Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Intro:
… ambitious, intriguing and for the most part a worthy successor to a surprisingly solid original.
Your humble word janitor didn’t give the original Remnant: From the Ashes much attention when it dropped in 2019. The fact that it was dubbed “Dark Souls with guns” didn’t particularly appeal and it just ended up being one of those games that got lost in the rush of new releases. A couple of years later, however, it was a “free” offering on PS+ and that’s when we discovered something that many people already knew: this game was a cracker! Although lacking in AAA polish, Remnant: From the Ashes was a scrappy little title with great ideas, solid mechanics and effective world building. We ended up playing through the campaign and DLC, eager for more. Well, now that “more” has arrived in the form of Remnant 2 and the result is good overall, with a couple of elements that hold it back from excellence.
Remnant 2 takes place after the events of the original game’s final DLC, Subject 2923. Playing as a brand new self-generated character from a number of archetypes, you’ll be thrust into an adventure that quickly goes from post-apocalyptic to multiversal, as you stride across dimensions and realms, trying to eradicate “The Root” (which, as an Australian, remains one of the most hilarious villain names in history) from existence. In practical terms, this means that you’ll be lobbing about expansive, varied levels, fighting enemies with weapons and powers, solving surprisingly complicated puzzles, battling unsurprisingly epic bosses and discovering loads of tasty loot along the way.
So, first thing’s first? Remnant 2’s story kinda sucks. Bland, generic and suffering from an excess of quippiness, it’s basically a framework to give basic context to the action and nothing else. This matters less as you progress, but is quite off-putting in the early stages. Eventually, however, you’ll realise that the game is doing something quite unique. See, Remnant 2 cleverly uses a lot of procedural generation, mixing and matching biomes, story paths, boss allocation, NPC allocation and enemy types. What this means is that no full playthrough will be like any other, which is a huge value-add in terms of replayability. On the downside, it also means that there are fewer iconic moments, curated set pieces and shocking plot twists along the way. It’s an interesting gimmick that works really well if you’re playing with a couple of mates and just want to push through, but those hoping to enjoy a satisfying solo experience might want to look elsewhere.
Still and all, Remnant 2 is a gorgeous looking game with truly unique encounters, as well as absurdly frustrating ones. Sometimes, you’ll get lucky, and the elements will remix in a fun, engaging way. Other times? You’ll end up being mobbed by annoying spiky ball creatures that suck the fun out of existence and will have you yelling loud enough to scare the cat and/or neighbours.
Ultimately, Remnant 2 will satisfy those in the mood to indulge in shooting and looting, with an occasional detour into unexpectedly robust puzzle solving. However, if you’re playing alone, you’re going to have a much less frictionless time. Still, weak story and occasional frustrations aside, Remnant 2 is ambitious, intriguing and for the most part a worthy successor to a surprisingly solid original.
