The Surge

This game is a slog. Combat is slow and uninteresting; with only a small handful of different weapon types and each of them running into the same roadblock in different ways; heavy and slow (can't get a hit out before getting hit yourself) or fast and pitiful (can hit the enemy first, but the low damage and lack of stagger will mean a trade anyways). Oh and don't even try to play it smart by timing your hits and dodges, because as soon as one of your hit's land you'll automatically begin a second uninterruptible attack that will typically lead to you catching some hits in return. All of this wouldn't be so bad if enemies weren't so ludicrously overtuned, which itself wouldn't be so bad if the defensive options weren't near useless - it starts to get recursive from here. Point is, the combat (and therefore the vast majority of gameplay) is downright awful. Pair that with incredibly noisy maps with no clear landmarks of any sort to help navigate around and peppered with the oh-so-clever "enemy jumps out and attacks you" at every single turn, a soundtrack that I almost forgot to mention because it's so bland, and the random jankyness in every action that comes built into these sorts …

Great game. Good story, fun combat. 8/10

Loved both this and it's successor. I especially loved the subtle intro twist and the sudden pivot to body-horror, and the class selection through applying to a particular job (even though there's only two choices). I can appreciate the mechanics around "levelling" not magically providing you with extra health or stamina, but simply raising your core power levels to enable you to run heavier gear and more powerful implants, and ultimately to be able to overcharge higher requirement checkpoints to higher level areas. It felt more organic and less arbitrary/artificial to me. Unlike some other reviewers I did not feel this was more janky or clunky than any number of other games in the genre, of which I am a big fan btw. Thank you once again Deck13. Love your work!

The story is amazing, the combat is smooth and the gear/build customization is fun. Truly a gem , and its cheap on sales

The comments and videos that said this game was similar to Soulslike games are %100 true. A mixup of cyperpunk theme and Soulslike gameplay, story is unique and intriguing. Definitely recommend.

This is one of the games that I think of often through the years. It didn't set the bar or get everything right but it definitely chekced a lot of boxes and consistently delivered that serotonin drip of progression, upgrades, and lore reveals. Exo-suit wearing, clanky, smashy, sci-fi soulslike with labyrinthian levels and the ability to bank your hard-earned currency.