Recently Johannes Bickle, head of production of Deck 13, spoke to
“Many players were asking us to add character creation and we’re always listening to players. If you followed The Surge you’d know we weren’t just adding patches and fixing bugs. We were always working to improve it. We really wanted to bring in this character editor for the sequel, but had to make sure that the new game is not too far away from the first one. So, it’s set two months after the [first game’s] events, some key elements remain, and you’ll meet returning characters again. You should feel comfortable as a player of the first game, but it’s not required.”
The studio has implemented a character creation this time, instead of using a premade character like Warren, who was the protagonist of the first game. I honestly prefer premade characters only because they are usually better designed. Of course having more choices is always welcome.
“You will feel that with each enemy you have several new options, like that you can cut away attachments, which deactivate functionality on the enemy and can open up weak spots. The same for bosses which was not really there in The Surge. Bosses can survive a cut, but you can remove the shield, you can bring them to their knees and can suddenly reach the head which was not open before and so on. It was like ‘We need a base. That’s our core, we will not touch it!’ But we will use it to give the player freedom of choice and more choices to play with.”
Cutting limps was and still is, one of the main features of the series. If you have been reading my stuff, you should know by now that I love gore in games (as long it is properly implemented) like this and dismemberment is always a plus. Especially in a game where cutting limbs is part of the combat and looting mechanics. Also..glorious finishers!
“Ranged combat, apart from being improved gameplay-wise, now allows up to fifteen modules so you can pick between different shooting mechanics and control mechanics. Some you need to keep the button pressed, others you have a single shot or stronger shots that take more ammo. This is a lot to get right! We also have twenty-plus Gears now. We basically realised people are asking for it, and if we give more level space, of course we need more enemies which means more limb cutting and more gear.”
I am glad the devs worked on improving the ranged combat. I always prefer being close and personal instead of holding back and engage from a distance. But as I said before, the more options the better. Especially if someone plans multiple playthroughs.
“Many are really happy with the way you can beat the game just by upgrading really well. So why not? Why should we say ‘No, you have to use the actual blocking,’ but maybe you’re way more rewarded by getting this block recoil and say, ‘Oh, wow! now I really have control over this guy and I can kill him’. We don’t want a passive player, we don’t want you behind your shield! The options are all dynamic and they are your choices to beat the game with them. That’s important to us.”
The first game was fine but the performance was terrible for me, so I didn’t get the chance to fully enjoy the title. I am hoping the studio has optimized the game better this time around so everyone can enjoy it without problems.
Thanx TSA
Chris was born in the early 80’s along with the very birth of home gaming. After spending many maaany drachmas on arcades, his father decided to buy him a PC instead of going bankrupt. He lived through the advancing and development of the gaming industry, having played TONS of games on all platforms. He is always honest and will never hesitate to give his true opinion on a game no matter what. Loves stealth games and dislikes microtsansactions, DLC and pre-ordering…who doesn’t after all?!
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