Remnant 2
Remnant II is the sequel to the best-selling game Remnant: From the Ashes that pits survivors of humanity against new deadly creatures and god-like bosses across terrifying worlds. Play solo or co-op with two other friends to explore the depths of the unknown to stop an evil from destroying reality itself. To succeed, players will need to rely on their own skills and those of their team to overcome the toughest challenges and to stave off humanity’s extinction.
A mix of methodical and frenetic ranged/melee combat returns with cunning enemies and large scale boss battles. Choose specific gear and weapons to optimize for the different biomes and battles ahead. Bosses will bring high-level players to team up to overcome the challenge and try to obtain the biggest rewards
Players can travel alone or with friends as a team through strange new worlds and beyond, overrun by mythical creatures and deadly foes while trying to stay alive. There are multiple worlds to explore with different types of creatures, weapons, and items. Utilize and upgrade discovered items to take on tougher challenges
Branching quest lines, augments, crafting, and loot rewards will test the resolve of even the most hardened players in dynamically generated dungeons and areas. Playthroughs will feel challenging, varied, and rewarding as players succeed against unrelenting odds. Various stories are woven throughout the different worlds, encouraging exploration and multiple revisits
Expanded Archetype system provides players with unique passive bonuses and stunning powers. Multiple Archetypes can be unlocked during play, leveled up, and equipped together for a variety of play styles
Steam User 811
Great game. Please add a North marker to the minimap
Steam User 371
Just like the previous entry in the franchise, It's a ton of fun, especially in co-cop
BUT
it STILL needs some patching to improve performance.
Steam User 345
Remnant 1 but everything more and is one of the best games to play in coop.
An INSANE amount love and care went into making this game, and it shows!
Combat is simple and fluid but don't let it fool you into thinking it will be easy.
It's a soul-like with guns so you'll still need to learn bosses and their patterns.
Plenty of gun build variations to test out for whatever playstyle of pew pew you like.
Re-playability is super well done, you'll play each individual campaign multiple times to get different loot/encounters and stories/paths.
Visually, it's gorgeous and builds on the same artstyle that Gunfire Games are know for.
One of the best games that came out in 2023.
I play coop games for a living and I STRONGLY recommend Remnant II.
Steam User 258
Honestly, I'm regretting not playing the first game. I'll likely pick it up at some point because of how good this game is. Not that it's at all required for enjoying the second's story.
Let's start with the pros:
$50 price tag - In an era where most AAA games are being pushed out for $70 with additional $10-20 worth of "live service" battle passes and content this game is not only economical but you still get everything. The higher cost editions simply unlock content early.
No Live Service - mentioned above this game has a clear ending. Yet it retains it's replay-ability with the systems they created. There's reasons to go back to worlds using the adventure mode. There's procedural generated content that randomizes the game enough to make it easy to come back to.
Great co-op - While the game can be played single player it's also got 3 man co-op which is quite fun.
Souls-like light - The game has a lot of systems people who enjoy the Dark Souls style games will enjoy. It's less punishing by not removing your currency on death. Also since enemies are procedurally generated there's less memorization regarding levels and areas. Though memorization still matters regarding enemy move sets there's less emphasis on it overall. Otherwise difficulty is in enemy damage, your survive-ability, and ammunition conservation.
Graphics/Aesthetics - The graphics are great and the different area's all have their own distinct feeling. Unlike some games where there's visual confusion with everything going on I have never really had that kind of problem with this game. Aesthetically the area's all fit very well into what they are meant to be.
Show Don't Tell - For the most part the developers have adopted this approach to the game's lore and items. It rewards exploration and investigation. There's a reason there's an inspect item option and usually will lead you to secret locations and rewards. If you see a door you can't open it's usually a shortcut, take a moment to explore the area and you'll be rewarded.
Randomization - They built replay-ability into the game in a great way. When one boss has potentially 4 different rewards based on what you do before the boss fight as well as during the fight there's great reasons to go back to fight that boss. Alternate rewards besides usually bosses can have alternate move sets as well making the fight different from before.
Cons:
Mechanics - Some of the mechanical issues with the game are tied to various things. I like the Sci-Fi area of N'Erud aesthetically for what it portrays but mechanically it's open area's aren't implemented as well as the other worlds. Some of the materials you receive simply aren't used in amounts close to how you receive them while others are used far too much yet you barely get them.
Story - Overall the story is fine, while I listed Show Don't Tell as a pro for the game at the very end of the game it lacks critical exposition for the ending. Which is kind of disappointing.
3 Man co-op - I enjoy the co-op but this game like a great many has adopted the 3 man co-op rule. When you have 4-5 friends all playing at the same time this usually leaves someone out.
Armor - Armor plays a role but not as much as accessories. It'd be nice for a transmog type system to be implemented at some point so you can look a certain way while retaining the benefits of the armor of your choice.
At this point they can create DLC in the game in the form of new archetypes, new worlds to explore, and new weapons. If they do this I can easily see myself throwing money at them for it.
Steam User 271
Like for everyone else in these reviews, I always considered Remnant: From The Ashes a diamond in the rough. The gameplay was there, the idea was there, and the execution was there, but it was still lacking *something*.
Well, with Remnant II they found whatever *something* was and ran with it.
It's bigger and better in every way. I'm a little sad seeing this hover around the same % of Positive Reviews as Remnant 1, despite all the improvements made to the formula.
I've played through the campaign once so far with a friend and it was a great experience. The game expects you to think, you're not gonna get some cookie cutter Ubisoft "go there do X" bs UI, they throw you in the world like "good luck fucko" and leave you to your own devices.
Two things stand out in particular from other games of the same genre.
1) The fucking secrets man. They didn't pull any punches. Some are easy, some are frustratingly hard, but so far, we haven't encountered a single one where later on we didn't get that "aha moment" of it finally making sense when you found the last part of the metaphorical puzzle you've been working on. (Also, use the new Steam notes, they're great for this type of game!)
2) The replayability. Started the game, arrived in a Pan's Labyrinth looking ass forest with a goat stuck in a wall telling me the princess is in another castle. Joined my friends game, and we're on a fking LV-426-esque planet with the task of saving it from destroying itself. 2nd playthrough, we rerolled the world and started in basically Yharnam from Bloodborne, complete with Werewolves (or rats?) and xenophobic residents.
Go into this like it's a Souls-Like with guns, and do not expect a looter-shooter, as loot is far and in-between but it feels very rewarding to receive, just like in the aforementioned genre. Always feels like Christmas getting a new material and going back to the hub to see what kind of Weapon or Mod you can craft with it.
All of this being said, I see why this isn't a game for everyone. It is hard, it can be frustrating, but aside from the occasional Performance hiccup here and there, this is, at least from a development/design perspective, pretty damn close to perfection all things considered. Can't wait for DLC.
Steam User 425
The short answer: Yes, I would gladly recommend Remnant 2 to ALMOST everyone. While it isn't without flaws, its really close, and the value can't be beat.
Diving deeper, you have a visually stunning, well-designed game built by a game with some serious action-adventure pedigree under their belt. Remnant 1 always felt like the concept of something great, but always struggled to hold my attention for some reason or another. Even returning to it over the years, I quickly abandon it for other things. It wasn't BAD by any means, just felt like a delicious cooking that had a LITTLE too much salt.
Remnant 2 is not that. Remnant 2 is that oven-baked, hot-and-fresh, perfect texture cookie. It's pacing of content, unlocks, puzzles, and challenge feel PERFECT. They all serve to let the game world really sink its hooks into you.
I get the feeling I'm missing a few references from the first, but ultimately, Remnant 2 does a great job onboarding fresh players to the series. Its fairly story-heavy up-front, but this graduates you into plenty of freedom for long swathes of time, rewarding you with more story at key moments. The story is nothing to write home about, but its entirely digestible, and the right level of campy.
The story isn't the thing that makes this a GOTY contender though. The GAMEPLAY is the true attraction here, oozing with the perfect recipe of Souls, Gears, Division, Bloodborne and Returnal. Many compare it to Elden Ring as it's one of the more recent titles, but the linear environments deliver a much tighter pacing and discovery that I found far more appealing. I generally tend to get overwhelmed with large open environments, where it's easy to worry about missing secrets. Instead Remnant keeps your attention focused on forward progression, while enticing you to discover the secrets that do exist with one of the best minimaps ever to exist in gaming.
This is where the magicians at Gunfire Games do something really unique though. That mostly-linear campaign you're playing through? What if I told you its entirely different than the one your friend is playing through? That hidden dungeon with a really cool setpiece event that lead you to your new favorite weapon? They may not have got to see that. They send you a screenshot and they're fighting aliens with a laser gun, meanwhile you're chopping up angels with a greatsword.
Jealous? Join them! Co-op is extremely easy to hop in and out. While any campaign progress you make in their game is unique to their save, all the experience, items, and trait points you earn will come right back to your game. If you do play that same content later in your own campaign, you're also rewarded with a hefty chunk of currency to incentivize your discovery still. Not a fan of multiplayer, or haven't convinced friends to pick it up yet? Remnant 2 has "adventure mode", allowing you to play and independent instance of any world you've beat, rerolled with new layouts and experiences...and yes, new loot.
So lets talk loot. This isn't borderlands or diablo. This loot is very, very much Souls-like loot. You get weapons (primary gun, secondary gun, melee weapon) with bespoke attack patterns unique to each weapon, each of which can be upgraded using the materials you find in fairly plentiful supply. That's not to say "gearing" isn't deep or rewarding, because it absolutely is.
On top of enhancing the damage of your weapons, each weapon also has a "Mod slot", and an "Mutator slot", each of which allow you customize a weapon further to your class playstyle. As we speak my marksman rifle has the ability to shoot bullets that ignite enemies for a short period of time, and a mutator that rewards me for staying aimed-down sight. Meanwhile my semi-auto pistol can shoot a giant orb of electricity that slowly floats away and bounces off of walls, shocking enemies as it goes. Shooting enemies with weapons recharges these mods, and my chosen rings (4 slots) and amulet further enhance this damage and recharge. Heck, I even have a mutator that recharges my weapon mods a good chunk just for reloading.
So I mentioned that weapons can complement my class playstyle. That's right, this game has classes. You'll choose from a handful to begin with that are fairly archetypal to RPG lore (if all RPG lore had guns), but without ruining anything...you can also eventually stack a second archetype/class...and not just the original ones. As I discover more...I'm regularly shocked just how deep it goes.
Oh, and for those of you who can't make your mind up and want to try different things? You can easily swap weapons, mods, gear, mutators, and classes at ANY point. No limit on inventory space either (encumberance is a top 3 worst video game feature). The only thing with a small barrier to respec is your trait points which provide passive bonuses to recharge rates of things like stamina, damage reduction, etc...but they're plentiful and generally apply to all classes. When you decide to max/min on a harder difficulty, you'll easily afford a respec if you want it.
As far as difficulties go, I'm having a blast with the pacing of the normal difficulty. Bosses have still found ways to annihilate me for mistakes, but generally trash isn't punishing unless I bite off more than I can chew. As I gear up and develop muscle memory, I look forward to rerolling a new campaign on a hard difficulty for my character, and doing some adventure modes on max with friends. Harder difficulties reward you with more xp, currency, and loot...but there is NO punishment (that I've seen so far) for death. You may have to clear back from the crystal (bonfire) to where you died, but there's no race to get back and collect xp/souls.
Finally, lets talk performance. It's no secret that we're in an age where video games launch in a VARIETY of states. Remnant 2, at least on PC, is no slouch. This is a game running on UE5, and utilizing a lot of beautiful lighting and particle effects, although it doesn't implement Lumen. It does however use Nanite, which has resulted in a gameplay experience where I haven't seen a single object or texture pop-in yet. To help keep your frames high, it also has fairly customizable video settings, and Nvidia's wonderful DLSS (but 2, not 3 yet I've read).
Running it on my top-end machine (4090, 13900K, 64GB DDR5, NVME, 3840x1600) I've had zero issues thus far. Compare this to titles like Jedi where I was mostly stable until some of the later dense environments, Remnant 2 has remained solid on my machine giving me a near-locked 175 FPS on DLSS quality.
If you made it this, congrats! I hope my words have helped you make a more informed decision. Really the only thing I can add is that Remnant 2 is also wallet-friendly. Its a game I easily feel is worthy of the ultimate at the $70 USD pricepoint (yes please, DLC!), but yet they offer the core game for a mere $50. While its still not pocket change for many, what you get in return is a wonderful game the manages to take the best from many popular titles, and hybridize them into a unique experience worthy of the love and attention its receiving.
2023 has already been a great year for games, but despite everything, Remnant 2 still manages to stand out amongst the titans when it comes to GOTY conversations.
Steam User 808
Literally just remnant 1 with Nothing but upgrades, improvements, and great additions, It is phenomenal and i cannot wait for any future content.