Something very much akin to Bloodborne - a lofty and bold comparison to make you might think, but Deck13 thoroughly deserve it when the game finds the means to revel in these small, if fleeting, sparks of satisfaction. All this does is exemplify the wonderfully-woven manner at which level design is orchestrated - particularly the way Deck13 incorporate short-cuts, alternate routes and branching paths to curiously, with a potential risk afoot, wander down.Īs a result, there are plenty of those “ah-ha!” moments to be had in The Surge 2. Jericho City, in contrast to the CREO facility from the first game, is thankfully far more diverse and varied than the repetitive industrial surroundings previously. Most notably, the very world and environments you’ll be slowly trekking through (this time, as your own create-a-character).
Indeed, if there’s praise to be dished out to Deck13’s approach this time, it’s that a fair few (though not all sadly) complaints from the original, have been rectified. The latter appearing rather more prominently throughout The Surge 2’s roughly 20-hour campaign. The announcement of a sequel can of course be read as Deck13 brimming with confidence and assurance that they’ve listened, understood, responded to criticism.
A deflated conclusion given how promising its early proceedings felt in preview, but at the very least something that - figurative creases ironed out - Deck13 could build on and potentially succeed on both visually and mechanically. Whether it was the artistic simplicity of its setting or the technical shortcomings that frustrated at crucially the worst moments, The Surge was one of those cases where even an appreciation for what originality it housed, couldn’t spare it. Not two years ago, when a sci-fi orientated take on action RPGs, felt like the perfect fit at just the right time, the Frankfurt-based studio’s second stand-alone rendition of the formula - following 2014’s Lords of the Fallen - had plenty of new and original ideas to boot, but sadly never had those ideas really flourish. If you want a recent demonstration of an intriguing premise marred by execution, Deck13’s The Surge fits the bill almost to a tee.
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