I'm reviewing as someone who beat Demons' Souls and Dark Souls 1-3 but not the original Surge. I had to give up on Sekiro before the Owl fight because of high-blood pressure.
POSTIVE:
The Combat. Unlike the first game you won't get two-shot by every random mook. Your healing-resource gets replenished by fighting enemies, which encourages aggression. There is a parry system much easier than any Souls game to master though you can play without it. It is perfectly viable to face-tank most bosses to win.
Level Design. Every zone is designed around the one checkpoint that has a staggering number of shortcuts that loop back to it. This design is consistent across the game and never falters unlike the second half of Dark Souls. You'll visit a prison, a city-district, a harbour, a forest-reserve, two military complexes, an underground network, and a power-plant housing a cult. The world-design is highly reminiscent of Metroid.
Variety. You can freely change your build around at any point without penalty. There's no RNG when it comes to finding new equipment. You can mix and match set bonuses around. There's no weapon proficiency crap stopping you from trying out new gear. Unlike the previous Surge or all those Piranha Bytes RP Gs you can create your own character in gender and appearance.
NEGATIVE:
- The story is crap, don't play attention to it. Maybe it's just lost in translation but every attempt at drama or comedy falls flat. The final boss is some chump who thinks he's an anime villain. Only two of the bosses are all that interesting.
- The post-processing. The lighting veers between too bright and too dark, and some areas look terribly washed-out.
CONCLUSION:
Despite the souls-like label this is a very easy game to recommend. Its gameplay loop is cathartic as hell and never too hard. It's a real step-up for its developers and has an identity of its own.
More fair than The Surge and more fun than Sekiro.
I'm reviewing as someone who beat Demons' Souls and Dark Souls 1-3 but not the original Surge. I had to give up on Sekiro before the Owl fight because of high-blood pressure.
POSTIVE:
NEGATIVE:
- The story is crap, don't play attention to it. Maybe it's just lost in translation but every attempt at drama or comedy falls flat. The final boss is some chump who thinks he's an anime villain. Only two of the bosses are all that interesting.
- The post-processing. The lighting veers between too bright and too dark, and some areas look terribly washed-out.
CONCLUSION:
Despite the souls-like label this is a very easy game to recommend. Its gameplay loop is cathartic as hell and never too hard. It's a real step-up for its developers and has an identity of its own.
Played on PC. Platinum after sixty hours.
4/5.