Reviews from

in the past


Heavily underappreciated soulslike with a deep combat system and an interesting setting. Some difficulty spikes are annoying

what do you mean it's better it's literally the same thing

So I didn't review the first one but I did complete and quite enjoyed it. Lemme say that Surge 2 improves vastly over 1. I mean everything is honestly better. My favorite thing in this game are the directional parries and limb cutting (you do this to get your enemie's gear btw) Its just so incredibly satisfying. The pace of the combat in these games is comparable to Sekiro and Bloodborne. I know these titles have reputations either negatively or positively and for various reasons but I am more of the latter. If you enjoy souls-likes but with a different twist, definitely check it out.

Well, after 24 hours of gameplay and staying up until 2:30 am (which turned out to be 1:30 because of daylight savings), I can confidently say that this game is pretty good. The story is awful dogshit, but I think you already knew that. The mechanics are incredibly clean and fit well. The back and forth between melee beating and drone potshots makes for really entertaining battles. The part/limb breaking system is an awesome touch, making grinding feel rewarding and making boss fights feel more even. The one main gripe I have is just how much they reuse bosses in this game. For a game that only took me in actuality 18 hours to beat, there is no excuse to reuse the Delver beast or living statues at all. Other than that thought, very fun game, and please skip every cutscene. <3

I respect the attempt, and there is some fun to be had with The Surge 2, but ultimately it is another soulsborne game beliving that difficulty and shortcuts are what makes From Software's games great. The levels frequently confuse complex Level Design with good Level Design, directional parries are either frustrating to read (when the enemy has bad tells) or overpowered (when the enemy has good tells), and the option to target different body parts to earn different equipment is cool in theory but gets tedious in practice.

Still, the moment to moment gameplay is solid and most of the bossfights I saw were challenging but enjoyable


So the surge 2 is pretty great actually.

I didn't really expect much from this game given that it's a 'soulslike' but I'm honestly pretty impressed by it after finishing. Really strong AA game that manages to be real unique in its aesthetic and gameplay. The story and lore isn't much to write home about, but I still found much of the world and characters to be pretty charming, even the middle-of-the-road, cheesy voice acting.

The combat, exploration, and weapon/build variety are the main strengths of the game and where I got the most enjoyment out of surge 2. Combat operates as the usual with the souls formula but relies less on evasion and more on directional parrying and blocking to break down enemy defenses and eventually dismember them in an impressively satisfying way. Though I wish the direction prompts weren't locked to a certain implant, I got so much fun in learning enemy patterns and delivering sick counters in both the regular enemy encounters and the bosses, the latter of which especially were surprisingly fun such as the fight against the Delver bosses. Combat kicked ass in the surge 2 and was very rewarding with the dismember system used against enemies.

Depending on what limbs are cut off, certain weapons, armor schematics or materials are dropped and this feeds into crafting new armor sets with certain bonuses and upgrading stats and equipment. Weapons and set variety is huge and I ended up swapping between so many across my time in the game that it's hard to pick a favorite; maybe the punching gloves, spears, and twin-rigs as weapon type favorites because of the cool combos that can be pulled off with a combination of horizontal and vertical attacks. New Game Plus will certainly make digging into the depth of these options just as satisfying and even more as it was the first time.

Exploration across the game's zones blew me away with the smart and deliberate level design of areas like Downtown Jericho City and the Underground. Many zones contain numerous beaten paths and hidden ones that usually result in scrap, weapons, gear, logs, and other valuable rewards that further encourage searching every corner of the map which thankfully isn't too large or too small, and felt pretty perfect in scale. Unlocking shortcuts such as previously locked doors, magnetic lifts, and zip lines felt so gratifying and made sure traversal across each map each time never got monotonous. The developers really outdid themselves with this aspect as I'd say it's as strong and addicting as the exploration and shortcuts found in the Dark Souls games.

Deck13 surprised me with the Surge 2 and I probably wouldn't have got this game if I didn't dig into their catalogue after becoming interested in their new game Atlas Fallen. They are definitely a studio I will keep my eye on now as this was a great AA game that lives up to the 'soulslike' name without any severe problems holding it back besides the narrative, characters, and world/lore. On my knees for the surge 3 from these folks when/if that does happen, and with even more budget put behind it because the surge 2 absolutely rules and this series deserves to get another follow-up.

Finally beat this. I stopped at Ezra Shields for a year, came back, and whooped his ass in one-try, and basically just cleaned house through the rest of the game.

This is my new favorite souls-like, I adore The Surge games cyberpunk presentation, and while the Surge 1 focused more on a sci-fi horror System Shock thing, The Surge 2 goes for what I can only describe as a 90's Anime OVA aesthetic. This includes the mediocre voice acting, which I think is a POSITIVE. Even though I said it was my favorite Souls-like, I do ultimately think that calling it a Souls-like is what has doomed some really underappreciated gems from getting their day in the sun. These games have similar verbs to Dark Souls but ask different things of you, and I know Souls fans struggle with anything that isn't I-frames and dodge rolling, but there are other ways to approach game design!

I want to write a more in-depth review later, but I enjoyed the hell out of this entire game. The boss fight with Delver was so good I messaged Deck13 on Twitter to tell them it was the best boss fight ever. The level design is just as complex and winding as The Surge 1's, and I found the story compelling if unfortunately undercooked. I think what is clearly a tight-budget has to do with that. Honestly, I would prefer static shots with no voice acting if I could get more world building, which Deck13 are really good at.

Deck13 are one of our most important developers, as I would DIE for more AA games like this that are incredibly ambitious while also being really solidly put together. The size and scope of a game that costs probably the fraction of a Dark Souls title is awe-inspiring and I really hope they continue to have success.

I'm puzzled why these games don't have difficulty modes though. I don't see any reason there can't be difficulty options, these games could be so much more well-liked if there was an easy or normal mode to cut your teeth on its mechanics. Ninja Gaiden Black has easy mode fellas we don't need to act like we're above it.

Also the directional parry rules, A+ work guys.

Faster than it's first game with a lot more you can do, also just a more fully fleshed combat system, get this game 100% over the sequel, you won't miss much outside of a few story points and a character from the first game making an appearance in an optional content in this game. The bosses are better, the game is less frustrating, better level design, games has higher production value, etc etc.

I was personally surprised and amazed how good this game was. Souls like type of game but not as difficult. Check this game out if you're even mildly curious

Este juego si que a surgido bien, incluso he llegado a disfrútalo en bastantes momentos porque el parry es algo que necesitaba el juego como el comer, porque con el 1 era o correr del enemigo, o esquivar o te comes la torta, aquí puedes incluso hacer una build de parrys que esta fuertísima porque te conviertes en una tanqueta. Pero bueno, ha mejorado bastante en todos los aspectos con respecto al 1, hasta hacerlo incluso divertido pero tiene algunos fallos.
El primero de todos son los bosses, o son rematadamente fáciles o literalmente un dolor de cojones enfrentarse a ellos, el segundo es que el parry esta bien, pero hace el juego muy muy fácil en muchas ocasiones, hay veces que hay enemigos que tienes que hacerle 2, 3 e incluso 4 parrys para desestabilizarles pero la amplia mayoría o tienen patrones fáciles o solo necesitas 1 parry y lo demás son fallos no tan importantes que vas viendo mientras juegas, pero 100% el mejor cambio a parte del parry es el farmeo de piezas de mejora de equipamiento, ahora es muy cómodo farmearlos y subirlos, cosa que agradezco para no estar 2000 años para farmear 2 mierdas.
Hablando rapidillo de la historia y tal, para mi es un poco meh, tiene cosillas interesantes pero sin mas, tienes decisiones que tomar de personajes secundarios y 2 finales a elegir como el 1 y poco mas sinceramente, diría que este juego poca gente se lo jugara por su historia ciertamente, y la ost no es nada del otro mundo.
En resumen, este si que lo recomiendo que lo juegue la gente, además es cortillo, me ha durado casi 25 horas mas o menos

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Such an amazing Souls clone that I honestly prefer this to any of those games. Frantic, darkly comic, neon-laced psychedelia that I never wanted to put down - beneficially removes all of the forced doom-and-gloom bullshit from the first game (of which I still remain a defender) in favor of letting the story take a side-seat while you get thrown into the ring with a murders row of colorful characters. Major General Ezra Shields is one of the most teeth-grindingly difficult (but fun!) bosses I've ever fought. It also irons out the kinks of the first's combat - giving us one of the most deeply satisfying block/parry systems in a video game and a vast array of weapons with their own snappily taut control setup. Incredibly inventive armor system and atmosphere, and the length feels just perfect (unthinkable for a Soulslike). Plus come on, just fucking look at this thing. It's a beautiful behemoth.

Really solid Souls-like--in fact, probably my favorite of these not made by FromSoftware. Its strength is its level design and enemy placement--the world is essentially four or five Dark Souls style levels where you unlock shortcuts from a single "bonfire," but they're all somewhat large. You rarely feel the danger of "am I going to find the next shortcut/bonfire" that Dark Souls 1 and Bloodborne is really good at evoking; each piece along the way is manageable, and you can challenge yourself not to reset the level as you unlock the shortcut paths. Finding out how the levels fit together (and the various ways you can travel between the different levels) is always satisfying. There is some light Metroid elements as well--you unlock abilities as the game goes on that you can use to unlock more of the level. Besides the required segments of this stuff, going back to explore wasn't always rewarding: some techno-souls points, maybe a weapon or two, or an audio log. I blazed through the main quest without paying too much attention to the side stuff.

The health system sets it apart from other Souls-likes. You choose when to refill your own "flask" by burning "energy" which is a kind of mana bar that refills as you land hits on enemies, which means you can comfortably enter an encounter with zero flasks and come out of it with your flask charges topped off, so long as you're aggressive.

I played this game heavily relying on the directional parries, as opposed to dodging. The parry system can almost be spammed on certain enemy types, but it feels good to feel out the exact timing. The bosses are all pretty easy, especially when using parries, but they're all a lot of fun to fight. I ended up using a codename staff weapon and an angel set build, which essentially increases attack speed, energy gain, and stagger damage when using a "codename" weapon (weapons that begin with the word "codename"). There's some lore reason for that, but I didn't care about the story or world here whatsoever. It's all cool looking enough and can be very goofy. I'm not completely sure if I'm going to do the NG+ yet--if I do, it will purely be for the mechanical pleasure of it since I was never grabbed by the world or story. I'm more inclined to check out the first one.

Mejor que el primero, aunque irónicamente, me ha pasado como el primero: al principio me ha costado de tragarlo, pero cuando me hizo pop, no hubo stop.
Es un poco tosco, pero es un buen soulslike.

I never got to finish The Surge. I appreciated its limb tearing but it was not enough to have me hooked on. Now, The Surge 2, steps up its game. With a better enemy variety, better close-knit levels and far more enjoyable bosses, it made me happy that I somehow got to embrace the franchise eventually. Being still the most of souls-likes in High Fantasy settings, a sci-fi take is very well noteworthy.

The surge 2 improves some core mechanics within the first game with a more open yet more dangerous environment.

Not to mention the grizzly combat and some action rpg mechanics. If you like it the first go for it.

Good game that takes what made its predecessor stand out from other similar games and improves the setting. It also adds more bosses, which were lacking in number in the first game, and reduces the danger that trash mobs pose.

Overall it is a fairly enjoyable game that, due to the introduced parry mechanic, is way too easy for the genre.

I also really enjoyed the setting in the DLC.

Gameplay is a huge improvement over the first game but its story overall is quite weak and quite forgettable. The customization is when the game really gets good and a handful of the bosses give out quite a challenge.

i need more of this parry system i need so much more

A definite improvement from the first game, big fan of the directional parry system. Weapon combos still feel pretty finnicky but I enjoyed the new spear, hammer, and especially punching glove weapons (I couldn't get into double-duty though). Areas were much more aesthetically appealing to explore than the first game although still almost as confusing. I wish the bosses were a bit more challenging, didn't die more than twice to any of them

A good improvement on the first game. Gameplay is fun, I find it to be kinda easy, but not extremely. I did not enjoy the Boss fights very much, they are ok, but felt very underwhelming to me. I was interested in the story since The Surge 1, and it really became boring to me near the end. Overall a good game, would recommend buying during a sale.

Played the first game and didn't get very far. Picked this up with it's DLC when it was on sale Christmas 2021 and really enjoyed. It's not perfect but it's an improvement over the first. Enough if an improvement that I actually stuck with it to the end. The boss battles were fun and varied and the Gameplay seemed a bit more fluid than in the previous game with more weapons and armour etc.

It's an improvement over the first game, but not significantly.

Copied and pasted from The Surge 1 review:

An attempt at making a game similar to Dark Souls, but with dismemberment.

It was a decent attempt. The sequel is definitely an improvement in every way.

The combat, which is certainly the most important aspect to nail in a game like this, feels a little floaty and not precise enough. The way you explore the levels and find shortcuts is a little too straight forward/literal, but hey, they tried. It's still worth playing, if you're a huge fan of the way From Soft designs games.

It's an example of not being able to get enough. I enjoyed this game because it was at least trying to be a game I'd love.


Maybe something's here, but I'll never know.

The Surge 2 lets you create your own husk of a protagonist and no matter what they're going to look fresh from a round of chemo. Poor KB+M controls for combat turned me off immediately and none of the opening weapons had any sort of weight to them. The directional parry is a nice concept that's executed poorly, in fact everything about this game felt like devs built it from bargain bin scraps.

Gave up pretty soon. Just rare for me to be this unhooked by a game's intro. I was bored and definitely not in the mood for a knockoff Soulslike. The coolest thing about this game (that I saw in my admittedly very brief stint) was being able to choose my character's backstory and being a criminal, but this of course meant nothing and changed zero, basically just headcanon for me to remember while I played.

Don't plan on coming back and I highly doubt I'm missing anything.

I don't like the setting, I don't like the sounddesign and I don't really like gameplay (not nearly as good as DS).
I'd rather play DS1-3 for the 50th time than waste my time and nerves on any of these mediocre soulslikes.

I got this game on a whim after hearing the first major boss theme and it's honestly well worth the time I put into it. The gameplay, while it took me a bit to get used to as this was my first souls-like game, eventually felt really smooth. Progression felt fairly natural throughout the game and the level design and difficult enemy placement would consistently encourage me to go along a path to the next objective.
The bosses were fun to fight for the most part, each having well telegraphed attacks that, if you didn't learn how to deal with them, would heavily punish you for your mistakes. The only one I would say wasn't great would be the Metal Armor fight.
The OST, while not mind-blowing, served well to enhance the atmosphere of each area and fight. A few themes do stand out, such as CIT and the Matriarch fight.
While it may be well out of my comfort zone in terms of gameplay, I had a lot of fun.