The Surge

The Surge is one of those rare soulslike games that truly feels like it has its own identity. Instead of relying on dark fantasy castles, cursed kingdoms, or gothic ruins, it throws the player into a brutal cyberpunk-industrial nightmare: steel corridors, malfunctioning machines, corporate decay, exoskeletons, body horror, and oppressive factory environments. It is a unique game, and that uniqueness is probably its greatest strength. The atmosphere is excellent. CREO’s industrial complex feels hostile, claustrophobic, and deeply unsettling. There is always this feeling that something went terribly wrong and that you are walking through the remains of a place that was never designed to be humane. The game also has a strong horror and thriller edge, not necessarily because it is constantly trying to scare you, but because the world itself feels dangerous, cold, and abandoned. It is oppressive in a very memorable way. Graphically, is also surprisingly beautiful. The art direction carries the experience: sparks, metal, machinery, armor pieces, lighting, and industrial scenery all work together to create a very convincing world. Even better, the game runs extremely well. It is well optimized, smooth, and technically solid, which makes the heavy and methodical combat much more satisfying. The level design deserves special praise. The maps are extremely well connected, full of shortcuts, loops, vertical paths, and hidden routes. There is a real sense of relief when you finally open a shortcut back to the safe zone. That feeling is one of the best things a soulslike can deliver, and the game understands it very well. The safe zone is not just a menu room; it feels like a breath of air after surviving a mechanical nightmare. Combat is slow, deliberate, and punishing. This is not a game about rushing forward or mashing buttons. It rewards patience, observation, and calm decision-making. For players who have never played a soulslike, it can be very difficult and unforgiving. But veterans of the genre will probably have a lot of fun with its systems and rhythm. The weapons and exoskeletons are one of the highlights. They look brutal, heavy, and distinct, and the fantasy of becoming stronger through industrial armor and mechanical upgrades is very satisfying. The dismemberment system is especially interesting and unique... something that i wanted in FromSoftware games. Targeting specific body parts is not just a gimmick: it directly affects farming, grinding, equipment acquisition, and progression. Cutting off an enemy’s armored limb to obtain that piece of gear makes the grind much more enjoyable and purposeful. Imagine this mechanic in a souslike with PVP system? Would be so fun. The upgrade system is also excellent. It’s nothing like simply putting points into certain attributes; instead, you equip different kinds of bionic augments. There is a very satisfying loop of fighting enemies, collecting materials, improving gear, and slowly becoming more capable. The progression feels earned, and because equipment is tied to enemies and body parts, farming becomes more engaging than in many other action RPGs. That said, the game is not perfect. I wish the weapons had better movesets and more interesting special attacks. Some weapon classes feel good, but the combat could have benefited from more variety, more expressive combos, and more distinctive special moves. The set bonuses are also uneven. Some armor set bonuses feel useful and exciting, while others are underwhelming or not creative enough. The side quests are surprisingly good, mostly because they progress organically as you explore (Like in Lies of P but without the markpoints), making them feel like a natural part of the journey rather than a checklist of optional objectives. Another negative point is the lack of deeper armor customization. The exosuits and armor sets look great, but the game would be even better if it allowed more visual customization, mixing, coloring, or personalization. In a game so focused on armor, implants, upgrades, and mechanical identity, this feels like a missed opportunity. The bosses are also not the most memorable part of the experience. They are not terrible, and there is clearly heart behind them, but they do not reach the iconic status of the best bosses in the genre. Still, they fit the world very well. The bosses are not especially memorable, but that does not mean they are bad. Some of them work quite well and have genuinely interesting ideas. Most are okay, and a few feel like they had great potential if they had been pushed a little further. Even so, they can still be quite challenging, especially because the game itself demands patience, positioning, and careful resource management. For a first entry in the franchise, though, what the game delivers is perfectly acceptable. They may not be the strongest part of the experience, but they still fit the world, serve their purpose, and can be very fun. The lore is another strong point. The game tells its story through environments, audio logs, item descriptions, corporate propaganda, and the unsettling remains of the CREO facility. It has a strong identity, with themes of technological ambition, exploitation, body modification, environmental collapse, and corporate control. It is not just “Dark Souls with robots”... it has its own world, its own tone, and its own ideas. Overall, this is an excellent game and an easy recommendation for anyone interested in soulslikes, cyberpunk, industrial horror, or methodical action RPGs. It is oppressive, beautiful, well designed, well optimized, and mechanically unique. It has flaws, especially in moveset variety, armor customization, some set bonuses, and boss memorability, but its strengths are much more important. It is a slow, patient, punishing, atmospheric game with a lot of personality. For soulslike veterans, this game is absolutely worth playing.

Enemies aren't super fun to fight. The limb targeting mechanic, while cool, doesn't feel utilized to it's fullest and I feel shouldn't even be a thing as it is currently, and the zones are just godawful mazes. It's way too easy to get lost and there's just way too many paths too go down, so many that if you die you're probably not going to find where your scraps are. Subbosses, and bosses kinda suck.

Чтож, изначально я был настроен вполне дружелюбно к этой игре. Один блогер в Тир листе соулслайков поставил её довольно высоко, похвалив за атмосфэру. Ну и как бы во вторую часть я хотел погамать, а перед этим всё же решил пройти первую. И это была большая ошибка. Изначально всё выглядит довольно неплохо, первая локация в целом норм, босс... ну на троечку, но для первого босса потянет. А дальше я перешёл на вторую локацию и пробегал на ней несколько часов. И в полной мере вкусил все прелести данной игры. Не знаю, какой хороший человек отвечал здесь за дизайн уровней, а какой решил, что карта в этой игре лишняя. В моей коллекции пройденных игр довольно много соулслайков. Вся линейка соулсов, бладборн, ниохи, элден ринг и ещё небольшая кучка близких к данному жанру игр. И эта однозначно забирает пальму первенства за самый убогий и ужасный дизайн уровней. Многие шутят про топографический кретинизм, но дело не в нём. Я много раз оказывался в ситуации, когда после боя с очередным мобом просто не мог понять, с какой же стороны я пришёл и куда идти дальше. С левел дизайном тут всё настолько плохо, что это даже не хорошо. Я искренне надеюсь, что после этой части с отвечающим за это человеком случилось что-то не очень хорошее и больше он никогда не садился проектировать уровни. Т.к. я всерьёз убеждён, что любой школьник посмотревший по данной тематике пару роликов на Ютубе, сделал бы лучше. Череда однотипных коридорчиков в которых ты не можешь понять, был ли ты тут уже или нет. Куча проходов ведущих непонятно куда и зачем. Странное переплетение коридоров, этажей и площадок. Я правда не могу вспомнить ни одной игры в которой всё было хотя бы на половину настолько ужасным. Не уверен, что наличие карты могло бы решить проблему, но хотя бы стоило попытаться. И нет, я не считаю, что для игр подобного жанра нужна карта. В Соулсах её нет, но игра работает, здесь же... И по поводу топографического кретинизма, я могу карту уровней DS 3 по памяти наверное воспроизвести. Почему? Да просто там уровни вполне логичны и постоянно подталкивают тебя к продвижению в нужном направлении. Здесь же, я даже с гайдами вообще не понимал, куда мне сейчас двигаться и зачем, где может сидеть босс или где точки интереса. Остальное в игре тоже не на высоте. Боёвка посредственная. Не то что бы плохая, но не цепляющая. Количество врагов крайне ограниченное, а их дизайн мало чем отличается. Прокачка в целом нормальная. Есть интересное решение с выбиванием брони путём отсечения конечностей врагов. Но блин, всё это наглухо ломает убожество местных локаций. В какой-то момент я просто задолбался, врубил читы и побежал к финалу сметая всё на своём пути. Мне просто стало неприятно находиться в этой игре и тратить на неё время. В общем это был довольно разочаровывающий и неприятный опыт, без которого я вполне мог бы жить. Не рекомендую эту игру никому. Здесь вас ждут лишь унылые однотипные коридоры в которых главной вашей проблемой будет понять, были ли вы уже здесь или же нет. Не тратьте на это своё время. Даже первый Nioh на её фоне даст сто очков форы. Это не просто плохой соулслайк, это плохая и крайне нудная игра. Надеюсь вторая часть окажется лучше.

Competent Sci-fi Souls. Hits all the notes it aims for, minus a few rough patches with pacing. Overall an enjoyable game from start to finish. Very Tasty/10

You start in a wheelchair. First human you bump into is a woke black guy. Second human you bump into is a woke black woman. Worst of all, it was recommended by IGN. Based on pattern recognition this game might be DEI and Woke slop.

The combat takes some time getting used to, and some of the enemies can be frustrating at times, but overall the game is good. I enjoyed my time with it.

General Review and Gameplay: It's actually good. It may not be enjoyable for some who doesn't prefer souls-like games but as someone who played similar games, I can't complain. There are actual mechanics to the bosses, some enemies are easier to deal with certain weapons or hitting certain body parts, and I actually liked the idea of not having an actual interactive map. You get to work through the different paths, shortcuts, and retrace when you die. It can be tedious, but I wasn't expecting anything easy when I played the game. I am not sure if you can get by with a single weapon single build the entire game, but this is one amongst the games that I played where I actually explored different weapons and armors, tried different strategies, and observe the enemies to deal with them "easily". Performance: Never got any stuttering or weird performance issues. Game ran smoothly on my entire playthrough.

最牛逼也最鸡贼的设计：断肢收装备。你看到哪个敌人穿得帅，对着它的胳膊腿就是一顿招呼，砍下来就能拿到图纸。装备全是边打边造边升级，省去跑商店的功夫，一刀一个准。打击感实打实，砍在铁皮上“Duang！Duang！”响，重型武器抡起来存在感满分，“机甲+终结技”这套组合拳打起来确实爽。

É um pouco esquisito. O level design com atalhos é extrapolado num nível bem estranho, vários deles se tornando bastante redudantes. Me parece que foi uma jogada segura dos devs pq só tem um ponto onde vc assegura o seu "xp/dinheiro" em cada área. E o ponto crucial que menos gostei foi a jogabilidade. A impressão é que o Dark Souls que mais serviu de inspiração foi 2... Jogabilidade com animações estranhas, hit box estranhas... E tentando umas firulas, só que diferente do DS2, senti que as firulas eram mais necessarias, só que com uma jogabilidade meio travada. Vários inimigos, até bosses não sendo acertados pelos meu ataques. Tem um jogo com ótimas ideias aqui em relação a armadura. Mas infelizmente eu nem consegui armaduras de corpo (que aliás só dava pra iluminar com essa parte hehe), pq só conseguia com craft de material que não consegui mais a partir da segunda área e o capacete só tive pq dropou de um inimigo especial. Vou tentar o 2, já que foi o mais elogiado na minha bolha.