3.5/5 ★ – AlexCattani's review of The Surge 2.

I picked up The Surge 2 during a recent PSN sale which saw the title discounted to around $20. I enjoyed the original, but bounced off it about halfway through its souls inspired campaign. It wasn’t a bad game persay, it just didn’t do much for me to stick around. Beyond solid (though slippery) gameplay, to a clever dismemberment mechanic that surprisingly didn’t grow old. The original Surge was a solid proof of concept. Thankfully, the sequel tightens, refines and expands a lot of what was on offer the first time around. The environments are no longer as drab and industrialized, but open and varied. Now, this isn’t to say the locations are a master-class in design, infact it follows the well worn “hey look I found a short cut that led me back to the start” style of world interaction popularized by From Software. By in large, the level design is decent. I did find myself getting lost more times than I should’ve though. While certainly not a big issue and more of a nitpick, having to take a break from the satisfying combat to check YouTube for a location guide more than once wasn’t ideal The Surge, and more directly, Deck 13 never hid their inspirations and instead, revel in them. While it may seem like anything special at first, The Surge 2 quickly grips you with its satisfying combat and character progression. Confrontations feel weighty and satisfying. As the steel of your weaponry clashes with your foes armour, the satisfaction of each swing and hit never got old during my 23 hours of playtime. To make a great thing better, dismemberments are back and just as satisfying as before. Aside from some pretty funny conversation options, the overall narrative didn’t leave a lasting impression. There is a cult that’s brainwashing people and the government soldiers perusing the streets aren’t very nice. That’s all I remember. If you’re in the mood for a solid action game that borrows but also expands on the souls like design that’s inescapable it today’s modern gaming climate, you could do a lot worse.