Watch a guy get clobbered with two axes at once in the first Surge 2 gameplay trailer

[GAMESCOM 2018] The Surge 2 - Gameplay First Look - YouTube

The Surge, aka Dark Souls in a Junkyard, was interesting but unfulfilling: "It doesn't have that mix of glumness and grandeur, that sense of the mythic that makes the hard slog rewarding," Jody said last year in his 60/100 review. Joe liked it better, though, so he was pleased earlier this year when Focus Home Interactive announced that a sequel is on the way.

Today the publisher served up the first look at the sequel's new-and-improved sci-fi fisticuffs by way of the debut gameplay trailer, unleashed today at Gamescom. The video is set in the Park sector, a "new and enigmatic" location in the middle of a Surge-shocked city that's patrolled by mercenaries called The Hunters.

The Surge 2 promises "larger and more ambitious level design" in a new environment—the city—with "advanced dodging, directional parrying, and unique AI behaviors" coming together for "more brutal and tactical" combat than in the first game. "More abilities, weapons, implants, and drones give players a vast arsenal to build their character with, in their fight against the array of diverse new enemies and bosses," Focus Home said.

Much of that is a repeat of what it said when The Surge 2 was announced in February, but now we've got something concrete to look at, and I think it looks pretty good. I'm not familiar enough with the original to comment on how dodging and blocking appears improved in any specific way, but apparently you get to hit guys in the face with dual electrified cyber-axes, and that's not a bad place to start.

The head-pasting action looks pretty good, but The Surge 2 is still quite a ways off: it's currently expected to be out sometime next year.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.