Shoot. Die. Repeat.
If you have been a listener to the podcast then you know that I am not a fan of roguelike/Souls-like games, except one. Remnant: From the Ashes was a surprise hit for me when it dropped a few years back. Blending 3rd person shooting with the collecting of an action RPG like Diablo and the roguelike nature of games like Hades all seemed like a weird smash up for me back then. But fast forward and here we are with Gunfire Games dropping Remnant 2, but is it just a copy-and-paste job of the last game or has it evolved to something more?
As I said at the start Remnant 2 is a 3rd person roguelike shooter from developer Gunfire Games. The original game was known as ‘Dark Souls with guns” which, as it turns out, wasn’t wrong at all. The first game managed to stand out from the pack of copy likes with its primarily ranged combat (even though melee builds are totally viable here) and its built upon that strong foundation in the sequel. One of the brightest spots here are the multiple archetypes that are available for players, with multiclassing being an option as well. Each archetype comes with a perk and traits, for instance I chose to start as a Handler. This allowed me to have a dog companion with a prime perk called ‘Bonded’. This allows the handler’s dog to revive the handler to 50% health upon going down or revive an ally with the command ability. This came in clutch more times than I can count, not only was the dog able to draw aggro which allowed me to unleash my arsenal but coming to revive me when I was downed and otherwise out was just the best. There are 11 archetypes in all, some of which are hidden and will require specific items and or circumstances to unlock but I can assure you that they are all worth it and are all a lot of fun to play.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
One of the areas where Remnant 2 stumbles much like its predecessor is the story with even the setup being extremely like its forefather. Players will create a character and end up at the same Ward 13 location from the original game albeit a little bit shifted around. They will once again be tasked with taking out the Root; an interdimensional race that has ravaged the Earth. Characters like McCabe and Rigs return, but they’re one-note vendors like before, whereas the character who arrives with the players is presented as being more than but ultimately ends up being a one-note character as well. It’s just disappointing that so many strides were made in the area of combat, classes, enemy variety and more but the story just feels like it’s there just to be there.
Another area where Remnant 2 surpasses the original is with the procedurally generated levels; not only is it just the level but every is generated. Players will start on different planets after the initial tutorial, there will be different paths, bosses will be faced at different times, it’s really astonishing how much is just randomly generated when players start a new game. Of course, since this is an RPG there will be times when players will need to grind certain levels or bosses for armor or drops to unlock some of Remnants hidden goodies. For this Gunfire has brought back the Adventure mode; what this does is once a player fully completes a planet, they can start a one off adventure on that planet to replay for whatever reason and it will be separate from the main story. Even in adventure mode things will be procedural generated, meaning the levels that you just played will be completely different, with different buildings, layouts and maybe even bosses. Each playthrough of Remnant 2 practically guarantees to be different and unique.
Combat has been greatly improved in Remnant 2 as well with a fun and mostly useful assortment of weapons at players disposable. In typical Souls-like fashion when players defeat a boss, they will get a resource for them that can be forged into a new weapon or ability. Guns run the gambit from typical SMGs and rifles to some more exotic types that allow players to shoot a giant purple cube that will move slowly through the level damaging everything it touches. Mixing these various weapon abilities with the fun archetypes like the summoner is really what Remnant is all about. Just like in Diablo, players can spend endless hours trying to put together the perfect build for DPS, tanking or healing. And with the promise of post launch support there is going to be more goodies added down the road.
You won’t hear me talk this highly about a ‘Souls-like’ game ever and that should speak volumes to just how good Remnant 2 really is. Any sequel worth its salt should look to improve upon what the original did before it, and that is one thing that Gunfire Games has certainly done with Remnant 2. The entire game feels like a love letter to fans of the original with new systems and classes, improved features and gunplay and the solid co-op gameplay. I just wish the narrative was as polished as the rest of this package though, here’s hoping we get a Remnant 3 where that wrong is righted.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
