The Surge 2 Gameplay Review: A Combat Oriented Game

The Surge 2 gameplay review shows how the game has evolved from its predecessor. It is a Dark Soul type game that focuses on combat. The game improves on many aspects of The Surge but at the same time, it fails to deliver an exciting adventure. Surely there are many improvements in the game but most of them focus on combat or elements related to combat. The levels this time seem similar to each other which is opposite to the first game. The story of the game is not that impressive making it a game with combat driven narrative.  The game has its flaws but it is a good combat game with its own uniqueness.

The game has lots of improvements over the previous one. If you compare it with The Surge you can see that differences and improvements are quite extensive which is impressive. Every game focuses on making the next installment to be the superior version of the first one. The Surge is also following the same strategy which we can see in The Surge 2. If you look at all the aspects of this game you will realize how profound these changes are. The combat has improved to a great degree making it the strongest element of this game. Every aspect of the combat is in complete integration with the surrounding. It does have some flaws when it comes to environmental storytelling but combat is the main focus of the game.

Plot and Setting are not Strong Elements of the Game as Per The Surge 2 Gameplay Review

The plot of the game is a little vague. You wake up from a coma in a hospital and see that the city is on the brink of collapse. The coma is the result of a plane crash that happened two months ago before the start of the game. From that moment on your goal is simple, survive and take down anyone who gets between you and your goal. There are lots of factors at play and each of these factors influences the overall narrative of the game. Throughout the gameplay, your character will have the vision of a girl. Nanites are the main opposing force and they can attach to different machines binding them to their will. The stakes are too high which cannot justify the way The Surg 2 handles plot.

The setting of Surge 2 is also not that good. You will easily forget the environment because it’s not worth remembering. In my opinion, the plot just makes too many events without its justification through the environment. The environment of the game does not support environmental storytelling. It’s just there to show us a futuristic city in a riot. Most of the environmental elements do not hint in their relation to the main issue of the game. Instead, it depends on different factions to show the desperate situation of the Jericho city.

The original game took place in a facility where every level was different. This time the game takes place in a metropolis but all the levels share the same aesthetics to some extent. Every level is different but it does not have the verity because it is an urban setting in the end. Despite all the differences, I did not find Jericho city a convincing setting.

The Diversity of Plot Setting Give Lots of Opportunities for the Side Quests in the Game

There are too many factors at play when it comes to the plot of The Surge 2. The city is in chaos and law enforcement has failed to keep the order in the city. There is a vibe of anarchy in the city due to the placement of martial law in the city. As I explained earlier that The Surge 2 depends on different factions to explain the events of the game. This dependence on different factions creates diverge paths for missions. Let me make it a little simpler, we are all gamers here not philosophers. More factions lead to more intractable NPCs which leads to more Quests. Come on guys this is an RPG element what do you expect. This is general knowledge to all us gamers at this point right?

The abundance of all the factions, intractable NPCs and side quests offers an interesting grind for the game. I am not saying that the story is interesting. In my opinion, not even the side quests have enough potential to keep you entertained but it does make an interesting reason to accumulate more items. Side quests not only offer the lore but also some interesting weapons, amours, and implants. I think this strategy is better than the unusual grinding for upgrades in such games. The combat will keep you entertained during your adventures.

The Surge 2 Side Quests are Interesting

The storytelling depends on factions and these factions deliver information using intractable NPCs. The more quests you get the more you will be able to explore the lore of the world. There are just too many factions with their own history to backtrack. The point is that The Surge 2 offers its lore exploration through side quests. Side quests are the only interesting way to explorer the overall world of the game.

In most games, side quests do very little to affect the main storyline. That is not the case in The Surge 2 because side quests will affect the main story of your character to some extent. It does not make a significant impact but it does change some dialogue options. The end result would still depend on the main storyline. The Surge 2 Gameplay Review focuses not only on the main quests but on everything that affects the gameplay experience.

The Loot Mechanics of the Game are Simple

The loot process of the game is simple, go on runs to gather scrape, material, and implant to upgrade your gear. Scarp upgrades directly affect your character by upgrading its stamina, battery, and health. You can also use scrape and material to directly upgrade your weapons and gear. This a simple upgrade that is similar to crafting. All you need to do is go to the med bay and start upgrading your stuff.

Implants have passive effects, it indirectly affects your character. Implants can help you regenerate health, implants of stamina, battery, weapon, attack power, etc. You just need to put these implants in your weapons or armor to use them. You can switch between three different gear sets that you can use on the go. Gear sets include weapons, armors, and implants. This option gives you a chance to use effective weapons for different enemies.

Players of the game are connected through a network. You can help other players by leaving them clues for certain material or you can avenge them. If you slay a boss that has killed lots of players then you will be rewarded. In my opinion, every aspect of the game encourages you to get into a tough fight. I think this is a good strategy in the game where enemies are vicious.

Previous Unforgiving Loot Mechanics are back

The med bay system is back from the previous game. Explore, complete your objective and return to the med bay. You can upgrade your equipment in the med bay just like the previous game. However, once you interact with med bay all the dead enemies will re-spawn. You need to kill all these enemies every time you come back to the med bay but this does give you a chance to strip enemies for their parts. The Surge 2 also rewards you for being away from the med bay. Spending more time away from Med bay would result in better rewards. In a sense, it encourages you to face the danger. It’s not a looter shooter game so this much is to be expected because combat is the goal of this game.

If you die during combat you will lose all your loot. You can retrieve it by going back to the location of your death but you have to fight all the enemies again to reach there. There is also a time limit on your lost loot and you need to retrieve that in time. The game won’t show you the time but it does add a sense of urgency to the game. If you want to save your loot you need to spend it as soon as you reach a med bay. The Surge 2 not only encourages you to fight but to stay alive as well.

There is Verity of Everything Related to the Combat but Bosses Can Become a Little Retarded

There are many types of enemies in The Surge 2. Each type of enemy requires a different approach due to their different combat styles. Enemy verity is also the reason for its amazing combat because they spice up the combat. Some enemies would require constant evasion while some need constant bombardments of attacks. The bombardment strategy can only work with regular enemies, not bosses. Even different regular enemies will require different strategies because their attack mechanics are different than each other. A single mistake can result in your death even at the hands of a regular enemy.

Every boss in the game is unique and just like regular enemies they also require different approaches. At the beginning of the game, bosses are not fun but as you progress you will encounter better bosses making your journey interesting. You will encounter bosses that are much more sophisticated in terms of combat and movements. Every boss is still unique even if they are not worth remembering.

Combat is the Strongest Element of The Surge 2 Making it a Unique Specimen in That Regard

This might be a far-fetched claim but once you read The Surge 2 Gameplay Review you might agree with me. In my opinion combat of The Surge 2 is the only thing propelling players to play it as much as they can. Every time you play the game its combat will fill you with the surge of combat. This time there are two types of attacks with similar attack power, Horizontal attack, and vertical attack. The combination of these attacks makes a unique combo and the proper use of them is the only way for you to survive. There is also the option of dodge and block. This time block is a directional base and you need to press the direction button for the direction of attack. However, blocking is still complex and needs some practice to get used to.

The most amazing and unique combat mechanic of The Surge 2 is limp severing that can get you good loot without the boring grind. After severing the limp you can then use that part to upgrade your weapons and armor. These severed parts can also provide you implants that can be used to further enhance your weapons, armor and other passive abilities. There is a specific type of implant that can help you detect the direction of attacks making parrying easier. You need to target part a specific part of the body and hit that spot with an attack that sensibly severs the part.

Finishers are Accompanied with some Aesthetically Pleasing Cut Scenes

The most amazing part of the combat is cut scenes of finishers. Every type of weapon has a different finisher that you can see during the limp severing process.  The way the camera and your characters move just make these moments memorable. Trust me once you witness it you will keep on repeating the process just to feel that rush. Deck 13 did a great job with The Surge 2. The way your weapon and your enemies react to the cut scene is a sight to behold. It’s just better than any execution mechanics I have even seen due to its diversity.

The Surge 2 gameplay has Technical Issues along with an Outdated RPG System

There are also some technical issues with the game. Many players are reporting different issues but one bug that annoyed me was the loss of frame rate. Sometimes there wouldn’t even be many particles in the scene but the game would still lose frame rate. This is especially not good when one strike could decide the fate of your character. There are also reports of some crashes but I didn’t face them. As you have noticed through The Surge 2 gameplay review there are many improvements in the game. This time the game has better animation that does not seem clunky. The visuals are also better giving you more attractive gameplay. In a sense is a soul type game with futuristic settings.

Voice acting of the game is commendable if you compare it with the budget of the game. In fact, it is better than some story-driven games as well. Even though the voice acting is good there are not many dialogues for your character. Developers have put RPG elements in the game. Your player dialogues create a great impression as we can see in some recent RPG such as GreedFall. The lack of dialogues just makes the RPG elements outdated. There is also the option of character creation with some back story that only pops up in dialogues without influencing the main story. I know that it is not a game that focuses purely RPG element so we should not expect something like that from The Surge 2.

Is it your Type of Game?

The Surge 2 gameplay review shows everything related to the gameplay of the game. Now let’s get to the final verdict. The game focuses purely on combat. The combat of the game is complicated and you will need some practice to get used to it. It does have RPG elements but it cannot be the reason for you to buy it, as you have noticed so far. The verity of weapons, armors, enemies, and everything related to combat is diverse. The verity of these elements creates a great environment for combat. In my opinion, there is not much to look at in this game aside from combat.

If you like soul type games then The Surge 2 might be the game for you. In case you like combat driven games then this might still be the game for you. If you liked the original Surge then this is the superior version of that game. You might also like this game if you really want to play a game with great melee combat. On the other hand, if you are looking for a story-driven game with RPG elements and some great combat then this might not be the game for you. Players who focus on combat might like this game and players who focus on other elements might not like this game.