fan of the previous title you will feel right at home, and I highly recommend it. Even though it has its flaws, it does enough to warrant a purchase if you enjoy Action RPGs, and is likely the best Action RPG (that isn't an expansion) until Elden Ring sometime next year.
Rock Paper Shotgun Scoreless:
There are a lot of other things I like. The spray painting drone that lets you leave symbolic messages for other in-Surgents. The panicked min-maxing of implants to give yourself an edge in boss fights. It improves on the first game in every way. And a late game event has me exploring that smouldering downtown in a fresh way after almost 30 hours. Having larked about in Sekiro’s mytho-Japan earlier this year, the bar set by FromSoft is still higher than a tall dragon. The Surge 2 doesn’t leap over that bar, but it does find a really cool secret passageway beneath it.
It’s that rejection of fast travel and a devotion to twisting paths that makes this one of the purest devotees of an old Souls philosophy. The carefree amputation of half the city’s populace is keeping my fingers and thumbs entertained, sure, but the shortcuts and secrets are keeping my brain occupied, especially in the later parts. If you missed the first Surge, but always meant to take a look, hop into this one instead. Think of it as a shortcut to a better game.
Attack of the Fanboy 4.5/5:
The Surge 2 is an exceptional Soulslike, with top of its class combat, stellar level design and a crafting system that makes experimenting fun and simple. Where the game falters it doesn’t do so tragically, instead being victim to its devout adherence to its more grounded setting and mediocre-at-best story. Where The Surge 2 has improved over its predecessor it has done so by leagues, and anyone looking for an aggressive Soulslike will absolutely enjoy their time here. Deck 13 has proven that third’s a charm, and The Surge 2 stands as one of the best games in the genre this year.
Windows Central 4.5/5:
Despite this critique, the addition of deeper role-playing mechanics like choices and unpredictable campaign characters elevates The Surge 2 as a whole, alongside a huge variety of complex enemies that we shan't spoil. I was expecting the combat to see the greatest tweaks, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Don't get me wrong, this is a welcome surprise, and I can't wait to see where the developer, Deck13 Interactive, takes the franchise with the inevitable sequel. If you loved The Surge, you're going to love The Surge 2, as it's a far deeper, far bigger game.
