The Surge - Review

The Surge - Review: Mechanized Swordplay

Somehow, The Surge feels both old and new, both utterly conventional and yet also compellingly fresh. Due to the recent influx of hardcore action-RPG games, there is something comforting in the familiarity of the Surge and what it promises. However, there is also something decidedly different both mechanically and atmospherically that separates The Surge from its contemporaries. The mechanical whir of the omnipresent machinery; the grimy, metallic corridors reminiscent of space franchises; the controlled diversity of the combat where you individually lop off body parts for the specific armor pieces; all of these aspects work in harmony to provide a genuinely new experience within the framework of a broader genre. While a few, significant issues hold The Surge back from becoming a classic, what is offered is a compelling, invigorating sci-fi adventure that is equal parts demanding and satisfying.

Your Friendly, Neighborhood, Evil Corporation

The Surge kicks off with a fascinating twist on  expectations and, without clunky dialogue or awkward cutscene, makes us immediately empathize with the protagonist, an everyman named Warren. Unfortunately, the game squanders this impressive start by never addressing it, or the issues that it teases, ever again in the entire game. It's a disappointing wasted opportunity that hints at a more personal story which was scrapped in production. Regardless, from that point forward, the game embraces a much more boilerplate story with all of the 'evil corporation' cliches intact. The plot does escalate towards the end with a supernatural swerve taking over the proceedings and philosophical questions about the nature of humanity being posed around every corner. These add an extra layer of interest, giving you a more tangible reason for traversing each area, but still fall short of other games of a similar vein in terms of depth and lore. While The Surge has a decent enough thread to pull you in, there's not quite enough substance behind it to really dig your teeth into until the last chapters of the game.

While the actual storyline of The Surge merely whets your appetite, the presentation of said story and its curious amalgamation of influences is quite intriguing. The environmental storytelling, well-acted audio logs and interesting NPCs carry much of the slack, combining the narrative style of Dark Souls with the meticulous level design of Bioshock. Stumbling upon a pile of destroyed drones with makeshift seating surrounding them and a big, spray-painted arena announcement only to later listen to an audio-log that formally eliminates the on-site drone fighting ring exemplifies the level of continuity and care that the developers took to make their environment feel authentic. This dedication to detail pays off and each area has its share of secret alcoves that expand the world-building of The Surge. For those with a detective's eye who like to examine their surroundings and deduce a plausible narrative, you'll have plenty to check out throughout this experience.

Won't Someone Help Me Find My Way?

With The Surge excelling in environmental storytelling, it's exciting to note that the actual overall level design is intricate and interwoven, twisting back on itself in unexpected and delightful ways. There are numerous times throughout the experience where you'll begin to feel like you're lost just before you stumble upon a convenient shortcut. Learning to trust that the developers will eventually lead you to an exit or shortcut is a valuable lesson and the more I trusted them, the more success I had navigating an environment. With this being said, it felt as though there are a few too many doors that are locked in the early areas of the game. Their abundance ends up degrading their relative importance and my subsequent interest in opening them. Furthermore, the largest, most complex, and least visually appealing area in the entire game is encountered very early and can begin to sap on a player's determination to move forward. Fortunately, it's all downhill from there with each new area gradually becoming more and more interesting, especially in the context of the story. The naturalistic way that the world enfolds around itself is an expert demonstration of intelligent level design that is both fun and, with the numerous storyline secrets hidden within, intriguing to explore.

Slicing Things Is Fun

When it comes to a hardcore action RPG, the one aspect of the game that can either make or break it is the combat system. Fortunately, The Surge's greatest strengths come from the way that you interact with enemies. While it feels clunky towards the start of the game, you'll quickly acclimate to speed at which combat engages. You will lock-on to enemies, you will strike methodically, you'll dodge incoming attacks, and, when you die, your accumulated souls tech scrap will drop where you died, requiring you to trek back to its location or lose them forever. However, it's the differences that really set The Surge apart. Rather than a light and heavy attack, you have a horizontal and vertical attack, which can be comboed into different movesets based on the sequence that you use them. This becomes relevant when considering that you can target the individual limbs of opponents, severing whichever part of an enemy that holds a piece of equipment you need. Like the helmet on that deranged worker? Cut off his head and you can pick up the schematic. Want to try out the weapon a security guard is wielding? Slice off that arm and it will drop on the ground for you to pick up. This sort of flexibility adds purpose to every encounter, making you contemplate your attacks before striking. The Surge is one of the few games that provides a satisfying hike in difficulty and, consequently, a tangible and intoxicating increase in player skill. Whether or not you've perfected the way you handle specific enemies, the path you take to a particular destination, or a level of competency with a certain weapon class, you just know that you're getting better, particularly when you backtrack and casually slaughter the foes that gave you so much trouble earlier in the game.

Speaking of slaughter, there are five weapon classes in the game, each with their own vastly different movesets and gruesome execution animations. The fluidity of the attack animations impresses throughout the game, particularly considering the myriad of maneuvers that can be effortlessly chained into one another. Of particular note are the awesomely brutal executions that you can perform and the occasional slow motion highlight of one that will punctuate the end of a fight. These are visceral, violent and thoroughly satisfying, especially considering that whatever limb you're bodily ripping from an enemy will yield that specific piece of gear. Among the different weapons in each class, there are subtle variations, in particular with the various forms of damage that they deal but, for the most part, the aesthetics are the only major difference between them. A few more weapon classes would have helped to diversify the experience as the base number of five is on the low side, even with all the variation that each class brings to the table. Furthermore, while I appreciate the Skyrim-like leveling system that rewards players for mastering a single class, once you become adept at a particular style, there was little reason to try out another weapon class other than to break up the monotony, a theme that will be discussed further along in this review.

Who's Your Boss?

One of the major highlights in The Surge are the tense, frantic and completely original boss encounters. The flawless animations and realistic movements really bring these mechanical monstrosities to life with each of these dynamic battles requiring quick reflexes and laser focus to achieve victory. What makes these even more enjoyable is the fact that if you're able to defeat the bosses in a particularly difficult manner, then you'll be rewarded with an upgraded version of either the boss weapon or armor that drops after their defeat. It is a truly an excellent mechanic that I haven't seen implemented as well in any other action RPG and it instilled the experience with immense replayability as you only have one chance to get it right. Unfortunately, there are only five bosses in the entire game which is a shame considering their consistent excellence but is emblematic of the biggest problem with The Surge: a lack of variable content seemingly due to budgetary constraints.

So Close Yet So Far

It is rare to see a game so brimming with potential and containing such well-executed individual pieces brought low by an apparent lack of manpower, diminished budget or some other corporate restraint. The truth is that most of the parts of The Surge are excellent but there's simply not enough of it to justify a sixty dollar price tag. From the fun, well-animated enemy designs to the environmental storytelling, from the intense boss fights to the intelligent, provocative introductory level, The Surge accomplishes numerous things with panache and skill. However, there are not enough well-designed enemies or mobs to contend with; there are not enough well-constructed areas to delve into; there are not enough weapon classes to play around with; and there are not enough thrilling bosses to do battle with. To make up for this content deficiency, some areas feel artificially extended with difficult and constrained enemy placement or obtuse progression mechanics. Combined with the mysterious lack of any fast-travel system, this has the effect of occasionally making progression feel monotonous, slogging through the same fifteen enemies through the same dank tunnels too many times. To alleviate this, The Surge could have been released with a few more enemies, a few more bosses, a few more weapon classes, and a few more areas, spreading them out accordingly and with less density. This would have seamlessly removed the  monotony and smoothed out the pacing issues while maintaining the already high-level of quality that each, independent aspect of the game already showcases. To bring this topic full-circle, The Surge has well-crafted elements yet a bloated feeling of progression due to the repetition of those same elements. This speaks more towards a lack of internal resources developmentally rather than an inadequacy with the development itself. Thus, it is the unfortunate fate of The Surge to be a promise never quite delivered upon with all of the potential and not enough execution. Here's to hoping the promised DLC can remedy this.

What's It Worth To You?

So, the question comes down to whether or not The Surge is worth both time and monetary investment to pursue. On one hand, to one player, The Surge has a deep, rewarding combat system that continuously challenges you and a multi-layered story set within an interesting, well-designed world that hides fascinating secrets for those with the tenacity to seek them out. On the other hand, to a different player, The Surge has clunky, repetitive combat with a by-the-books story that never truly accomplishes what it sets out to do and a lack of content that is filled by artificial roadblocks simply to extend the experience. And you couldn't be faulted for adopting either one of these viewpoints. Both of these evaluations hold true on different levels to different players and, therefore, it's important to set expectations correctly. This game has been molded for the crowd that enjoys hardcore, single-player experiences with purposeful combat, a vaguely told yet thematically consistent story, and a punishing difficulty that eventually breeds a level of skill that wasn't present before. With this goal in mind, The Surge is undeniable success. While the game still feels as though it could have used another couple of months in development, especially for a sixty dollar release, it achieves a sense of significant exploration and delivers exciting, weighty combat in an entirely new setting as long as your not expecting an overabundance of content. So, if you're looking to viscerally tear up some bad guys, suit up in an armor set that you ripped from a security guard, equip a weapon that dropped specifically from a boss, and dive into the depths of the industrial world of The Surge.

Final Verdict: 3.75/5.0

(A note on the changes to my grading system is below)

Review Score Breakdown

1.0/5.0: Essentially unplayable, not enjoyable, or devoid of any gameplay satisfaction or erstwhile value.
2.0/5.0: Has a few, noteworthy features but is otherwise unremarkable or has a seriously detrimental downside.
3.0/5.0: The game has solid if unremarkable minute-to minute gameplay with a few highlights and considerable downsides.
4.0/5.0: The game is consistently fun and stimulating without any major bugs or issues holding it back.
5.0/5.0: This is an exceptional game that is simultaneously engrossing and thought-provoking in both subject matter and gameplay and is as close to perfect as they can make.