I go through the bus to take the robot out first. My usual entrance from the top of a bus, past the gate, is the stealthiest choice, but sandwiches me between two tough guards and a hostile robot. As I survey the battlefield, riddled with memories of deaths I should’ve prevented, I start to contemplate my path.Īn entrance through the front gate lets me take on the hardest enemies first, but makes it harder to take them one enemy at a time - not to mention the alarm that will alert all nearby enemies of my presence if I’m not careful. Each bad guy could kill me on their own if I’m not careful, and trying to take on two at once is a death sentence. There’s no boss here to hinder me, just a few new enemies giving me trouble. I follow my path, dispensing with my foes without much thought, before jumping back into the arena I’ve been puzzling out for the last 20 minutes. Making forward progress always feels like a hard-fought battle, but returning from where I came is always one clever shortcut, suddenly available, away. It’s as if the world is always ready to fold back in on itself. Progress is never guaranteed, but each new step forward unlocks a new shortcut for me to take, one that makes getting back to where I was that much easier. I’ve been fighting through the same location for what seems like hours encountering new enemies, vanquishing some, and dying to others. I can upgrade both, but I have to survive and reach a nearby checkpoint to use the currency I get from enemies.Īfter another death, I spawn again at my local Med Bay - a futuristic bonfire that acts as an upgrade station to spend my currency and my checkpoint when I fail. My movements and attacks spend stamina, just as the hits I take whittle down my health. The gameplay immediately feels familiar as I begin to play, and I pick up the basics almost instantly. Other than my parries and flashy animations, The Surge 2’s gameplay didn’t keep me engaged - despite enjoying The Surge two years ago.īut The Surge 2’s map design saves it from sequel syndrome. The Surge 2’s only major combat improvement is the directional parry system, where the well-timed flick of the thumb stick ruins an enemy attack and opens them up for a serious counter. But maintenance isn’t the most appealing idea when it comes to a full fledged sequel. This dismember, acquire, and upgrade loop is a solid identity for The Surge 2 to maintain from the original. Need a better helmet? Better start decapitating everyone you come across. Choosing a body part to focus on is a fun mini-game to play, and means you can usually get something useful from each enemy you take out. I need to upgrade my chest, so I better start dismembering the chests of my enemies - often by using my spear as a pole to help me crane kick an enemy torso so hard it separates from the rest of the limbs. Each enemy comes with this same kind of interaction, and I always opt to cut rather than take the easy way out with an unarmored piece of gear.Īs I look to upgrade the loot I already have, I’m forced to focus on different body parts. I can take that armor to any Med Bay to create a piece that fits my character. The arm - as well as the weapon it’s holding and the armor around it - is mine now. The arm comes with her, and the enemy falls to the ground. My custom character shoves her spear under my enemy’s arm and does a kickflip off their chest. After whittling down an enemy gauntlet’s defenses, I execute a finishing move. Instead, I go for the helmets, the leg plating, the body armor, the metal gauntlets. Taking on an unarmored limb of the enemy yields the most damage, but ruins my ability to steal enemy armor for my own uses. As I battle, I target different parts of the body. But The Surge 2 keeps things unique with its dismemberment system, like The Surge before it.
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