Remnant II Review – Familiar Mechanics In New Worlds

Its Souls inspired action, combined with randomized environments and third-person-shooting made the original Remnant: From the Ashes a huge success. This sequel refines the original with expanded lore and new environments. I enjoyed my time with the game and its final boss and the shooting mechanics feel great, but Remnant II ultimately doesn’t do enough to separate itself from the genres and games that inspired it.

Comparing other video games to From Software’s iconic Souls series is an overused cliché, but it’s be hard to talk about Remnant II without doing so. You can avoid damage by timed dodge-rolling. Fog gates will separate you from the bosses and checkpoints replenish your health and reset enemies. All these mechanics are great to use and feel good. It’s always exciting to fire off some critical shots and dodge out of harm’s way as the giant sword lands on the ground. Nothing beats finding a checkpoint at the end of a sprint that felt like it was endless. There are many influences, and most of them translate to third-person shooting games.

Some elements don’t translate as well, however, or just aren’t particularly satisfying. Shooters must always face their enemy. This can make it feel unfair to run away from a rampaging monster. I also found the progression loop to be a bit boring. It is primarily your weapon upgrades that will increase in power, however these are only incremental. The statistical improvements are not significant, although you can add traits to your character. You can’t equip items found in your environment because they have too many factors that only apply to very specific circumstances. The game was played with the same armor and weapon for the most part, because switching between them never seemed like an important pursuit.

While the upgrade progression didn’t excite me, I was always eager to continue, thanks to seeing what environment I would encounter next. This lore concept allows the player to experience different levels and dimensions. For example, one area can be Victorian London’s back streets, while another can have robot-filled futuristic cities. And every area nails the difficult-to-quantify unsettling tone without being horrific.

I was captivated by the world-building in each dimension, but not so much by the characters and plot. However, its bosses were challenging, exciting and frightening, without feeling impossible. You will face many big, scary monsters who have fire breath and swords. There are also A.I. and giant cubes that stomp through mazes. The machines are excited to challenge your mortality on moving trains. The guardians of each dimension are unique and present exciting encounters.

Remnant 2 is best enjoyed as a journey through different dimensions. Each dimension has its own struggles against the evil Root that plagues their world. Gunplay is great. Co-op is awesome with two players. And the lore, if you’re willing to dig deeper, is interesting. Remnant II’s plot, characters, and progression are where it falls short, but I like its third-person shooter take on mechanics and ideas borrowed from the Souls games.