The Surge

Great game. Only complaint is that when you beat the game it automatically takes you to NG+. I was wanting to do the DLC after completing the main game but now I'd have to play up to the point where you can access the DLC again and then do a much harder version of it. Either way, not enough to make it a negative review, more of a warning for those who play next.

Ok. So I played this for the free-to-play-for-a-day thing, after being scared to spend money on it, since everyone was almost unanimously talking about how bad of a game it was. And while I have not played Dark Souls to provide an intimate comparison of the two, I have to say I have NO idea what people are talking about concerning some of the problems in this game.
tl;dr: it's not that bad.
OK. So I'll try to list and address the outstanding issues I've seen in the comments so far:
Dodging is useless.
Quite honestly this was the clincher for me not buying it. I mean, after waiting for so long to find a game that was like Dark Souls, as hard as Dark Souls, without all of the "crying souls from the netherworld" type of theme, I was crushed to hear that one the major parts of the swordplay wasn't even worth trying. And after playing it...they're wrong. Sure, you can't dodge through enemies, and you don't have any i-frames during the dodge, but that's not what it's meant for. It's just meant to be a quick way to get around danger or the back side of an opponent, and it works. I love the dodging in this game. It's useful and really quick, without making you invincible.
Blocking is horrible
So if one is not coming from a game where stamina played a huge role into what one could / couldn't do (besides sprint for days) I can see how one could have a problem with this type of implementation, but if one did, then you know exactly how it works. If you have sufficient stamina, you can block, and it only eats at your stamina to block the attack. If you don't then it eats at your health: easy. And whenever I remember to use it, I haven't had a problem with it at all. Yes, it does add an extra level of difficulty to the game, but hey, you came here after Dark Souls.
"Samey environment"
...Now that...I have to agree on. It's mostly staged within an industrial facility designed to manufacture form-fitting mech suits. With that, the battle-torn environment carries the usual stuff: crates. metal shipping containers in droves, lots of stairways and catwalks, that sort of thing. With that in mind, I find that forgivable, but maybe they could have made the map a little more interesting, especially since you're going to spend a great deal of your time running around that same environment.
Map is confusing
Yes, yes it is. It's what you've already read; the game gives you a lot of ways to shortcut back to your safety zone, but because of that, you can easily either get lost, backtrack too much, or lose your footing on how to get some places in the area. When I first came into the game I was expecting there to be several safety zones all over the map, and traversing the map would provide a sense of progression. However, when I found that, after what felt like a long sojourn, to find that I've merely walked in a circle, I was a little heartbroken. However, for me, I got over it, since I had a lot of scrap on me, and I really need to save it now.
However, I will not say that the entire map is confusing. The map can be mentally broken up into subsections, once you think about it, but the connections between them can make it quite confusing, as to where you are or where you can go. I think it's more trying for those who are so reliant on a mini-map, that they have lost their sense of direction; I myself wanted it occasionally.
The grinding is boring ~
...So for me, I love swordplay, and anytime I get a chance to dodge, block, and slash at enemies is wonderful. And it gets better to find that over time, decapitating and severing limbs gets easier and easier. And with this, even with my short time of playing it, I can tell you that you do feel the progression. However, I will note that boredom does begin to set in a little. Right now I'm just waiting for me to get my core to level 55, so I can progress, and ignore that giant robot that keeps taking my life, and my scrap, away from me.
And while I'm on that note...
The game is unfair with it's enemies, maps, deathtraps, scrap drops, etc.
...so with what little I know about the notorious hardness or Dark Souls, I do know that that game was very free-roaming; you could go anywhere right off the bat, and that often meant you wander your happy little under-armored behind straight into daunting territory you had no business being in at your level. But, since you had heard that the game was supposed to be hard, you wouldn't question it when you got your butt handed back to you several times, after multiple attempts to prevent those one-hit kills. This, which from the trailers and promotions promised to be a Souls-like game, shouldn't have taken anyone by surprise by its difficulty...except I haven't really felt the severe difficulty that everyone is talking about. What does make this hard is that it's not a hack-and-slash button-mash; you can't mindlessly pound your controller into a pulp and expect to win. Toppling even the smallest of opponents requires patience, especially since you have limited stamina. So if you try that here, you'll get winded and floored. But even with that, to me, the character doesn't feel that very squishy. Sure, I've died a lot already, but I was expecting menacing difficulty, like enemies flying out from the middle of nowhere and wrecking your everything in one hit: hasn't happened.
And as for that one comment where the enemy changes into a much harder one out of nowhere: if you're only two hours into the game, that "change" was clearly announced as PSA over the entire facility. So expect a surprise at some point. Now...did I get surprised by it still and lost a LOT of scrap? You can bet your sweet poop toot. But...that's part of the game. Dark Souls did the same thing...except worse...much worse.
Controls are clunky
I have a Steam Controller: I ain't got no worries.
Nonetheless, the initial controls, which I have not altered, even though I can, do NOT feel clunky. What they probably mean is that the character does not immediately respond to your button press with a fully-completed attack, much like what you would get from a hack-and-slash or one of those Capcom Street Fighter games. The character here is "weighted", meaning his actions, and the mild slowness thereof, is providing a heavy feel based on what he's currently holding. I mean, come on, The guy is strapped, head-to-toe, in a fullmetal onesie, whilst holding either a heavy-metal plasma sword, a piston, or a giant meat mallet, all of which looks REALLY heavy. And people expect him to swing the mess like he's holding a wet noodle in a swimming pool. And...if that doesn't beat all, all the enemies, at least, from what I've seen in my notably short time of playing, share the same encumbering circumstance, so it's not like the game is being unfair on that point.
Crashes to desktop
While it does tend to "black out the screen in some spots where other applications are still running, I have not suffered a crash of that magnitude. Also, once you focus on the application, the black out goes away; no biggie.
So if you've made it this far, I have to say, that for all those that quit the game before the five-hour mark, I cannot see what all they're seeing in terms of the "blistering, hair-pulling difficulty". For me, this is just a game you have to take your time on. I can't speak for the scorpions or other beasts you fight later on, but for all the stuff you see before you beat that giant mech in that wide open area (that honestly, after looking the area, I was kind of expecting far before it even showed up), and that "Level 55" door lock, I can tell you that this is not bad as people make it out to be, and this is coming from a person that almost never selects "Hard Mode" on a game.

You should pick up this game if....
- you like Dark Souls (or souls-like) games
- you like a BIG challenges and learning from your mistakes and can learn to be patient!
- you like single player.... no multi player ;(
- you do not want your hand held. you learn as you go!! you don't get anything spoon fed to you except for the very basics
- you like dystopian futuristic settings
- you like cutting off limbs in brutal fashion, and using said limbs to craft gear for your awesome character
- you don't have hundreds of hours to play videogames (the game is relatively short, but that's a good thing in my book)
You may not like this game if.....
- you are all about story (i personally like the story, but its one of those things you have to go searching for...and even then it doesn't make the most sense) It's ok, not the best.
- you are looking for a 'chill' game. You HAVE to pay attention in this game or you will Die....A LOT.
- you are looking for multiplayer or PVP.....none here
- you hate dark souls or souls-like games
I hope this has been helpfull.

This game is really good and criminally underrated imo. This game is a "souls" type game. it's a melee focused hack and slash game , there is some ranged but it's very limited. Mostly used to aggro enemies early on until you get some better drones with better ranged skills. This game is really hard though most enemies can/will kill you in one maybe two or three shots. (3 if lucky). Melee is tied to adrenaline so in the beginning you might only be able to swing a melee weapon 3 or 4 times at most. Dodging and running is tied to it too. The game can feel unfair at times until you get the feel down.
This game punishes you for just spamming attack. In order not to use all your adrenaline up you have to get the feel for each weapons sweet spot when swinging. If don correctly you can swing 5 or 6 times and do a lot of damage.
There is loot in this game and what you get depends on what body part you target on a enemy. If you see a enemy swinging a weapon you want you need to target the right arm and than when you have done enough damage you can perform a "execution"(Which you need energy for. You get energy each time you hit a enemy but it degrades over time). After the execution the weapon and the armor for the right arm will drop. So in order to get armor from a enemy you need to do the executions for each piece (Head,Legs,Arms,Chest). Executions will kill whatever you are fighting so to get a full set will require you to face a few of these enemies. Once you get these parts you go back to this games safe area called "OP's"and craft them which requires tech scrap and the armor part. You can upgrade these too once you make them. Weapons are picked up whole though so you can use them right away. You also use tech scrap that you get from all defeated enemies to upgrade your rigs energy core so you can have more health and stamina and more core energy to use these other things called implants. Implants are scattered around the level and some even drop off certain enemies if you chop of something specific. Implants can give you all kinds of different passive or limited use boosts. For example I have a implant that is really good that slows down time when you activate it if you have enough energy and can be used as much as I want as long as I have enough energy. The other kind of implant is called injectables and these usually only have a few charges that will refill when you go back to OP's. Than there are the passive ones that give stuff like more health and stamina etc...
Every time you die you spawn back at OP's and you have a limited time to get any dropped tech scrap in the location you got killed. Every time you go to OP's enemies will respawn except for the main bosses. The longer you keep from going to the medbay in OP's and not dying you will build a multiplier up to 3X for any tech scrap you pick up. It won't reset just by crafting or walking in OP's but the enemies will respawn. There are secrets and some decent rewards for finding them at times.
So far there is a lot of enemy variety. Also the enemies have different move sets that can keep things interesting. The bosses are interesting too and you get a good weapon after beating them. You can get the Version 2.0 version of the boss weapon by beating each boss a specific way. For example if you kill the first boss without using it's missile launches against it you will get the 2.0 version of the weapon called PAX Imperator 2.0. These are worth it. There are guides if you want to know how. You only get one shot at killing a boss though so if you killed them and got the standard weapon than that's it until NG+. What I do if I know what to do is if I feel like I messed up I will let the boss kill me and come back to it to try again to get the 2.0 weapon.
I have not completed this game yet but I have killed 3 bosses so far. So far this game is a blast but it is frustrating at times.
If you like challenging gameplay that feel rewarding when you progress I would recommend getting this. At C.R.E.O. we are all family. Did not talk about story much because I have not completed it yet. So far the story seems interesting but I will comment on it after I finish the game.
BUY IT NOW

Pros:
1. Soulsborne-like gameplay and combat
2. Futuristic setting
3. Great atmosphere
4. Huge variety of armor and weapons
5. Huge variety of implants to build around
6. A lot of viewable builds you can go for
7. Boss fights are fun
8. Overall-Story is ok
9. At least 30 hours of gameplay on your first playthrough i would say (with Dlcs)
10. High replay value because of a great NewGame+ System
11. 100% Archivements is some work and grind, but still easy enough to do so
Neutral:
1. Very dark in some places, even with your light on. Can be a bit annoying, more so if there is some smoke as well.
2. There aren't that many places where you can fall off (not like DS), but when there are you will be falling from time to time
3. Some sidequests and NPCs could be written better
4. Overall Story could be a little bit more interesting
5. I encountered some crashes, but nothing devastating because of a great autosave-system
6. 2-3 more bosses would have been great
7. Enemy variety could be a bit bigger
Cons:
1. You can't just switch gear sets and weapons around as you may like. It can get very expansive in doing so (depends on the Tier you are) and you may need to grind a bit if you want to switch
2. You can get one of the best weapons from the first boss already, so that's a weird game design in my mind
3. The "A Walk In The Park" DLC is great, everything else is way too overpriced. I recommend the "Augmented Edition" on sale
In-Depth analysis:
As a old Soulsborne/Nioh/LOTF Veteran i think that might be the hardest in that genre to get into (well, maybe Nioh), but after a while i just realized i just have to adapt myself more. While the gameplay might be the same as other games in that genre, it's still different in a lot of ways, you just have to get into it and forget about everything you learned from the other games. It's nearly pure meele and no way to avoid it, like in other games. You can't just cheese your way trought, use ranged attacks, or overlevel yourself so you have an easier time. You really need to concentrate all the time and be aware what you do.
When you played said games before you will recognize some mechanics. When you die, you have to get your Tech Scrap (Currency) back and there is a timer to get them back, just like in LOTF. When you die enemies will respawn, same when you are using the Medbay. There are limited options to regain your health at first, but the longer you play the more ways you will find to regain health. Dodging is essential and blocking pretty useless. You have to be mobile and always have an eye on your stamina. When you get greedy you die really fast. 2-3 hits at the beginning are deadly.
Here is where the uniqueness from "The Surge" comes into play. First of all, there is no Skillsystem. Most of your stats will come from your Armor and your Weapon itself. From Stability, Impact, Attack Speed to Defense and Damage. The rest, like Health, Stamina, Energy and everything else comes from all kind of implants you can choose from. So all the Currency you get you will need just for upgrading your "Core Power", so you can use more implants and for crafting and upgrading your gear.
Setting and Atmosphere is just awesome. You are crawling through dark corridors, always with a claustrophobic feeling, enemies around every corner, nobody knows what's going on and no light at the end of the tunnel. The map outlay can and will be very confusing and it will take a while to get yourself orientated. There are a lot of doors you can't open until later in the game and a every map have a dozen of shortcuts. Overall level design is pretty great.
While the DLC "A Walk In The Park" is a bit short (around 2 hours) and more on the easier side, it's is totally worth to get. It's adds a fantastic new zone, 2 new bosses, gear sets, weapons, implants and new enemies. Great level design and atmosphere as well.
The other "real" DLC "The Good, the Bad and the Augmented" adds a series of intersting Test Champers. While the setting is very odd, it is fun for a few hours, but the replay value just isn't there, when you got everything. It is one of the best places to farm Tech Scraps and it contains a few of the strongest implants in the game though.
Long story short, don't compare it to a Soulsborne game too much. While it have the same overall mechanic, it's still quite different. When you like those kind of games, you won't miss out on that hidden gem. It's entertaining, has a unique setting and some great gameplay elements. Just give yourself a chance to get into it and you will love it. I actually liked the game so much i just played trough it twice on my Ps4 and then another two times on Steam, finally getting the full "Augmented Edition" with 100% Archivements. Highly recommended on sale.
Ps.: Also "The Surge 2" incoming. \o/

The Surge (2017) | Mar. 29, 2020 |
The Surge is a surprise, utilizing its near future sci-fi setting to create a unique world that is a wonder to explore and uncover. Though its story fails to take off, the awesome combat and engaging crafting and upgrade system are more than enough to make the game stand out amidst the increasing gaming landscape.

Lots of people are trying this game in preparation of The Surge 2, and you'll typically find them giving negative and grating reviews of the difficulty being too much, or the areas looking similar. These are the same people who got on the Dark Souls bandwagon when Dark Souls II came out, then went to Dark Souls thinking it'd be as easy as the second game.
The combat is fun, high stakes, and when you hit an enemy it feels like you've hit them hard. I guess that's partly because the game focuses on a character literally wearing construction equipment. From heavy lifting forklift arms, to welding guns, and everything in between. The style of combat really reflects the weapons at your disposal.
I don't want to compare it to Dark Souls, since it'd be similar to comparing a screwdriver to a drill. Everyone wants a screw driver, but then they come over to the hand drill section and say that the drill is bad, because it's not exactly like the screwdriver.
The game has similar mechanics to the Souls genre, but such can be said about many, many, many, third person hack and slash games. If you've got a reusable healing item and a third person camera, people call you a souls-like. And I'm going off topic.
If you want combat that feels like a random guy in a wheel chair just jumped into a forklift and started fighting a team of cops in an armored car, this is what you'll want.
Play Surge because you want a game about exo suits and fighting robots. Don't come here because it has souls-like as a tag. You won't like what you get.