THE SURGE 2
Not quite worth an arm and a leg
We’ve seen an adorable hat; it’s outside the shop on the street to Cloud 9. The only problem is it’s currently sitting on someone else’s head. We’ll have to lop it off from the neck up, but the violence will be worth it to look like Crocodile Dundee. “Call that a knife?” Actually it’s a Gaia Lancer, and just right for the job. The Surge 2’s thing is its unique combat system and loot grind that enables you to lock onto a body part and hack it off in a series of gruesome close-up death blows. You can then add that part to your inventory to craft better armour and weapons, and use spares for upgrades. It’s a simple idea that changes how you approach every confrontation as going for a needed piece of armour means using Battery energy you could otherwise use to heal. It’s a risk-and-reward cycle that pits your desire for new kit against survival.
While the general loop of The Surge 2 will be familiar to anyone who’s played Bloodborne or Dark Souls, ideas such as body-part harvesting manage to give this me-too soulsborne a distinct identity. Collecting and building armour sets, which come with unique buffs, becomes a quest in and of itself. Kidnapped child? Bah. A plague of sentient nanites destroying humanity? It can wait. An evil corporation that’s walled you inside Jericho City with those nanites? No time.
That you’ll struggle to care about the story is just one of the gripes that hold The Surge 2 back from greatness. And expanding the action out of the narrow tunnels of the original game into a large, mazy city with plenty of metroidvania trappings (a good thing) is just one of the ideas that stops the story from gaining traction (a bad thing).
CUT ABOVE
The large city environment is a genuine step-up over the original game, however. While the initial six hours can drag as you’re forced to battle in Port Nixon, a sludge-filled open sewer, once the spider-like mech Little Johnny is defeated and you venture into the leafy paradise of Gideon’s Rock the game comes to life.
Here the game is colourful and interesting. Secret paths lead to atmospheric caves, and the first time a Gaia statue comes to life in a whirr of cogs and dust is startling. These minibosses are hugely fun and challenging; they demonstrate The Surge 2’s combat perfectly as you target weak spots or parry an attack. Holding o to block and successfully pushing in the direction of the enemy’s strike will knock them off balance and open to a counter. In this one area The Surge 2 has everything its predecessor lacked: memorable enemies.
Sadly once Gideon’s Rock is over you’re back to the grey streets of Jericho City and a
“LACKING OPPONENTS WITH PERSONALITY, THE COMBAT BECOMES MECHANICAL.”
parade of faceless enemies noteworthy only for the type of armour they’re wearing. Duelling with the city’s denizens is still gratifying, as each weapon feels different. A spear has a distinct rhythm, as do axes and the rarer ‘doubleduty’ swords; hold u and it performs as a single weapon, but successive taps split the blades to land a flurry of hits. But enemies are like cookies waiting for a cutter. Lacking opponents with personality, the combat loop, good though it is, becomes fittingly mechanical.
NEW HOOK
Thankfully Jericho City, though visually stifled, demands to be explored – you can always use a new weapon. Gadgets such as the Force Hook enable you to discover hidden areas of districts you’ve previously harvested for parts. Better, though, is the priority now placed on drones. An unused sidekick in The Surge, here drones come in all manner of designs for use in and out of combat. From lasers and grenade launchers to an EMP tool to unlock doors and lifts, you’ll constantly be turning to droney for aid.
Yet for all the refinements and additions (and this game is an improvement over the previous title), The Surge 2 stalls technically on PS4. On a Pro it’s playable but lowers texture detail, on a base console it suffers framerate drops. In tandem with screen tearing, this ambitious sequel doesn’t quite make the cut, though its combat grind does keep drawing you back, and New Game+ certainly adds a spark.
VERDICT
The core combat loop delivers a unique and very satisfying soulsborne, and the push to an open world is a win. But technical problems and a lack of enemy variety hold The Surge 2 back from greatness. Ian Dean