Even though the upcoming first person shooter RAGE 2 bears the “RAGE” moniker, it’s looking like it’s going to be a completely different beast than the game that launched in 2010. The sequel is looking to be more varied, more colourful, and just build on the ideas of the original better than the original itself ever could. Co-developers id Software and Avalanche Studios have spoken plenty about the game’s open world and how it will be structured, and recently, in a meaty update for the game posted on Bethesda’s website, id’s studio director Tim Willits went into further detail on that front.
According to Willits, the open world of RAGE 2 is designed in a way to continuously distract the player with dynamically occurring events, or interesting things to see in the world itself, so that players can spend hours on end simply exploring the world, or just driving or flying about. Willits mentions the aerial vehicle Icarus specifically, which he says is something that isn’t given to players, rather something that has to be earned, but once it’s acquired, opens up the entire game “in a new, exciting way”.
“I like to say that RAGE 2 has a high ‘distraction factor’ when playing,” Willits said. “I often get sidetracked by something as I drive past, or something happens dynamically in the world. I find that I can spend hours just driving around or flying. I really enjoy the Icarus mini-copter the best. It’s an amazing way to see all the sights. One of the cool things about the Icarus is that it’s a reward for people who explore. It isn’t found on the ‘golden path’ of the game. It’s not just given to you, you need to earn it. But once you have the Icarus, the whole game opens up to you in a new, exciting way.”
Recently at The Game Awards, Bethesda confirmed that RAGE 2 will be releasing on May 14, 2019 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.