Remnant 2 is the sequel to 2019s Remnant: From the Ashes and the third game story wise in a series that began with Chronos: Before the Ashes. While with Remnant: From the Ashes it seemed like Gunfire games were testing the waters with a souls-like shooter Remnant 2 has built and massively improved upon every aspect of the first game and is one of those rare instances where the sequel is miles better than the original and has solidified itself as a genre defining entry. Though I would hesitate to call the game a masterpiece due to some of its shortcomings, they in no way take away from the core focus of the game that is the combat and the loot both of which are top-notch and some of the best in industry.
Story and World building
Remnant 2 is not a story focused game, from the first game and the buildup to Remnant 2 that much was pretty obvious and after playing through Remnant 2 the story is undoubtedly the weakest aspect of this game. While the lore of the game and the entire series in general is quite solid and unique the greater plot of the game itself could be summarized in 5 to 6 lines it is that bare bones, and its only purpose is to keep the player moving forward. What’s far more compelling is the world building and the unique self-contained story of each world. Remnant 2 is divided into 5 unique worlds each vastly different from the other, and the larger 3 of them have their own story and quest that you must pursue in order to move on to the next world. Now I’m not going to spoil anything for you, but you need to play each world multiple times to get all the storylines because not only does each world have a unique quest there are multiple of them depending on the roll you get, so it’ll be a while before you have all the bits of the story. I personally preferred Neruds storyline, but they are all great, and you will definitely have your personal favorite by the end.
The art direction and world building is also superb. From the HR Giger inspired wasteland of Nerud to the Lush forests of Yeasha each world is filled with personality, and it is truly hard to tell which asset is hand-crafted and which is procedurally generated. As a souls-like it is hard not to compare the detail of Remnant 2s world and maps to that of the Soulsborne series, and it’s environmental story telling, and unfortunately it is not quite at that level yet partly because of the procedural generation of its levels, but it is still incredible how seamless everything feels and whenever I did stumble upon a hand-crafted area within my map it was jaw dropping look at even though it was not obvious what it meant at first glance.
Gameplay
The focus of Remnant 2 and here it does not disappoint.
Combat and Gunplay
The gunplay is impactful and some of the best in third person genre. The flow of combat is smooth and fast-paced requiring you to time your dodges like in any souls-like but this time you retaliate with guns instead of melee weapons. Each gun is unique and most are customizable through a mod which is like an ability for your gun and a mutator which improves or modifies the guns’ stats. The boss weapons have a unique strong mod which cannot be removed, but these weapons can be outfitted with a mutator. When it comes to the weapons Remnant 2 has both quality and quantity with over 80 weapons and counting. The same cannot be said about the mods though. All of them are viable, and you can beat the game with all of them, but some are better than others and if you want to make the game easier for yourself you will choose the better ones for yourself.
Build crafting
Remnant 2 gives you a plethora of options to build the kind of character you want. It does not have a traditional stat based leveling system like in other souls-likes but instead levels you up based on your class and weapon level alongside that it also has traits, rings and amulets for passive effects to further min-max your build.
Classes
The main defining feature of your build are the classes you have equipped. The games has 11 classes in total and one of the best features of this game is that after you’ve leveled up your first class to level 10 you can slot in a second class which open up an entirely new dimension of build crafting. Want to have a DPS/healer you can do that, want a summoner/tank you can also do that. Combine that with the unique weapon mods, and you have a robust build crafting system that can keep players engaged or hundreds if not thousands of hours.
While melee weapons exist in Remnant 2 and builds around them are possible they are not the most viable option mostly because of the bosses as a lot of them move around too much and are flying most of the time. Melee builds are good for ad clear but not viable for boss damage.
Bosses
One of the mainstays and defining feature of a souls-like, the bosses in Remnant 2 are a spectacle, and they are tough on your first play-through. My one and only complaint is that in the Losomn world of the game almost every boss fight I was fighting multiple enemies which almost felt like a cheap way to make the boss harder. This was one complains with when Elden Ring. Now I know Gunfire games could have done this better because this is not that big of an issue in the other areas where gank fights are present but handled much better, but in Losomn when every boss called in a new gank squad every 10 seconds it got old fast and hindered my enjoyment quite a bit.
Co-Op
Remnant 2 also features Co-Op with matchmaking. Progress is not carried over when you join someone’s world but all the loot is, which is a welcome feature. There is matchmaking present and if you’re looking for a specific piece of gear in an area that did not spawn for you, you can even target that exact area to be match made into which takes away a lot of the grind and is another quality of life feature Remnant should be praised for.
Verdict
Remnant is a superb sequel that reimagines the soulslike genre as a co-op shooter, and nails that concept in almost every way. With addictive combat, challenging and memorable boss fights, dense build crafting options, and beautiful procedurally generated levels. While it has some small pitfalls they are easily looked over with how well everything else is done.
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out more content on Poggers Memes. For more on Remnant 2 Check out our build guide for the game.