The Surge came out over a year ago, and Deck 13 have already been showing off gameplay from the sequel The Surge 2 at this year’s E3. Overall, the game looks the same as the first one. Throwing your strength around in a massive iron suit, pummeling enemies into the ground, and running around a world full of mechanical enemies who are out to rip your head off. Yes, the game plays as difficult as the first game, but that’s what made the first one so endearing. It’s time to rip open our hands off impressions with The Surge 2 to find out what the next game in this franchise has to offer.
Let’s get the basics out of the way. This time around you won’t be playing as Warren. Instead, the developers have decided to switch him out for a fully customized character — which seems to be the current trend among video games these days. You’ll have several options to choose from including gender, some aesthetic variations, and other modifications. We don’t have all of the details yet, but during the hands-off presentation, they decided to use a male character that looked similar to Warren in a lot of ways.
This time around in The Surge 2, combat looks sped up. What was a slow, measured combat system within the original game, looks more refined and a lot faster. Melee combat swings and hits are smoother, especially with the animations. This time the characters can sway from left to right without a moment of hesitation. Furthermore, there’s more of a spring in their step as they’re facing off against a foe. What’s interesting is not only faster combat, but the luxury of being able to void enemy attacks much quicker, like it was originally designed to do. Where combat is often compared to Dark Souls, this time around it’s much more improved and more closer to Bloodborne.
"One of the things the game will have you rely on is its crafting system. You can acquire parts and blue prints from destroying enemies and configuring the items you want. The items you can build are weapons, armor, and more."
According to the developer, players can expect a ton of weapons. And the weapon limit per character build has also been doubled in the sequel. What is immediately striking about the Surge 2 is its world, it’s simply mesmerizing. Within the E3 demo, we saw only a snippet of the game’s world which is full of lush forest, or a jungle of sorts. Compared to the mechanical feel of the original, The Surge 2 feels more colorful with foliage surrounding the player, and an environment which is full of flowers, leaves, and trees, and rocks.
The world is also interactive. You and your enemies can actually chop trees down and interactive with certain objects during the game. It just adds another touch of realism to an already spectacular looking world, not to mention it also makes the gameplay a bit dynamic. Also, the game world is much larger than in the previous ha,e. This isn’t an open world sandbox though, but it will be large enough to keep the battles more interesting this time around. It won’t feel as though you’re playing on a tight course avoiding the enemy’s hug.
One of the things the game will have you rely on is its crafting system. You can acquire parts and blue prints from destroying enemies and configuring the items you want. The items you can build are weapons, armor, and more. The armor has always been the main staple of the original game, and in The Surge 2 it doesn’t seem much different. Besides new sets and builds, the armor will be key to your survival and along with the custom mods that you decide to place on it.
"Overall, The Surge 2 is shaping up great. That does’t exactly mean that you’re going to get a totally brand new game this time around. Think Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. I know it’s a weird comparison, but the games were very similar but still had those additives that made the second one worth playing."
If you’re looking for a challenging game, The Surge 2 is bound to do that for you. It is designed to have elements similar to Dark Souls, where you can have a hit-and-fall-back interaction with the game’s enemies. This game definitely isn’t showing any signs of easing up, either (especially with the mini boss in the demo).
Overall, The Surge 2 is shaping up great. That does’t exactly mean that you’re going to get a totally brand new game this time around. Think Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. I know it’s a weird comparison, but the games were very similar but still had those additives that made the second one worth playing. The Surge 2 may possibly surprass the original in terms of gameplay and level design, however there is much to learn about it as we approach the game’s launch in 2019.