The Surge shows how to salvage fallen loot from dismembered enemy limbs

After a relatively subtle easing-in to its run of trailers, Deck13 and Focus Home's The Surge has steadily ramped up its brutality with sci-fi zombie beatdowns, cinematic mech suit brawling, and now a 'Target, Loot and Equip' trailer which spends much of time showing us angry folk literally tearing each other limb from limb.

Armed with some ridiculous and terrifying looking melee weapons, the guys in the following short take no prisoners as they slice off arms, rupture legs and tear torsos in half. Yup, it's as brutal as it sounds:

While it's all pretty heavy, there's actually a practical side to dismembering foes in The Surge. Removing a combatant's arm, for example, means you can salvage whichever armour was equipped there and claim it as your own. Players can also target specific areas of their enemies' bodies so as to make the very physical side of the hunt that little bit easier.

"When approaching an enemy, players will make a difficult decision: do they target an unarmored body part for a shorter fight, or risk a lengthier, damaging battle for a chance at slicing off a shiny new piece of equipment?" asks Focus Home. "Balancing risk and reward is core to succeeding in The Surge, and bold players will be rewarded well! The toughest enemies drop the most powerful weapons and armor, so if you see a piece of equipment you like the look of, you'll need to fight hard for it...or die trying."

The Surge is due May 16, 2017. For further reading, here's Dan Griliopoulos on how The Surge takes the Dark Souls formula into the future.