Hello Enthusiasts,
Some people enjoy easy games that they can stroll through mostly for the story and some breezy gameplay. Others enjoy games that pose a challenge, but eventually see the player become an insane force to be reckoned with. There's also a group that laves a game that will beat them down and make them scream at their screen. Today I will be reviewing one such game, a game that is in the same vein as Dark Souls and Bloodborne in that regard. Today, I give my first impressions review The Surge. I'm not going to wait to beat the game and give a full review of the game just yet, as it is likely going to be some time before I'll be finishing this one up. Of course, be ready for some Spoilers Below.
The game takes place in the not-to-distant future and follows our main character, Warren. He's a wheelchair bound man on his way to CREO, a gigantic tech conglomerate that augments their employees so they can keep up with their mechanical co-workers. From the start, the player is able to choose a smaller, weaker, and faster build or a larger, stronger, slower build. From here, Warren is put into an automated surgery, which neglects to give him any anesthetic for the procedure, leading to a scene of him being in extreme agony. He wakes up to find that nearly all of the other augmented workers have become insane killers and most of the technology in the facility is out to kill him. He is guided by one executive, Sally, as he fights through the enemies and tries to uncover what exactly happened.
While not the greatest tale ever told, it's a decent enough story that has enough mystery to keep your attention.
As I mentioned up top, this is not a game for those looking for an easy time. None of the enemies in the game are very easy to read, and even one slip-up against a random enemy could mean losing a chunk of health. It's a game that keeps you on your toes and demands your focus. For every enemy that is defeated, you collect some scrap metal and random parts that can be used to upgrade your rig and craft new parts. I enjoyed this element, because it caused me some debate when I would head out on whether I should risk damage by fighting every enemy to get some scrap, or if I should try to surpass some of them and save my health. I enjoyed the combat, which allows you target specific parts of enemies to increase your chances of getting a certain part. The different weapons all have slightly different feels, with some being slow and powerful, while others are very quick and land weaker hits. I personally found that I did best with one of the more middle-of-the-road weapons that I spent my time and resources upgrading. Which, by the way, I really appreciated the upgrade system. Upgrading the weapons and armor that you craft is a great way to get an edge, but upgrading your rig improves your overall stats, and when you reach milestones in the upgrade process you can add additional abilities.
I also wanted to point out two specific features that I consider improvements over other games like this one. First of all, there is a pause screen in this game, which is a life-saver. As much I understand that other games really wanted to push the difficulty of the game by not having a pause screen available, it was something I always hated, because it meant that I couldn't grab a drink, use the restroom, or do anything else when playing the game. The added pause screen is a huge plus. The other solid addition come in the form of more paths back to a safe point. In other games, it could be a very long time before you found another way back to the point where you could save and store what had been collected. This game only has one safe point per map, but they offer a new way to get there and to skip ahead in the level far more frequently. With this one, I can be more understanding of people saying that it takes away from the difficulty, because it does mean that the player can heal up more frequently. However, the stress of the game is still there, and for someone like me this system puts the game just within the realm of not being too discouraging.
So I've ranted a bit about what works in this game, but where does it fall short? Well, some of the things I mentioned earlier do get annoying. While the game does add difficulty by making enemies harder to read, it does go too far sometimes with having little-to-no signs to let you know an attack is coming. Add on top that the dodging can be a little slow and uses the same energy as attacking does, and it can lead to some frustrating damage being received. The heavy weapons are also pretty useless. The smaller/faster weapons and the more balanced weapons are really the only viable options, because most of your enemies will not take their time in attacking you, so a slow swing is wildly inefficient. Even though other games have including a similar weapon range of fast and weak vs. slow and powerful, there were ways to effectively use each weapon against the enemies based on your play style. Also, while I am still playing through the game, it seems like more could have been done with having a mech suit. The scope of possibilities seems limited to just a few things, which I hope would be improved in a potential sequel.
Overall, I really enjoy this game. It's stressful, it has heard some choice words from me, but it is also satisfying. It certainly isn't everyone's thing, and it isn't a must-have game, but I found it enjoyable. If you feel like you want a bit of a challenge in your next game, I recommend adding this one to your queue of games to play.
While I have not yet finished the game, I currently give The Surge a 6 out of 10.
Sincerely,
The Bored Enthusiast
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