The Surge 2

Return to an unforgiving world of cold steel and red-hot lasers in Deck13’s The Surge 2. Maneuver your way around the game’s deep combat mechanics and try to stay alive in one of the most challenging Souls-like games yet.

As long as you’re fine with The Surge 2’s labyrinthian map design, you’ll find that this game improves over its prequel in almost every way. However, how good is this game for players looking for an action RPG that’s not as difficult as a certain “Souls” series? Let’s take a look at the robotic mayhem that is The Surge 2.

Faster and Better

One of the things that distanced The Surge from Dark Souls was that, while the former’s gameplay also had a tactical approach to confrontations, it was much faster than FromSoftware’s magnum opus. So, a proper definition for The Surge 2 would be that it is “like Dark Souls but faster;” and with robots.

While games like Mortal Shell and Lords of the Fallen are content with aping Dark Souls down to its visuals, The Surge 2 goes for a more original approach. Sure, the gameplay is still as punishing and complex, but the futuristic slant helps a huge deal distancing the game from its obvious inspiration.

Considering the game’s futuristic setting, it makes sense that most of the characters move fast, and single blows can prove to be fatal. The Surge 2 still has some of that good old Souls-like clunkiness in its gameplay, but everything feels much faster than it does in other games of its genre.

Not for Newbies

It’s a good thing that there’s a big “2” in The Surge 2’s title, because this game is certainly not recommended for newcomers to the series, let alone to Souls-like in general. In true Dark Souls fashion, the game has very little in the way of tutorials or explanations of in-game mechanics.

While that’s great for Dark Souls, The Surge 2 is a much more RPG-based experience, meaning that there are tons of stats and other RPGesque statistics that are never properly explained. Sure, character customization is robust, and gamers can create a character perfect for the playstyles, but having a guide of what everything does would have been a godsend in this case.

Don’t Die

It almost goes without saying, but dying is a terrible thing to do in The Surge 2. While the penalties for falling in combat aren’t usually too severe, the checkpoint layout certainly is. This means that, if you die, be ready to backtrack for a while as you try to challenge that pesky boss who eliminated you before.

That wouldn’t be too terrible if the level design of The Surge 2 wasn’t so complicated. Multiple levels and confusing environments make moving through the game’s world one of the most difficult tasks in an already difficult game.

Thankfully, it won’t be too long before you create an overpowered character. The Surge 2 might be one of the only Souls-like games that gets easier the deeper you go, as late-game bosses become a laughing stock against your absurdly powerful character.

Pros:

• Immensely satisfying combat
• Complex character customization
• Tons of bosses to fight

Cons:

• Awful level design
• Cryptic game mechanics
• Unbalanced difficulty