So I Tried... The Surge

In each edition of So I Tried… we jump into a game that we have never tried and see what we find. Will it be something new to love? Something new to despise? Giving the title just under an hour to see if it is the game for me no matter how bad it may be. This time I dived into my backlog and found a PlayStation 4 title I bought many moons ago for cheap but never touched. So now it is time to give it a fair go and jump into The Surge.

What I thought it was

I had played the demo of The Surge a few months back and from that limited experience, I was aware of the basics the title had to offer. It was an ARPG in the vein of a Souls-like but with the added feature of being able to target and dismember individual limbs. This system, along with the sci-fi setting, was enough for me to pick up the title and give it a proper playthrough. Truth be told though I wasn’t expecting much else from it and was unsure if I would even stick with it. How wrong I was.

What it actually is

So The Surge is an ARPG akin to that of the Souls series, sure, but it is also so much more. For starters the combat is surprisingly deep with your horizontal and vertical slices actually having a huge impact on how much damage you’ll deal. The limb targeting system not only allows you to focus on weak points but enables you to pick which piece of armour your enemy is wearing that you want. You see, by dealing enough damage and cutting off that limb you are able to take the weapon or armor and wear it yourself. This is how most of the items in the game are earned making it a continuous risk vs reward style game.

On top of the engaging gameplay, the way The Surge delivers its narrative is highly enjoyable. Beyond the opening cutscene everything else is delivered in engine. You’ll be prompted to press a button to have the camera pan to a point of interest but otherwise you’re free to stay and watch or leave whenever. With numerous murderous exosuit wearing people to deal with and NPC’s that each have their own questline, the world of The Surge feels rich and alive even if everything has gone to hell. Exploring the levels and slowly piecing the story together is a tonne of fun.

Will I keep playing

Of course! In fact, at the time of writing I’m on my way to the final boss of the title and am keen to do a second playthrough. With two DLC packs also available for The Surge it is likely I will pick them up as well. With The Surge 2 expected to release later this year as well I feel like I played this title at the right time. If you haven’t had a chance to experience the engaging gameplay of The Surge then do yourself a favour and give it a go. That or keep an eye on the upcoming sequel because from the little we have seen it looks to be more of the good stuff.