With varied combat and a stunning, vibrant world Remnant II clearly has a lot to offer to the action/adventure gaming world.
The newest game from Gunfire Games, Remnant II, was a chance for the developers to continue the story they began in Remnant: From the Ashes. Gunfire Games pride themselves in their world building and game making skills, focusing on impressive elements to help flesh out the worlds in which their games are set. Gearbox Publishing was the publisher of the game. The San Francisco branch of Gearbox was responsible for the release of Remnant II, as it also was for the first game.
Releasing in July this year, Remnant II will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox series X and S. It is a shooter action that takes place in a large world with many hub sections that allow for RPG elements. The campaign can be enjoyed alone or with a group of three, all working together. With customisable characters and RPG elements, the player can really create their own story. Remnant II also plans to take this a step further, with the enemies and NPCs being procedurally generated to create a unique playing experience.
Remnant II is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a plant, known as the Root has infected just about the entire planet and left only small pockets of humanity to survive in separate communities. The player, often called the Traveller by other characters in the game, is making their way to one of these as the game opens. After a thrilling cutscene involving a train crash, there is an introduction of the game’s playable character and Cass, who is travelling with her. Both characters reference needing to move on to somewhere new and show some scepticism about where they are travelling to.
Remnant II also takes this opportunity to introduce the player to some of the enemies that will be faced during the game as well as some combat techniques that they need to become familiar with. It is during one of these combat sequences that the Traveller and Cass are overwhelmed by enemies and are saved by Bo, a skilled marksman, and Clementine, a young looking girl who has some very unusual powers. The pair take the Traveller and Cass back to where they live, Ward 13 and the story of the game can truly begin.
The player has the chance to explore the Ward and start meeting some of the NPCs they will be working with as the game progresses. Remnant II uses this as the opportunity to let the character choose their class, called Aritypes, in this game. This is chosen when the Traveller meets Ford, the founder of the Ward, and Wallace, a young man with seemingly powerful gifts of clairvoyance. While talking to Wallace, the player has to pick their Aritypes. There are five to choose from- The Medic, The Sharpshooter, The Challenger, The Handler, and The Gunslinger. Many of these are based on classes from the first game with minor changes and the ability to multi-class later in the game.
Each Arcitype comes with a perk that is specific to that class. The Gunslinger’s is called “Loaded” and allows the Traveller and all allies to instantly have their clips filled in their weapons. The Challenger has the ability to release a shockwave that will disintegrate any enemy nearby, and the medic has many healing abilities at their disposal. Most of these Archetypes work very well when they are a part of a team, particularly if everyone is using a different class to support the team. This made me worry that playing alone would leave me at a disadvantage, but many of the classes are varied enough to work well alone as well as a part of a team.
I knew I would have to play alone; as I was playing on early access, I chose to use The Handler as my first Archetype throughout Remnant II. The Handler has a dog who works with the Traveller and helps take down enemies. More importantly than this, particularly while playing alone, the canine companion can revive the play if they are downed by enemies. The number of times I thought I was about to see a game over screen and my hound saved me made this one of my favourite parts of the game. This makes the class feel particularly useful for solo play as the hordes of enemies can feel rather unrelenting, on higher difficulties especially so.
This is not to say the other Archetypes are not as good while playing alone. The Challenger is a very tanky class, so works very well in solo and The Medic’s healing abilities give it a lot of survivability. I found The Gunslinger had the least to bring to the table when playing solo, as much of their kit was based around providing ammo and equipment for allies. It should be noted that while I didn’t have the opportunity to play The Gunslinger as a part of a team, I saw the potential the class had. It came with many interesting mechanics and helped bring a nice range of gameplay to Remnant II.
This introduction to the Ward is also helpful in establishing the Ward as the central hub in Remnant II. This hub can be used to demonstrate many of the upgrades as well as the NPCs the Traveller will interact with throughout the game. This includes many of the merchants that will become a big part of the game as the player levels up and requires new equipment. Remnant II does a fantastic job of building this hub world in a way that feels engaging and realistic. I found myself looking forward to returning to Ward 13 so I could talk to characters again, rather than simply seeing it as a necessity to upgrade and then get back into the main story.
This is pulled off so effectively because of the amazing characterisation that goes into so many of the NPCs in the Ward. This can range from those with just a few lines to those who own the shops and upgrade centres you will visit exceedingly often. It should be noted that many of the NPCs in Remnant II are procedurally generated. This means that some people may experience a very different version of the Ward to others, although all NPCs I met had a lot of interest and creativity to their character development.
Some standouts in my playthroughs were Whispers, a body armour merchant who was stabbed in the neck some years ago and now writes only with a blackboard and chalk. Another is Riggs, who is kind when the Traveller and Cass first enter the Ward, taking Cass to the medic to have her Root Rot cared for. Yet another is Dwell, a strange goat-like creature who appears to be from another world entirely. These unique characters mean that the merchants become more than just shop keepers with predetermined phrases. They feel real and have a personality to them that brings the world inside the game to life.
The depth of character development in Remnant II also helps the RPG elements of the game feel more fleshed out. I was genuinely concerned about hurting the feelings of those in the Ward and was distinctly aware that they were the ones selling me the equipment I needed, which helped persuade me to be nice. As well as the merchants, there were lots of opportunities to talk to other NPCs and learn about both them and the Ward. I did get a little frustrated at times that the camera couldn’t be moved once a conversation started. While not a massive issue, it was a little annoying when I spent a whole section of dialogue staring at a wall.
The conversations also allow the player to build a story around the Traveller. Remnant II offers a lot of opportunities for this. Some of my favourites include character customisations and interactions with NPCs. When talking to certain NPCs, they will ask the player about their past. From this, the player can invent a variety of backstories from the options that are in place. It is a little disappointing that these options are simply text on screen rather than performed by the voice actor, although it is understandable. When creating their character, the player has 10 plus voices to choose from and with the seemingly limitless choices, it would be an insanely large amount of VA content to have.
Character customisation is also a very well executed part of the game, with the player having a huge variety of options to pick from. When choosing an Archetype, the player will have an outfit selected for them that the Traveller will wear until they gain upgrades. Along with having much of the character customisation at the beginning of the game, Remnant II also uses the introduction to teach the player how to heal. After the crash in the opening cutscene, the Traveller is injured, and Cass gives them instructions to heal with a brief tutorial taking place. This is a seamless and fun introduction and sets the president for the other tutorials to follow, with all being quick and simple.
While there are moments in the tutorial section of Remnant II that introduce combat, it is not until after the player has picked their Archetype that the main combat is added. The player and Ford make their way to the World Stone, a glowing red crystal that Ward then enters into. When following Ford into the World Stone, the player is given their first bit of combat while they are in their Archetype. The combat is kept reasonably simple with 2 guns and a melee weapon at the Traveller’s disposal. These can be upgraded at the Ward as the game progresses, although the starter ones can be effective for a while into the game.
The combat within the World Stone is extremely fun. As the chosen Archetype is being explored, the player can learn more about how it works. The initial enemies appeared to be villagers that would attack the player on sight. However, Remnant II then takes a darker turn as the villagers appear to be burned and turned to ash. Some of these will then come to life and attack the player while turning into a fire demon. The first time this happened was a scare like no other as it was completely unscripted but still made me leap out of my chair.
While these enemies are very fun to play against, I did find they limited melee play. The player has no access to a melee weapon in the first section of Remnant II, so this is the first time the Traveller will have the chance to use one. The fire enemies, however, limited this as getting too close means the player will be set on fire and get burned. This can mean that melee play will then be neglected by the player as they progress. I also had an issue in The Handler class as my dog only had a melee attack, so he spent much of this section on fire.
As well as the main combat against hoarding enemies, Remnant II also features mini bosses that can appear on their own as well as alongside hoarding enemies. The additional challenge these added to the game is so much fun and helps keep the gameplay varied as the player progresses and makes the dodge mechanic a necessity to learn. While I enjoyed using the dodges once I got the hang of it, it should be noted that it took a while to master, with me throwing myself into a boss’ feet more often than rolling away from them.
The enemy variation is another section of the game that Gunfire Games states are proceduraly generated. I loved this addition to the game as it meant that I could be travelling through the same area of the game but the differing spawn points of enemies made it feel very different each time.
Enemies would respawn in Remnant II every time the player rested at a World Stone. These were spaced fairly often throughout the world in the World Stone and allowed the player to rest, as well as respawning allies when playing with others online. The multiplayer aspect of the game does mean that there is no way to pause as you enter the menu. While understandable for a game with so much online potential, it could be frustrating as I was attempting to check my inventory or access the Skill Points I had earned.
Built in Unreal Engine 5 it is no surprise that Remnant II runs very well. The graphics are also incredible. This is demonstrated early in the character customisation and opening cutscene. However, this quality does not lower once the opening is complete. Every environment has an incredible amount of detail in it, and the variety is fantastic. Early in the game, the Traveller will approach a village on fire that is stunningly realistic and haunting.
The Ward is an excellent comforting environment due to the small details- posters on the wall or the vegetable garden NPCs will tend to. This contrasts fantastically with the world within the World Stone. The map within the crystal is still very large and sprawling but is so in a claustrophobic way. This creates a feeling of being trapped in the World Stone and makes an exciting environment I haven’t experienced in a game outside the horror genre in a very long time. The claustrophobia and containment is completely intentional and is a fantastic addition to Remnant II.
The sound design in Remnant II creates perfect atmospheres that vary according to the player’s surroundings. In the Ward, the sounds of everyday life are mimicked in a compelling and accurate way, showing the hustle and bustle of life there. The sounds of the world in the World Stone are haunting, with the bosses in that section making particularly disturbing sounds. The voice acting is also incredibly immersive, with the actors being skilled in their work, creating a fleshed-out environment to explore and play in. The music is also very effective at creating tension, although some of the mini-boss themes did start a little early, ruining the surprise of them appearing on screen.
Remnant II is a fantastic sequel to the original game and offers a varied and exciting world for the player to explore. The gameplay is interesting and the role-play elements are amazingly diverse, meaning every playthrough can feel like a unique and new experience. The combat is kept simple, with the weapons being standard for modern action games. This does not make them boring; however, the excitement comes from the various enemies and Archetypes spicing up the gameplay. The enemies are scaled well as the game progresses and upgrading was a joy, never a chore.
