The Surge 2 Release Date, Multiplayer, Story And Gameplay

The Surge 2 will be available in digital and physical formats on Sept. 24, 2019. Pre-orders are available now, with some really fun goodies for fans who jump on the Surge 2 train early. Pre-orders will come with a DLC called The Urbn Gear Pack, which includes some exclusive weapons and some awesome neon-colored armor. The DLC also includes a drone that matches your armor's sweet style and a Lootscan.exe Radar Module, which presumably helps players scan the surrounding area for hidden scraps and upgrades. 

There is also a Limited Edition available for pre-orders, which contains The Urbn Gear Pack and more physical goodies, including an exclusive lenticular cover, three lithographs that depict settings from The Surge 2, an eight-page comic book called Out of the Ashes that will presumably set up the events of the game, and a double poster that includes a map of the game. It should be noted that The Urbn Gear Pack will be available for separate purchase at some point in the future, but for folks who can't wait, pre-orders will give them a leg up against the dangers of Jericho City.

The Surge dropped players into the role of a man named Warren, a paraplegic far in the future. Earth is overpopulated and dying a slow death. Warren is fitted with a mechanical bodysuit — an exorig — that will allow him to join the workforce and regain the use of his legs. After being painfully grafted into his new exorig, Warren wakes to find that his fellow workers have gone insane and the automated systems in the compound have gone berserk, killing everyone they come in contact with. As Warren fights for survival, upgrading his rig with parts from his fallen enemies, he uncovers a conspiracy that would wipe out 95% of all life on Earth.

There are two different endings for The Surge, with the differences explored through dialogue. One ending sees the evil plan go through. The more hopeful but still rather dark ending sees Warren saving the planet and the military resolving to investigate the events of the game. Warren, however, is left stranded without a working exorig, painfully dragging himself toward his wheelchair before the screen cuts to black.

Despite the subtle worldbuilding sprinkled throughout The Surge, we didn't get to know all that much about our lead character in the first game; he seemed as clueless about the specifics of the dangers facing him as we were. The character creator options in The Surge 2 look to curb some of that, giving us different character classes: Mining Wars Veteran, Search and Rescue Officer, CREO-certified Heavy Operator, CREO-certified Field Technician, Former Arms Smuggler, and Corporate Middle Manager. 

Each one of these classes has its own backstory to work with, giving different stakes to your character's situation. You will also be allowed to manage and alter some of the other classic bits of character creation, including different hairstyles, ages, and skin tones. While Warren wasn't exactly a slouch as a lead character (after all, the whole point of the game is for him to be something of a blank slate for you to upgrade), it's exciting to see that The Surge 2 is giving players more options, embracing more of the RPG aspects of the first game.

With The Surge's combat system, dismemberment was the name of the game. Targeting and hacking off the cybernetic limbs (or noggins) of your enemies is the only way to steal their armaments and get a leg up in the world (sometimes literally). While slicing and upgrading is still the focus of the combat in The Surge 2, as seen in the new gameplay trailer, this sequel has polished some aspects of the gameplay.

"It still follows pretty closely to the spirit of the original, but with everything streamlined to provide a smoother and somewhat easier experience," said Player.One in their hands-on demo of an early build of the game. Of particular note is a new directional blocking mechanic, which allows players to block enemy blows by holding the block button and moving the joystick in the direction of your enemy's attack. If you time it just right, you can stagger your opponent, leaving them open to a deadly strike. It's encouraging to see that the combat hasn't been so much redone as it has been improved and elaborated on, keeping what worked in the first game and making it even better for the sequel.

In an interview with Wccftech, The Surge 2 director Jan Klose described some of the changes that will make this sequel bigger and badder than the first entry. Unlike the enemies of the first game, who were mostly mindless brutes and pre-programmed security bots, the baddies of The Surge 2 are more advanced and forward-thinking. Klose explained, "The enemies are much more clever and agile ... They can overcome obstacles, and use stuff like ladders and elevators ... they can also communicate with one another, so everything will feel more alive." This is certainly a step up from the wandering feral cyborgs of The Surge.

The villains aren't the only ones getting an upgrade, though. Players will have access to twice as many weapon classes in the new game, as well as a drone companion that can be upgraded with ranged weapons and various other modules. Maybe most exciting is that all of this can be found or purchased with in-game currency — no microtransactions are planned. In other words, The Surge 2 doesn't expect you to pay real life money to upgrade your character's gear. You'll have to scavenge through Jericho City like everyone else. 

While the previews are certainly exciting, we've all seen impressive trailers that led to underwhelming final products. Luckily, the responses from news outlets that have been able to test the game for themselves have been positive, with the general consensus being that The Surge 2 is a step up from its predecessor. 

After playing a one-hour demo of The Surge 2, Newsweek's Mo Mizuch said, "Unlike other Souls-like games ... this latest effort from Deck13 includes a much more tangible sense of progression." Mizuch further commended the game for making the necessary grinding not feel like a chore: "I didn't feel good at the game, but I felt like I was getting better. And that's enough to keep me playing for a long, long time."

Meanwhile, Trusted Reviews praised the game's combat gameplay, which they described as "fast, almost dizzyingly so" and "a daring yet thrilling exercise in finesse." They also pointed out that gorehounds will find a lot to love in the new game's over the top violence and finishing moves. Basically, The Surge 2 looks to be a bigger, better, and scarier version of everything that worked in the original.