Developer – Gunfire Games

Publisher – Gearbox Publishing

Platforms – PC (Reviewed), Xbox Series, PS5

Remnant 2 from developer Gunfire Games is a direct sequel to the surprise hit Remnant: From the Ashes. Not only does Remnant 2 exceed expectations in every way for a sequel to the original, and it stands on its own as a solid entry to the third-person shooter RPG genre that I believe will bring in quite a few new fans to the series. It uses the third-person shooter framework with smooth movement and combat and combines the RPG elements from games like Dark Souls and class-based RPGs to create a perfect blend that keeps Remnant 2 interesting and rarely dull.

The game is a sequel to the original Remnant: From the Ashes and takes place several years later, where things have changed quite a bit in terms of the world. Corruption is spreading throughout the different realms, and you are tasked with collecting components that will be used to fight the corruption from destroying the world. You begin the game by choosing a class to play, such as a Medic (my favorite) to Gunslingers. Each has different starting abilities and traits that allow you to perform special abilities and determine how to tackle the game’s enemies. This also determines your role when playing co-op with others. You may want to try to vary the roles of your team so you can cover your bases in terms of providing support and damage buffs to your allies.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES – Written by Rebecca Ellis

Remnant 2 doesn’t feature to many options in terms of accessibility, but it does offer much more options for approachability. For one, the standard difficulty setting isn’t easy by any stretch, but it does make the game much more manageable to get through. Furthermore, the Handler Class is outstanding, as the aggro, healing and ability to have co-op even when I was alone is big for disabled players such as myself.

Furthermore, the co-op is intuitive, easy to access, and includes a PING SYSTEM. So many shooters forget to include Ping systems, and this one small feature made on the fly communication with my teammates a much simpler process. I would have liked to see more actual accessibility options, but, Remnant 2 was perfectly playable, and I had a good time dying over and over again.

• End of Accessibility notes

As you find talent books spread throughout the different areas, you can use these points to increase the passive stats of your character. These can be factors such as increasing your health pool or siphoning health from your enemies as you deal damage. All of the classes can use similar traits, each with a unique trait. Once you hit the max level of your initial class, you can utilize that trait on other classes. This gives you more freedom in customizing your character, which is a welcome feature.

The class I chose to play as was the Medic. You start out with a healing ability that will summon a pool of healing light on the ground that will heal anyone standing inside of it over a period of time. As I leveled up, I could instead choose to give my entire team a shield while also healing a smaller amount of health over time. At max level I could do an AOE blast of healing that could also revive my team and if I held the casting button for 5 seconds without interruption the blast would provide a much stronger healing over time. Each skill has its pros and cons and I loved this about choosing the best skill for the encounter.

Outside of skills and traits, your character can also equip a myriad of different weapons, armor, and accessories that provide unique benefits to you. One negative aspect was the seemingly lack of armor that was available to use. Throughout my entire playthrough, I found maybe one set of armor outside of what I could purchase from a store that was the starting equipment for other classes—the same thing happened with the weapon selections.

There was a vendor that would sell basic weaponry that I pretty much used from start to finish. When you kill bosses, you get a crafting piece from them that can be used to craft modifications or weapons. Some of these weapons were amazing but required many crafting components to upgrade fully. I could upgrade the assault rifle that I purchased from the vendor way quicker, and it carried me through the game.

Modifications can be applied to the weapons, or sometimes they come with innate modifications that can be used as you deal damage or, in some cases, as you heal yourself. Once you gain enough modification power, you can cast the ability. This will give you a temporary boost that honesty can sometimes be everything you need to escape a tough situation. One of the modifications that carried me through the game was the fire damage modification. This mod has a lower charge time, allowing me to use it two or more times per boss fight while also providing a considerable damage boost. It would also catch enemies on fire to do damage over time, so even when reloading my gun or dodging attacks, I was still consistently applying damage to them. There are quite a few different modifications that you can craft, which provide a nice variety of gameplay based on different items and weaknesses of the enemies you are facing.

As you finish different areas in the game, you can also unlock adventure mode, which you can use to find special items that will help you along the way. During my playthrough, I didn’t need to utilize this mode. Still, as you play greater difficulties or want to tackle some additional quests, you can build these worlds repeatedly without interrupting your campaign progress which is a very nice feature.

My original playthrough of the campaign alone took about 20-22 hours, but even though that is the time it takes for the first run, you aren’t nearly finished with the game. The game is littered with secrets, alternative bosses, and quests. As you play through, you also prepare for higher and higher difficulties. Once you have built up your character enough, you can tackle the hardest difficulties, which should give plenty of challenges.

Remnant 2 was a delightful surprise for me. I was a big fan of Remnant: From the Ashes and played through the more melee-focused original game Chronos: Before the Ashes, which was a prequel to Remnant. This is the best entry and has so much to offer for the price point. The replayability alone is worth the price of admission. I can’t recommend that game enough for fans of third-person shooters, role-playing games, and Souls Light fans, as you will all find something to enjoy with Remnant 2!