The Surge 2

Deck13 included a number of new weapon and armor types, all of which can be upgraded extensively, again putting heavy weight on the act of grinding, which is a bit excessive, but thankfully it ends up being fun. If you like the idea of cobbling together armor sets earned by felling difficult foes, give The Surge 2 a try. You may get a bit lost in the world at times, but every encounter is fun and well thought out. The bosses in particular are nicely designed, exotic in look, and push you to play with brutal precision.

This “Sci Fi Souls” has really grown into a beast of its own. The exploration is rewarding, the combat hectic and the progression system has a lot of possibilities going on. It may not be the most majestic take on the genre, and there are issues with the performance on base systems, but The Surge 2 is a strong new entry in this so-hard-yet-so-satisfying niche of games.

This a very good fight-focused action-adventure. It has some flaws in terms of storytelling as well as visually, but makes up for that with an excellent level design, exploration and motivating character development.

The Surge 2 is a solid proof that Deck 13 learns from their mistakes and that with every next game they level up their performance significantly.

The Surge 2 is that kind of game where you clearly notice all it's problems... but you can't stop enjoying anyway. Once you've started slicing and dicing to dress with the limbs of your enemies, you'll have to cut your own hands to put the controller down.

The Surge 2 is still a fun improvement over the original that will win more people over with its tight and well-designed environments and combat.

Even the twisty and open game world surpasses the rather boring CREO terrain of its predecessor by far.

The Surge 2 offers more and better than seen in the first chapter, polishing certain rough edges but keeping certain errors of its predecessor. Its combat system reaches the saga to a new exponent of possibilities and its futuristic setting brings a different vision to the genre.

The Surge 2 has some marked improvements over its predecessor but doesn’t color too far outside the lines. It takes a formula that works well and continues using it in satisfying ways, just not in fresh or surprising ones. Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a hell of a lot of fun, and once it sinks its hooks into you it’s tough to pull away. The Surge 2 is absolutely a compelling entry into the souls-like genre, yet I can’t help but feel it’s missing an extra spark of creativity to make it a true game-changer.

All in all, The Surge 2 is a great game to pick up if you're looking for a more arcade-like take on the Dark Souls formula. It's a fun and engaging game with a solid combat system and enjoyable mechanics, and it's only dragged down by a mediocre story and lackluster environments. With the excellent improvements from The Surge to The Surge 2, the franchise is well on its way to standing tall in the Soulsborne genre. It's well worth playing if you're an aficionado of this genre and don't mind dying a few times.

The Surge 2 is a sequel done right. With fluid combat, creative level design, and solid performance you would be hard pressed to not enjoy this title.

Without a doubt, The Surge 2 builds upon the structure of what came before. Making already fun combat systems even more enjoyable is not an easy task, but Deck13 achieved it. The dedication to building Jericho City into a viable arena for death and exploration comes across in its intricate paths and hidden bits. But I do think just a bit more time and polish could have not only made the game a bit prettier but also resulted in a handful of additional bosses that really put players through the ringer. But The Surge 2 still rewards those looking for a hardcore game in a new setting. And who knows where a third game might go.

The Surge 2 is a better game than its predecessor in many ways, and shouldn’t be overlooked in a growing crowd of soulslikes. Pathfinding can still be a bit vague like its predecessor, but the dense environments are fun to explore and complement its weighty combat and robust gear upgrade system. Deck 13 polished what made the first Surge a decent B-tier game and doubled down on what it's good at, showing us how a good developer can learn and evolve from release to release.

The Surge 2 is a thrilling ride from beginning to end. The foes are a joy to battle, the maps are built to invite and reward exploration, and the story offers just enough intrigue to keep the player hooked until the final battle. It’s wonderful to see developers taking a hard look at the successes and failures of their previous effort and ensuring that the sequel surpasses it in every way.

The Surge 2 rises above both its technical limitations and its predecessor to set itself apart in the action RPG genre. It could even be debated that it makes a case for being lumped in with its genre cohorts - a case that is strong indeed thanks to its innovation and willingness to change and improve upon the foundations set in the first game. While it flits in and out of being a smooth-sailing and sleekly presented package, it nevertheless provides a walloping good time and can't be faulted for its enjoyable combat and exploration, navigation issues aside.

Perhaps most important, for the first time, I actually felt like I understood the Souls genre with The Surge 2. It’s the first one that made me actually feel anything other than annoyed and confused and that I wanted to actually stick around to see the end of. It still has issues, and I’d love to see more enemy variety, but I can safely say that I’ll be back for whatever Deck 13 has planned next.

The Surge 2 is essentially the first game, but better, with more content and a gameplay that's still enjoyable if you like Souls-Like games. On the other hand, the visuals are quite dated, the camera isn't perfect and the story adds no value whatsoever.

The Surge 2 is a very good Souls-like. The level design has really improved after the first episode, and the gameplay key features will procure good sensations to players addicted to challenges.

The Surge 2 improves on every aspects of the previous game. It’s more nervous, more intense, more varied. It’s consolidating on the very solid base of the first The Surge, and does it well.

The Surge 2 does enough to tweak the formula of the original to iron out some of the creases that plagued the original game, these improvements overshadowing the game's hit-or-miss writing and occasionally recycled content.

The Surge 2 is a refinement – rather than reimagining – of the Souls-like genre. It offers wonderfully compelling, meaty combat and a robust character-levelling system which will keep fans of the genre entertained for hours. But there’s little here that’ll entice newbies to the series.

The Surge 2 is a step forward in every aspect, that helps define the franchise. It’s better than its predecessor and a very solid options for those who enjoy that Souls feeling.

The Surge 2 is a much better, engaging, and rewarding experience than the first game. Dozens of quality of life improvements, more interesting environments and characters, and the addition of parrying makes The Surge 2 a must-play for anyone who even slightly enjoyed their time with the first game. However, the game holds itself back from being an excellent souls-like with some poor lighting in areas, intense difficulty spikes, and a final area that is just plain unfun.

Thanks to a compelling combat system and a deep character customization, The Surge 2 is a better game than the previous one, but fails to stay close to the giants of the genre.

The Surge 2 is a good sequel that adds new content and further improves the gameplay, but fails to correct the defects of the first episode of the series.

The Surge 2 is a decent Souls-like title that has solid gameplay but lacks much to call its own.

The Surge 2 checks many of the boxes for a successful sequel, but this sci-fi action RPG falls just short or recapturing the full dismembering joy of the original.

It's a short RPG, but for what it's worth it's a very fun one, with great combat mechanics, excellent take on the Souls genre and very good performance on PS4 Pro. Too bad the story is kind of flat.

The Surge 2 improves some of the elements of the first episode but apparently worsen others. However, the soulslike formula still works and there are plenty of enemies to fight.

The Surge 2 is a solid game focused on combat - the fighting is superb, enjoyable and never becomes boring. The world is interesting, the technical aspect of the game was done competently (although there are some minor issues), and the level design, which was the most frustrating part of the previous game, was sorted out, too. About the biggest pitfall of the game is that it's a notch too easy for some.

The Surge 2 successfully builds upon the original game in practically every way – offering a larger roster of bosses, more equipment to pillage, and a bigger, more organic open-world to explore. A few pacing issues and some issues with the visuals aside, The Surge 2 offers a greater variety of experiences over its predecessor and is easily Deck13’s best.

While Deck13 still has some work to do, The Surge 2 is a massive step up from its predecessor in just about every respect.

The Surge 2 still has the same great combat, satisfying exploration, and a mess of an inventory system that remains cumbersome to navigate. Many of the original game's problems are still here, but small quality of life improvements and a neat new setting make this outing just different enough to be worth a look.

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 . [Issue#168, p.80]

Deck13’s futuristic limb removal simulator is a solid but generic entry into the Soulslike genre.

I enjoyed playing through The Surge 2 more than I did the original. The changes to the combat are for the better, the gentler introduction is appreciated and the variety in equipment and environments is excellent. Unfortunately at release it is marred with technical issues which I'm sure will be patched out, but shows it was rushed out a little too soon.

Despite some technical problems that ultimately sour the experience, The Surge 2 delivers a solid action-RPG adventure that's powered by its dystopian setting and unique combat system.

The Surge 2 won't be winning any awards for originality for either its gameplay or story, but it still offers a fun experience for gamers who desire a challenging experience in the vein of the Souls series.

The work done by the development studio is not sluggish or lazy, but it proves to be quite patchy and not very refined, therefore unable to aspire to higher peaks. If you loved the last episode, even with all its flaws, you still give your direct sequel a chance: you'll find yourself wandering in a world where it might be worth tasting the taste of iron and death.

It’s definitely bigger, and there’s certainly more, but there’s still a lack of polish around the edges that stops it from being definitively better.

The still brilliant fighting system and the structure of Jericho City make The Surge 2 a nice soul-like and definitely a better game than the original. However, the game is a disappointment in terms of story and variation in environments and enemies.

The Surge 2 follows the SoulsBorne formula to a T, but forgets to add some fresh ingredients of its own to the mix. The lack of original ideas is mirrored in the game's lacklustre technical execution.

With a smoother fighting system and plenty of secrets to discover, this second part does that a little bit better. Yet The Surge 2 lacks an innovative approach. The end result is therefore entertaining, but also predictable.

Surge 2 improves upon the predecessors ‘Dark Souls but sci-fi’ vibe with a much more interesting world and social commentary. But the series still feels a little rough around the edges when it comes to communicating with the player. Menus are awkward to navigate, and upgrades and systems can be a little hard to comprehend. Despite this, the combat is still great fun, and exploring Jericho City is an intoxicating blend of excitement and trepidation.

For all of the work that Deck 13 has put into creating an intriguing city, the actual exploration is sometimes marred by technical issues.

A disappointing sequel that offers few new ideas as either a Dark Souls clone or a follow-up to the original, with a less interesting setting and story.

The Surge 2 is brimming with minor gameplay and technical issues that threaten to spoil the broth on a constant basis, but the game’s combat system and varied locations do just enough to push them to the back of your mind. When the going gets tough, the experience shines with a genius take on health regeneration and brutal, gory takedowns that are just as satisfying to perform as it is to whittle an enemy into submission. It can’t hold a candle to a From Software joint, but The Surge 2 will satisfy those chomping at the bit for the next take on the genre.