Discounts on games that released just a few months ago are often pretty rare, but one time of the year where this isn’t the case is Black Friday season. Indeed, it’s now the week of the big day, and we’re starting to see plenty of fantastic deals on some of 2023’s best titles. One such bargain is for Trepang2, a high-octane single player action FPS that’s quickly become one of my favorite shooters to play since it released in late June. It’s normally $30, but on PC, you can get it for just $19.12 — a huge 36% discount that knocks over $10 off. It’s down to $22.49 on Xbox, too, so users of Microsoft’s console needn’t worry about being left out.
More great Black Friday deals
One of the best shooters I’ve played in years
As a massive fan of the iconic 2005 action-horror FPS F.E.A.R., I was ecstatic to see a spiritual successor of it come in the form of Trepang2 (fun fact: the weird title is actually a codename the developers stuck with). Like F.E.A.R., it blends snappy shooting, action movie-style bullet time slo-mo, and gory ultraviolence with constant creeping tension and supernatural phenomena you’d expect from a horror title. But Trepang2 goes even harder than Monolith Productions’ classic, and the intensity is absolutely cranked up to 11 as a result. And it’s awesome.
Trepang2 puts you in the shoes of “Subject 106,” a soldier with supernatural strength, speed, and reflexes that allow you to toss men around as if they were ragdolls, dodge storms of bullets, and more. You have no memory of who you were before, but when an enigmatic special forces group busts you out of a black site, you get the chance to take up arms with your new allies and uncover the truth — all while attempting to thwart the Horizon Corporation that imprisoned you at every turn.
It’s an interesting story with some creative twists, but the real meat and potatoes of the game is its incredible combat. Between its diverse arsenal of firearms that are an absolute blast to use (and dual-wield, if you’re into that), grenades, bullet time, brutal physical strikes and grapples, and a timed invisibility cloak for stealth, Trepang2’s sandbox is glorious — and you’ll need to use every part of it in order to cut a bloody swathe through Horizon’s private military.
That’s because you’ll be fighting highly-trained soldiers with some of the best AI I’ve seen in a modern shooter. Throughout each mission, you’ll encounter everything from hordes of basic grunts to lethal black ops troops, as well as some unique threats from other factions and supernatural circumstances. The great level design keeps everything feeling fresh with varied environments and encounters, too, and there are even several engaging bosses and minibosses spread throughout the experience as well.
Ultimately, it’s just a ton of fun, and it’s a game I highly recommend to anyone looking for a new shooter to play. Even with this year being as stacked as it is, I maintain that Trepang2 is one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of 2023. The combat makes you feel like a supernatural John Wick, the story is intriguing and well-written, and it’s all supported by thrilling special effects, immaculate sound design, and a techno-rock score that’d sound right at home in DOOM. What’s not to love?
