The Surge, aka Dark Souls in a Junkyard, was interesting but unfulfilling: "It doesn't have that mix of glumness and grandeur, that sense of the mythic that makes the hard slog rewarding," Jody said last year in his 60/100 review. Joe liked it better, though, so he was pleased earlier this year when Focus Home Interactive announced that a sequel is on the way.
Today the publisher served up the first look at the sequel's new-and-improved sci-fi fisticuffs by way of the debut gameplay trailer, unleashed today at Gamescom. The video is set in the Park sector, a "new and enigmatic" location in the middle of a Surge-shocked city that's patrolled by mercenaries called The Hunters.
The Surge 2 promises "larger and more ambitious level design" in a new environment—the city—with "advanced dodging, directional parrying, and unique AI behaviors" coming together for "more brutal and tactical" combat than in the first game. "More abilities, weapons, implants, and drones give players a vast arsenal to build their character with, in their fight against the array of diverse new enemies and bosses," Focus Home said.
Much of that is a repeat of what it said when The Surge 2 was announced in February, but now we've got something concrete to look at, and I think it looks pretty good. I'm not familiar enough with the original to comment on how dodging and blocking appears improved in any specific way, but apparently you get to hit guys in the face with dual electrified cyber-axes, and that's not a bad place to start.
The head-pasting action looks pretty good, but The Surge 2 is still quite a ways off: it's currently expected to be out sometime next year.
