The Surge Reviews
The Surge is a Dark Souls-style game with sci-fi trappings and a unique combat system that is held back by repetitive gameplay and frustrating controls.
The Surge isn't the same as Dark Souls but comparison's inevitable. Like that cyborg whose torso I severed, it struggles to stand on its own.
A solid Soulslike that stops a few steps short of greatness.
Between Lords of the Fallen and now The Surge, it has become increasingly clear that Deck 13 has both the talent and know-how to make a fantastic RPG, but for some reason keeps falling just short of a homerun. While The Surge is a good game, and definitely one of the best currently available in it's genre, things like lack of character creation, no multiplayer or any multiplayer interaction of any kind, and very little in terms of unique elements that only their game possesses are holding them back from being at the top of their class. The gaming industry has raised the standard of Action RPGs since Lords of the Fallen, and although Deck 13 has raised theirs as well, The Surge is likely to struggle in a market with games like: Nioh, Nier: Automata, Bloodborne, Horizon Zero Dawn and Witcher 3. If you don't already own those games, it will be harder to justify the 59.99 price tag for this game, especially when you can get any of those above for much less. If, however, you have already played those games, then The Surge is the next step in your RPG journey.
The Surge struggles to present a compelling campaign, but delivers a fun new take on a familiar genre.
A promising entry into the budding “Souls” genre that delivers excellent combat and far too much repetition in the enemies and environments
The Surge is an entertaining twist on the Dark Souls formula that strikes a tenuous balance between iteration and invention.
The Surge successfully builds on its inspirations and finds its own voice
The Surge is a game of many triumphs, but it's also one that will cause you more frustration than any other Souls-like.
The Surge is shonky, inferior and more than a little derivative. But if you fancy a shortcut-filled robotic challenge, it's not all bad. Just be ready to get deprogrammed.
The Surge offers an interesting world to explore, and a few new tricks that set it apart from the competition, but often falls short of its inspiration due to wonky combat and uninspired enemy designs.
The Surge has tried to rely on quality more than quantity, there are only 5 main zones for roaming and 5 leaders and events can be completed in less than 8 hours if the user avoids the majority of the confrontations and only run around the environment around him, in contrast the game offers a variety and changes in the design of weapons and enemies and their abilities - away from the leaders - but unfortunately each part suffers from a gap that contributed in one way or another to reduce the fun of events, whether the design of the same battles or leaders that did not bring anything new or the story, which could not keep it raised for a long time .
Review in Arabic | Read full review
The Surge is a rather unfair experience. It tries to be a difficult product but ends up lying in flagrant errors.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If this genre of games inspired by the Souls series is going to continue, it is important that future titles in it can build upon what has already been established and try to do something new with it. That is why I am so happy The Surge is able to do so. Even if it falters in a few areas, the game's limb targeting and Core Power mechanics coupled with its unique world create a fun experience that even people like me, who aren't mega-fans of the Souls series, can enjoy.
An interesting addition to the souls-linke genre. It doesn't reach the greatness of the big ones, but the combat system and, especially, the dismemberments, make it a pretty fun experience.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Surge is technically strong, has good ideas and fascinating environments, but also a lot of flaws, especially when it comes to important elements for the soulslike genre, like level design and character's customization/improvement.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Surge has been able to exploit the essentials of this genre: A highly additive combat system, great setting and an outstanding level design. It may not be a huge innovation, but Deck13 has created a great game within the action RPG genre.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Surge is a mix of interesting ideas and hiccups in execution. While there's no doubt that it will resonate with a specific, hardcore audience, it's missing just enough to alienate a generalized audience. Its combat is challenging, but not perfect; its story starts with a compelling hook but falls flat shortly after. There are echoes of something special running throughout The Surge, but it never escapes its own shadow.
An even better Dark Souls clone than Lords Of The Fallen, but there are too few unique ideas and the difficulty often undermines the rest of the gameplay.
Bugs and a weak narrative aside, The Surge is a much more confident take on the emerging Soul-like gameplay style. It takes the known tropes of being challenging and having progression dependent on learning attack patterns while adjusting your play style to accommodate, but it also has some fresh ideas that not only make perfect sense, but could shape future games. It's nice to see a developer give a gameplay style a second shot and Deck13 have almost nailed it here.