Review for The Surge. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 16/05/2017
In the last period there has been a proliferation of Dark Souls-style titles, so much so that a term has to be coined to indicate the genre of games in question: soulslike. This trend is becoming more and more enriching, becoming almost a real videogame genre in its own right. Obviously, each title has original elements of distinction, while maintaining the gameplay style very similar to that of the From Software saga. The latest arrival is The Surge: a soulslike with a futuristic flavor, seasoned with exotic and futuristic companies ready to change the world but, in spite of themselves, for the worse.
Exotute of the miracle
The guys of Deck13 then return to the genre they started with Lords of the Fallen, ready to have their say again, after the promising but not too lucky debut. A bit like that of CREO, the multinational that promises a revolution in the world of medicine and work: the esotuta. With this equipment, connected to the main neural plexuses of the body, anyone acquires an out-of-the-ordinary strength: lifting heavy loads, moving heavy weights and beating the bad guys properly will no longer be a problem. However, this is not the only advantage of the exosuits: in fact they are able to make those who can no longer walk again, giving hope even to the less fortunate. Touching is the moment in which we meet Warren: driven by the hope of returning to walk as before, the unfortunate paraplegic goes to CREO to be hired and become part of the staff. Immediately after joining CREO, we are immediately called to make a choice: to be hired as Goliath or Lince operators. The Goliaths are operators dedicated to the heaviest manual work while those who wear the Lynx armor will be endowed with monstrous agility.
The operation to which Warren undergoes has an unexpected outcome, eventually causing him to pass out from pain while the basic apparatus of the esotuta is implanted. Upon awakening, the newly hired will find himself in a ruined CREO complex, with surveillance robots ready to attack him and operators of all kinds who, mysteriously, have lost their reason and attack anyone who stands in front of them. It will therefore be up to Warren to try to understand what the heck happened after his operation, since not even the few contacts he will be able to have with other CREO employees will be able to clarify the situation. The questions posed by the incipit will prompt you to want to know more immediately, however to get more information about it there will be sweat, due to a fairly slow narrative pace. Fortunately, as we are about to explain, the same cannot be said for the gameplay.
Future Souls
The gameplay of The Surge is anything but slow: after taking the first steps inside CREO, you immediately realize that the famous saying “Whoever stops is lost” is law. The fights against the operators equipped with exosuits, against the robots or better still the bosses, are frenetic, fast and dynamic. Much, however, depends on the opponent you face: the Goliaths, as mentioned before, are slower in their movements but they can do really badly, while the Lynxes are more elusive but no less lethal. The clashes have a fundamental strategic component that is not indifferent, also with a view to Warren's future enhancement: the armor is articulated between head, legs, arms and body, for a total of six parts. Not all opponents armed with exosuits are fully armored, thus giving the opportunity to direct blows towards one of these parts of the body and, attacking those less protected, allowing you to cause more damage. Furthermore, by frequently targeting a specific part of the body, it is even possible to cut it off from the opponent with a final blow, obtaining that part of armor or components useful for crafting. Together with these objects we will also get technological scraps that will be the equivalent of the souls of Dark Souls.
By going to the Medbay it is possible to use them to level up and increase the nuclear energy that the suit can release. The nuclear energy of the suit is important mainly for two factors: it affects the quantity and quality of wearable armor components and the opening of certain portals within the CREO. Obviously, like any self-respecting soulslike, the death of the player involves the loss of any technological waste accumulated up to that moment, with the consequent opportunity to be able to retrieve them in the place of their untimely death, after the inevitable respawn.
Depending on the pieces of armor equipped, you also get parametric bonuses: wearing a complete set brings useful advantages especially in battles against bosses or groups of men in exosuits, a type of battle certainly among the most challenging. Other bonuses, on the other hand, such as those relating to weapons, are obtained with use: the types of weapons are different and, the more certain types we use, the more the level of confidence with that type of weapon will increase, consequently increasing the "performance".
A slight difference from the Souls saga is the difficulty: slightly lighter than the parent saga, which makes the title more accessible but not for this without a certain sense of challenge. Getting rid of a group of enemies or letting a boss fall under our blows will certainly not be a trivial matter. A flaw from the point of view of gameplay are instead the dodge and jump controls: the first is not very precise - sometimes we will find ourselves thrown towards unwanted points in order to avoid enemy attacks - while the second is not very balanced and complex to use , as to use it you first have to run.
I CREATE and destroy
The Surge graphics department was completely curated by Deck13. The Fledge graphics engine holds up well and you don't notice the slightest slowdown both during the quietest phases and in the most excited moments. Exploring the complexes of the CREO is an experience that is certainly not boring: it starts from nature fused with technology, to get to underground labyrinths where the headlights of our exosuits will be our only salvation. While remaining good or bad in the same background setting, you can see the imagination and commitment that are behind the development of this.
The soundtrack, on the other hand, is quite transparent: it is unable to remain etched in our minds, just as it shouldn't be penalized too much either. He does his "dirty" job but nothing more, in short. The dubbing is curated, even if we won't hear the characters, including Warren, talk that much.
The basic idea of The Surge is certainly catching: a soulslike in a futuristic sauce was something that was still missing. The title, although not without some shortcomings, manages to amuse and entertain. The Surge is a title that we feel we can recommend to fans of the genre but also to those who want to get closer to it, thanks to the slightly lower difficulty curve of the Souls saga, without threatening the sense of challenge. The dynamism of the clashes and the interesting upgrade system counterbalance the slowness of the plot and the sporadic inaccuracies in the control system, making The Surge a title that is definitely worth playing.
► The Surge is a game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 16/05/2017
