The Surge erupts in a dystopian future where an uncertain entity called CREO delight itself on the world-saving technology it has. Showing up for your first day of work comes with an immediate knock out. You then realize you do not need a wheelchair again. The interesting issue is that everyone else seems to want you dead. The question that follows thereafter is what is actually going on? Just as you play the game, you will get answers to the question.
As an aside, the Souls series is something that I fancy much, and I’ve had the opinion that the same approach could be used by FromSoftware to create a science-fiction game. I’ve always been captivated by the notion of placing that really tough action-RPG gameplay in a future environment. When I first saw The Surge, I decided to give it a try. Let’s see if The Surge equates my vision of a sci-fi Souls, but enough about the genesis.
To make it simple, The Surge has a number of unique features that makes it different from other Souls clones. To begin with, in a fight, you may focus on certain areas of the body of your opponents. One of two advantages from doing this is that it makes it easy to defeat your enemy, while attacking armored parts enables you to collect the armor and use it to create your own armor. The Surge’s fighting is a lot of fun to spend time with thanks to this brilliantly designed system.
A hub becomes the center of each of the game’s various stages. Due to this, the game seems more linear than a typical Souls game. You may find the boss that may kill you or, even more so, defeat the boss and go to the next level. You can also look around, uncover shortcuts, and return to the hub to upgrade. Each stage has a remarkably complex structure with its linear layout, full of shortcuts, secret treasures, and linking pathways. Enhancement chips, armor outfits, weapons, equipment upgrades, and raising your core level are some of the elements that work together to provide character growth. The game keeps the exciting cycle of adventure, dying, upgrading, and victory while losing part of Souls’ openness in favor of tighter, more carefully built levels.
The Surge is tough, but it does not always seem fair. Tough bosses often push you to work hard until your personality is becomes very solid, instead of helping you progress as a player. Furthermore, moving to the next stage feels more required than exploring due to the limited equipment options.
If the Surge’s difficult levels were easier to read and maintain, they would be fine. Rather, there are many places that have similar appearances, making it easy for the player to get lost. Although level’s design is quite complex, it gets unclear due to same appearances.
To conclude this review, The Surge’s fighting should last the entire game, but there is not enough difference in the game for it to do so. There are not many non-battle situations to break up the usual routine of fighting mostly the same kind of enemies.
Even though The Surge offers some nice designs and can be exciting at first, they are not built enough to keep a full-length game. As you move forward, what in beginning looks promise turns a boring effort due to problems, common enemies, unclear environment, and there is no variety in the game.
