Remnant II Review

Gunfire Games started their adventure in the game development world like no other; their founder, David Adams, took with him the core team of Crytek USA before it closed down in 2015. Yes, Crytek… Crysis, that direct connection to a game we all know and love. You already know just from that alone that anything from this studio is going to be legendary.

Unfortunately, their first release, Herobound: Spirit Champion, released in 2015, is a pure VR game, and this was during a time when VR was still in its infancy stages. However, in that same year, they also had a part to play in the making of Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition, which redeemed their rocky start and instead gave them a much-needed boost in notoriety.

A few years later and several more VR releases, this brings us to 2018 with their release of Darksiders III, yet another major boost to Gunfire Games and what seemed to have been a turning point. Based on their history after this release, they changed tactics and left VR to develop a bit more. Shortly after Darksiders III, they released Remnant: From The Ashes, a brilliant Souls-like that put them on the map.

This game might be the best representation of the studio and raised the bar for them quite high. All that was left was to keep the ball rolling. This came in the form of Remnant II. While maintaining the same great story and Souls-like gameplay, we finally have a sequel to Gunfire Games’ expertly crafted world and deeply stirring story while facing off against the Root once more.

Just like its predecessor, you'll need to create your character before you can jump into the world of Remnant II. Sadly, you can’t expect much from this side of the game, though this isn’t as bad as it sounds. Your role is meant to be mysterious in a way, so while there is a decent amount of character customization, you won’t be able to create your favorite anime-style rendition of your inner you, nor can you give your character a name.

Once that’s done and dusted, you’ll finally be introduced to your character along with Cass. Not much is known about how these two came together, but they make quite a dangerous duo while highlighting that trying to survive alone is dangerous.

The world around you is overgrown and worn down with time; when a cosmic threat like the Root takes, it’s no wonder everything is abandoned. This, however, also makes the world that much more dangerous. After some light exploration, you’ll soon realize that there is always a way around most obstacles, and it’s important to keep this in mind with Remnant II.

This is where the peace goes to hell, and you’ll be greeted by your very first Root creatures. While they might be basic, they’re just a taste of what’s to come, showing you the devastation they brought to Earth. For now, your first objective is rather straightforward: find the Ward.

The Wards initially started disguised as safe havens from the Root, but they were secretly used for scientific testing by other government projects. However, many years after the events of Remnant: From The Ashes, most of the Wards were overrun, and only one was left standing as a safe haven.

During your exploration with Cass, you’ll find yourself trapped in what looks like a den of some kind that belongs to Root creatures. You’ll need to fight for your lives, though it is easier said than done, at least until Bo and Clementine save you from the Ward you were looking for.

Naturally, with so much fighting taking place, you’ll need a way to fight back. Remnant II has you covered in every sense with a Long Gun (Primary), a Handgun (Secondary), and your trusty Melee weapon.

Unfortunately, you’ll still need to worry about ammo and having to reload, even if it means reloading at the worst possible time, but this is why you have multiple weapons. At least until you run out of ammo entirely… This is why your melee is there, it doesn’t run out of ammo and it’s always ready to cut through the Root.

What sets the weapons mechanic apart from the rest is how smoothly you can transition between the three weapons, especially when your one gun runs out of ammo. Instead of reloading, just jump to the next gun until you can find a gap to reload. While you can’t rely on melee alone, not without major upgrades anyway, it still works well enough until you can find a random ammo drop from whatever you’re killing.

Naturally, that’s not all there is to survive in Remnant II; dodging/dodge-rolling will become your best friend. As with any Souls-like game, you’ll need to become really closely acquainted with dodging and learning patterns. Most of the early boss encounters and basic creatures won’t require much and can easily be dealt with through dodging and careful gunfire.

There are, however, the more serious boss encounters that do not care if you’re getting frustrated; they feed on that. Learning the patterns and rationing your consumables are key if you want to progress further.

Before we can go into detail on consumables and upgrades, you’ll need to meet the people at the Ward. After being saved by Bo and Clementine, you’ll get to meet the many people who will act as shops or just useful lore points. The most important ones would be Dwell, a Pan from Yaesha who sells relics that can give you a multitude of useful buffs.

McCabe, the resident tinkerer who can turn some of the more obscure items you’ll get into mods for your weapons or even make boss-tier weapons. Rigler or Rigs, your main stop for weapon upgrades as long as you can give him the required materials and scrap. And then there’s Wallace, the resident seer who can somewhat see the future; his services are rather odd but useful, as he’ll upgrade your Dragonheart Relic and unlock your first Archetype for you.

Between Remnant: From The Ashes and Remnant II, there aren’t classes, you’ll instead have Archetypes which act as classes. Your first Archetype is on the house, courtesy of Wallace, but you’ll need to be sure about your first choice, as you’ll be stuck with it until you either start a new game or unlock your second Archetype slot.

Luckily, there are archetypes to suit anybody at your disposal, such as the Medic, which obviously specializes in keeping you and your team alive with abilities aimed at exactly that. The Hunter is essentially your marksman with abilities and passives that intend to make your bullet go further and do so much more damage to weak spots. Then we have The Challenger, your typical tank built to outlive anything you throw at it with some really over-the-top emphasis on close-range and melee.

For those who prefer going solo or want to boost the teamwork factor during co-op, The Handler is your best bet alongside the K9 companion you’ll be given that can draw enemies off you, give you health regeneration, or even boost your damage. The Handler will always have a welcome place in any party composition because of its versatility, and having an attack dog means you’ll never truly be alone.

As an added bonus for those who pre-ordered Remnant II, you’ll have one extra option for Archetypes. The Gunslinger is a raw DPS that can help dominate the battlefield in any world. It aims to give you the most punch for your bullets, along with a skill that’ll instantly reload your guns and temporarily give you infinite ammo. What more could you ask for in a world that’s become the embodiment of chaos?

You can have all the skills in a game like Remnant II, but they won’t count for much if you don’t have upgrades or perks. First, as mentioned before, you can get all your weapon upgrades from Rigs as long as you have the required materials. However, perks are just as important as they can give you a necessary edge when you’re out exploring.

Unfortunately, you’ll have a few starter perks, but just like Remnant II’s predecessor, you’ll have to do certain things to unlock new perks. This actually adds a little extra depth to the game, as what you unlock in terms of perks just depends on how you fight.

Though the perks you do unlock will need perk points if you want to make them count, luckily, you’ll find an occasional Book of Skill hidden throughout the world, and you’ll get a perk point for each level up as well. You’ll just need a little patience and a keen eye.

If you’re still feeling stuck or need even more of an edge, you’ll be glad to know that your weapons can become even more monstrous to help you shoot down your obstacles. This comes in the form of Mods and Mutators.

Mods will give your weapons their unique abilities that can change how they fire, like Fire Rounds, or if you want some extra firepower, you’ll also soon discover one of the mods that will literally fire off missiles. Granted, there are various other mods to unlock and play with, and there’s never a dull moment or lack of firepower in Remnant II.

On the other hand, Mutators play a more passive role for your weapons. These can add benefits like getting ammo back while spending ammo or adding a slow status effect to your rounds. Like anything else in Remnant II, Mutators can be upgraded to increase their effectiveness. However, once again, it boils down to needing the materials to upgrade them, but even at base stats, they make a surprising difference out in the world.

With all the chaos going around, you’ll have one more piece of madness to deal with. The all too famous status effects. Status effects come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors, each with its own way of eating away at your health to make your life so much harder. Luckily, consumables are a big help with these if you can’t avoid them.

Granted, not all consumables are meant to remove negative status effects, but there are a few that you can use to give yourself a buff when you need it most, like Bloodroot, which will give you temporary regeneration. Your most important consumable will be your Dragonheart Relic, even though it has limited charges, a quick trip to the Hearthstone and you’ll be healed and recharged. As a free tip, ammo boxes are a lifesaver when you need them most but are expensive; save them for an emergency!

To save the best for last, Remnant II doesn’t play by any rules, and as such, you’ll have to explore multiple worlds and go up against different creatures and people, solve puzzles, and survive to the best of your abilities. However, aside from unlocking the worlds you’ll need to explore, you’ll need a way to get there.

The Hearthstone serves several purposes and is not just a convenient checkpoint. It’s also your only way to get to the other worlds once unlocked. However, using the Hearthstone comes with a slight downside. It will also cause any enemies you shot down to respawn. You’ll sometimes be faced with a choice of recharging and getting more ammo vs. carrying on with what you have to avoid creating an endless loop.

Speaking of worlds, this needs to be mentioned but just Remnant: From The Ashes featured several somewhat unique worlds, Remnant II took it a step further and came up with a few completely unique worlds. Yaesha, being more natural and primitive by design, shows a complete and utter contrast in design compared to a world like N’Erud, which is more futuristic and high-tech.

You won’t just be exploring worlds, you’ll get to see different civilizations, or what’s left of them anyway. Though the option to return to the Ward is always there if you need a break, the same can be said if you’re ready to pick up where you left off with your exploration.

Remnant II already has so much to offer, but it just keeps giving right from scratch on the sound design front. There might not be much in terms of music, but you won’t even notice the lack thereof because each world has its fitting background noise. The background sounds alone add so much extra depth while bringing each world to life.

However, the shining point in Remnant II’s sound front is the fact that the game is fully voiced. Normally, this isn’t such a major thing to look to, it’s the way the voice acting is done that counts for so much. With people like the Pan or Fae, there’s clearly an inhuman aspect to them which brings their characters to life.

Gunfire Games went all in with the world and character design for Remnant II, keeping in mind that several years have gone by since the events of Remnant: From The Ashes. You’ll still find most of the old NPCs in Remnant II, but they’re quite a lot older. This is a nice touch on the continuity of the series and keeps an old story going.

Though Remnant II deserves a lot of praise for how the different worlds were made along with the attention to detail for each one, if you’re not running and gunning for your life, it’s the type of game where stopping to smell the roses and admires scenery will be to your benefit.

 

Overall, Remnant II is a brilliantly unforgiving game that can and likely will go extremely far, though this makes the game great. Combine that with the droves of lore and detail in the world, and you end up with a game that’s damn near impossible to put down because you’ll feel the need to keep trying and see what happens next.

The best aspect of Remnant II is that you don’t have to play co-op. With the right Archetype and weapons loadout, solo play is definitely possible, making the game extremely approachable for players of any skill level—as long as they have the patience for it.