If Remnant: From the Ashes was a pilot episode, Remnant 2 is the full greenlit series, brimming with great enemy design, an intriguing story, fluid, exciting combat and bursting with ambition.
A melting pot of some ideas you’ve probably seen before and a great amount of ones you won’t have, it’s a serious game of the year contender.
The looter shooter space isn’t exactly a barren one, so it’s hard to stand out from the crowd and even harder still to keep anyone’s attention after you’ve piqued their interest. But Remnant 2 is the rare exception that delivers on what you’d expect, improving on the original underrated classic while playing with your expectations to offer something exciting.
Set some time after the first instalment, the survivors of Ward 13 are now living above ground as it seems humanity has beaten The Root back somewhat – though that doesn’t stop your traveller from being almost overcome by some hidden in the depths of the sewers.
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Luckily, Clementine, a 132-year-old teenager, bursts through and explodes them with her mind. Fast-forward through some fun conversations and world-building, you and Clementine are sucked into a portal via the world stone and your quest to find Clementine kicks off.
There’s a multiversal war with The Root thrown in for good measure. Let’s be honest, multiverse stories are so hot right now, but it works and we were intrigued to find out more at every turn – no matter how weird things got.
Aside from the main plot thread, each world has its own story to tell, and interesting ones at that.
There’s some surprises to be found – and unique loot, of course – as you spend time fixing each world’s problems, often leaving you with big decisions to make which may not affect the ending of the over-arching story but definitely craft your playthrough and reward you with that feeling you may not have made the right decision.
Often touted as ‘Dark Souls with guns’, the sequel wears that nom de guerre with pride.
Combat is crunchy and satisfying, while the enemies are diverse and challenging and rarely let up, meaning every encounter – no matter how small it seems – could be the one that finishes you off and sends you back to your checkpoint.
To stay ahead of the curve, you’ll need to focus on your character build. Remnant 2 gives you so many options and tweaks at your disposal, so you’ll spend a lot of time creating the traveller that’s right for you.
At the start you’ll need to pick your archetype (or class), and from the four available, there’s a little something for everyone. From the hulking Challenger that does best in the heat of close-quarters combat to the Hunter who, as you can guess, is great for long distance sniping.
The kicker here, however, is the ability to dual-class later on, meaning you can experiment and combine the best of both worlds. You can also switch archetype whenever you fancy, so you’re never tied into any one playstyle no matter how far into the game’s campaign you’ve gotten.
Aside from archetypes, there’s more still to be tinkered with in your character’s loadout.
From amulets and rings that add buffs, to weapons and their mods, there’s a lot to play around with – and, as with archetype swapping, experimentation is really encouraged. A vast array of weapons and mods are available from the jump, but you’ll also find more along the way if you’re curious enough.
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Mods offer unique powers to each of your weapons, ranging from the more ‘normal’ attacks – such as adding a burning effect to your bullets or firing a health bomb to heal your friends – to the more barmy like summoning tentacles from the ground to slam and flail at your enemies while you run for cover.
The biggest thing that makes Remnant 2 unique is its procedurally generated worlds. While the idea was a big part of the first game, this time around you can immediately tell how much work Gunfire Games has put into upping the ante and perfecting what’s delivered.
While the core journey to the end is roughly the same for everyone, how you arrive there will differ greatly. From map layouts, bosses you encounter, weapons you discover, and even the NPCs you find along the way, individual elements are unique to your playthrough. That being said, you’ll still feel like you’ve had a hand-crafted experience, rather than one of hundreds of possibilities.
Not only does this open up Remnant 2 to be replayed and replayed without feeling old, you’ll also have plenty to talk about with your friends, sharing war stories and secrets you’ve found along the way, which is a great campfire experience for the genre.
Exploration is encouraged and almost always rewarding – if not with some cool new gear, with the knowledge that you no doubt survived a hideous amount of death traps and enemies you really wouldn’t want to bump into on a late night.
And the boss fights are an absolute delight and brutal, each as memorable as the last. From floating eldritch horrors that puppeteer sword-wielding golems to being stuck in a maze with giant sentient cubes trying to flatten you, each fight tested our skills and are forever burned into our memories.
Once you’ve finally cleared a world, you can re-roll to your heart’s content and experience it again anew with everything refreshed.
Remnant 2 is a masterful progression of everything the first game started. The combat is compelling and addictive, the worlds stunning and diverse, and it features some of the most memorable boss fights we’ve ever encountered.
With a deep character-building system and the endless possibilities offered thanks to its procedurally generated levels, Remnant 2 is an absolute must experience and one we think we’ll be world-hopping in for a long, long time.
Platform reviewed on: Xbox Series X
Remnant 2 is out now PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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