Remnant 2 (First Impressions)

Developer: Gunfire Games

Publisher: Gearbox Publishing

Released: July 25th, 2023

Price: $49.99 USD

It's not every day that a well-known developer appears out of nowhere with a faultless execution for a sequel, while other games of comparable caliber experience significant setbacks, difficulties, and game-breaking bugs and malfunctions.

I wouldn't consider myself a fan of souls-type games because I spent hundreds of hours playing Dark Souls and other titles like Bloodborne to the point where games like Sekiro were more boring and frustrating than fun. But this isn't your typical clone or imitation. Anyone who has played a revolutionary game in the previous decade or two can attest to the varied bag of goodies this game has to offer.

Presentation

Flawless It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to sit down with a game that looks stunning, with various biomes, excellent soundtrack, exciting bosses, and hordes of monsters that completely annihilate you if you're not careful. This would mostly be due to the fact that I chose Nightmare mode for my self-torment.

I'd want to point out that I dislike the story writing in video games like this. Normally, NPCs sound the same, depressed dying types of characters, but not this one.

I don't see myself skipping dialogue; I engage in conversation with the people of Ward 13, learning about them and feeling a sense of personality for them all.

Issues

iFrames & Stuns A lot of the time, you want to avoid a skill, but there are so many abilities coming at you at once that just one dodge is insufficient. In fact, all it takes is one monster striking you the second you pull off of a roll to stun you into the current target. Basically the only time you are safe is while you're leaping forward, the second you touch the ground any current attacks that are around you are free to hit and stun you.

Another issue is if you are ever grappled by a monster. While being channeled into that animation, any current monsters nearby are free to attack you while you do nothing, especially if you escaped and are currently turning around in an animation to kill the creature in question only to die the second the animation ends, with no ability to cancel by dodge rolling to safety at the expense of not finishing them.

Aside from that, I haven't encountered any other faults with any other aspect of the game. There are no crashes or game-breaking issues from what I could see.

Gameplay

Engaging

So far, the game appears to be a mix of several genres. Puzzlers in the style of Silent Hill and Resident Evil, with the ability to physically inspect objects found in the world, which may or may not lead to hard puzzles or lethal traps. Once you're deep enough into the story, you can talk to NPCs and get to know them better, while also upgrading and collecting new weaponry to your personal preference.

Conclusion

I'm having a damn good time! It's new, both in terms of the universe and of the genre. Rather of being a Dark Fantasy with knights and chivalry, it is an apocalyptic wasteland of guns, rot and destruction, with a variety of foes all with their unique weaknesses and strengths.

I haven't had this much fun with the souls-like genre in a long time. I ended up playing it for 6 hours on my first session before I realized what had happened. This in and of itself is a good indication of how excellent it is since my attention span isn't that great.

My initial thoughts on this game come to a close with the caveat that, while others may disagree, that is what makes gamers unique. You don't have to share their interests or agree with them and are welcome to critic me on mine.

If you want to catch me on one of my streams or locate me on social media, you may do so at the following locations, I'm always playing something new.

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- Pawkt